Astrophysics Research at Liverpool John Moores University
Lead Research Organisation:
Liverpool John Moores University
Department Name: Astrophysics Research Institute
Abstract
We propose to carry out a programme of research tackling cutting-edge astrophysical problems on a wide range of scales. Our work, which addresses several of PPARC's key scientific priorities, will be conducted under two main and interlinked themes: (i) Tme Domain Astrophysics (ii) Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei. In particular we wish to explore: the origin and wider importance of Gamma Ray Bursts, the most powerful explosions in the Universe; the fundamental properties of novae from observations of their explosions in our own and other galaxies; the structure of the Milky Way through microlensing studies; the environmental factors that influence galaxy evolution, and the part played in the development of galaxies by supermassive black holes. Our research uses the most advanced ground-based telescopes, space-borne satellites and data analysis tecniques to carry out observations from gamma rays to radio wavelengths and ARI staff are leading players in many of the new generation surveys. A significant fraction of our work involves time-domain studies, now made possible through our own robotic Liverpool Telescope project and our lead in developing global robotic telescope networks such as RoboNet. These projects are technically demanding and are supported at ARI by the latest developments in scheduling and robotic control software through e-Science programmes. The structure and organisation of the ARI is designed to deliver internationally excellent research, with efficient teaching programmes. Staff benefit from a continual programme of investment in research infrastructure and the ARI is a major international player in developing and exploiting outreach opportunities. The Institute in turn enjoys excellent support from the University which has enabled, for example, the recent appointment of several new staff to strenghten further our research work.
Publications
Maciejewski W
(2010)
ORBITAL SUPPORT OF FAST AND SLOW INNER BARS IN DOUBLE-BARRED GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
García-Berro E
(2010)
A white dwarf cooling age of 8 Gyr for NGC 6791 from physical separation processes.
in Nature
Hurley K
(2010)
A new analysis of the short-duration, hard-spectrum GRB 051103, a possible extragalactic soft gamma repeater giant flare
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zamanov R
(2010)
UBVRI observations of the flickering of RS Ophiuchi at quiescence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gibson N
(2010)
A transit timing analysis of seven RISE light curves of the exoplanet system HAT-P-3
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hilton M
(2010)
THE XMM CLUSTER SURVEY: ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AND STARBURST GALAXIES IN XMMXCS J2215.9-1738 AT z = 1.46
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ouchi M
(2010)
STATISTICS OF 207 Lya EMITTERS AT A REDSHIFT NEAR 7: CONSTRAINTS ON REIONIZATION AND GALAXY FORMATION MODELS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hill D
(2010)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly: FUV, NUV, ugrizYJHK Petrosian, Kron and Sérsic photometry GAMA: the photometric pipeline
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Young D
(2010)
Two type Ic supernovae in low-metallicity, dwarf galaxies: diversity of explosions
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Bretherton C
(2010)
Star-forming galaxies in low-redshift clusters: comparison of integrated properties of cluster and field galaxies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Negrello M
(2010)
The detection of a population of submillimeter-bright, strongly lensed galaxies.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Bennett D
(2010)
MASSES AND ORBITAL CONSTRAINTS FOR THE OGLE-2006-BLG-109Lb,c JUPITER/SATURN ANALOG PLANETARY SYSTEM
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ryu Y
(2010)
OGLE-2009-BLG-092/MOA-2009-BLG-137: A DRAMATIC REPEATING EVENT WITH THE SECOND PERTURBATION PREDICTED BY REAL-TIME ANALYSIS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ando M
(2010)
DECIGO and DECIGO pathfinder
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Gould A
(2010)
FREQUENCY OF SOLAR-LIKE SYSTEMS AND OF ICE AND GAS GIANTS BEYOND THE SNOW LINE FROM HIGH-MAGNIFICATION MICROLENSING EVENTS IN 2005-2008
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ellison S
(2010)
Galaxy pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - II. The effect of environment on interactions Galaxy pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hounsell R
(2010)
EXQUISITE NOVA LIGHT CURVES FROM THE SOLAR MASS EJECTION IMAGER (SMEI)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fouqué P
(2010)
OGLE 2008-BLG-290: an accurate measurement of the limb darkening of a galactic bulge K Giant spatially resolved by microlensing
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Cirasuolo M
(2010)
A new measurement of the evolving near-infrared galaxy luminosity function out to z â?? 4: a continuing challenge to theoretical models of galaxy formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wang J
(2010)
Chandra High Resolution Imaging of NGC 1365 and NGC 4151
Molinari S
(2010)
Clouds, filaments, and protostars: The Herschel Hi-GAL Milky Way
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Hartley W
(2010)
The evolution of galaxy clustering since z= 3 using the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey: the divergence of passive and star-forming galaxies Clustering of passive galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dumas G
(2010)
COLD MOLECULAR GAS IN THE INNER TWO KILOPARSECS OF NGC 4151
in The Astrophysical Journal
Stott J
(2010)
THE XMM CLUSTER SURVEY: THE BUILD-UP OF STELLAR MASS IN BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXIES AT HIGH REDSHIFT
in The Astrophysical Journal
Amblard A
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: Dust temperature and redshift distribution of SPIRE and PACS detected sources using submillimetre colours
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Dye S
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: Evolution of the 250 µm luminosity function out to z = 0.5
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Mottram J
(2010)
The Red MSX Source survey: the bolometric fluxes and luminosity distributions of young massive stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pandey S
(2010)
GRB 090902B: AFTERGLOW OBSERVATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pietrinferni A
(2010)
The impact of an updated 14 N( p , ? ) 15 O reaction rate on advanced evolutionary stages of low-mass stellar models
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dalessandro E
(2011)
The peculiar horizontal branch of NGC 2808 The peculiar horizontal branch of NGC 2808
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Muraki Y
(2011)
DISCOVERY AND MASS MEASUREMENTS OF A COLD, 10 EARTH MASS PLANET AND ITS HOST STAR
in The Astrophysical Journal
Li I
(2011)
Dependence of star formation activity on stellar mass and environment from the Redshift One LDSS-3 Emission line Survey SFR at z~ 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gunawardhana M
(2011)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): the star formation rate dependence of the stellar initial mass function IMF-SFR relationship
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kawamura S
(2011)
The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna: DECIGO
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Batista V
(2011)
MOA-2009-BLG-387Lb: a massive planet orbiting an M dwarf
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Urquhart J
(2011)
The Red MSX Source survey: distribution and properties of a sample of massive young stars Properties of sites of massive star formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ness J
(2011)
XMM-NEWTON X-RAY AND ULTRAVIOLET OBSERVATIONS OF THE FAST NOVA V2491 Cyg DURING THE SUPERSOFT SOURCE PHASE
in The Astrophysical Journal
{Zamanov}, R. And {Boeva}, S. And {Latev}, G. And {Stoyanov}, K. And {Bode}, M.~F. And {Antov}, A. And {Bachev}, R.
(2011)
UBVRI observations of the flickering of the symbiotic star MWC 560
in Information Bulletin on Variable Stars
Vaytet N
(2011)
SWIFT OBSERVATIONS OF THE 2006 OUTBURST OF THE RECURRENT NOVA RS OPHIUCHI. III. X-RAY SPECTRAL MODELING
in The Astrophysical Journal
Cano Z
(2011)
A tale of two GRB-SNe at a common redshift of z=0.54 A tale of two GRB-SNe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gilbank D
(2011)
A spectroscopic measurement of galaxy formation time-scales with the Redshift One LDSS3 Emission line Survey ROLES z~ 1 SSFR-mass
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhang Y
(2011)
X-ray properties in massive galaxy clusters: XMM-Newton observations of the REFLEX-DXL sample ( Corrigendum )
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Shin I
(2011)
OGLE-2005-BLG-018: CHARACTERIZATION OF FULL PHYSICAL AND ORBITAL PARAMETERS OF A GRAVITATIONAL BINARY LENS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Jurdana-Šepic R
(2011)
Historical light curve and search for previous outbursts of Nova KT Eridani (2009)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hounsell R
(2011)
A very luminous, highly extinguished, very fast nova - V1721 Aquilae
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
{Zamanov}, R.~K. And {Tomov}, T. And {Bode}, M.~F. And {Miko{\l}ajewski}, M. And {Stoyanov}, K.~A. And {Stanishev}, V.
(2011)
Connection between the flickering and the mass outflow in the symbiotic binary star MWC 560
in Bulgarian Astronomical Journal
Wang J
(2011)
A DEEP CHANDRA ACIS STUDY OF NGC 4151. II. THE INNERMOST EMISSION LINE REGION AND STRONG EVIDENCE FOR RADIO JET-NLR CLOUD COLLISION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Driver S
(2011)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): survey diagnostics and core data release GAMA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Peng E
(2011)
THE HST /ACS COMA CLUSTER SURVEY. IV. INTERGALACTIC GLOBULAR CLUSTERS AND THE MASSIVE GLOBULAR CLUSTER SYSTEM AT THE CORE OF THE COMA GALAXY CLUSTER
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gilbank D
(2011)
Erratum: The local star formation rate density: assessing calibrations using [O ii], Ha and UV luminosities Erratum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Title | Robotic Control Software |
Description | software developed to run the liverpool telescope in an autonomous fashion was licensed under GPL and released to Las Cumbres Observatory in return for 1200 hours guarenteed time on their telesopes. |
IP Reference | |
Protection | Copyrighted (e.g. software) |
Year Protection Granted | 2007 |
Licensed | Yes |
Impact | The robotic software is of course key to the whole operation of the telescope- without it the majority of the scientific papers produced would not have been possible. |
Description | Input to Parliamentary Inquiry |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Provision of evidence and acting as expert witness for House of Commons S&T Committee Inquiry into astronomy and particle physics. Recommendations in final report supporting the Liverpool Telescope and National Schools' Observatory. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | National Schools Observatory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Enhanced interest and uptake of STEM subjects Increasing schools registration on NSO - more than 4000 currently |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
URL | http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/ |
Description | National Schools' Observatory in FE Colleges |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 500 FE College lecturers and their students engaged with astronomical research using the Liverpool Telescope and resources of the NSO website. Over all NSO activity (Primary, Secondary, FE) over the period: 30,000 observing requests were delivered and just under 3,000,000 educational webpages viewed. This is in addition to the engagement activity entered into eVal for the previous period. www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
Description | National Schools' Observatory in Primary Schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 1000 Primary school teachers and their pupils engaged with astronomical research using the Liverpool Telescope and resources of the NSO website. Over all NSO activity (Primary, Secondary, FE) over the period: 30,000 observing requests were delivered and just under 3,000,000 educational webpages viewed. This is in addition to the engagement activity entered into eVal for the previous period. www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
Description | National Schools' Observatory in Secondary Schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 2500 Secondary school teachers and their pupils engaged with astronomical research using the Liverpool Telescope and resources of the NSO website. Over all NSO activity (Primary, Secondary, FE) over the period: 30,000 observing requests were delivered and just under 3,000,000 educational webpages viewed. This is in addition to the engagement activity entered into eVal for the previous period www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
Description | Press coverage relating to the Liverpool Telescope |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | 12+ significant stories covered by the media through press releases related to the Liverpool Telescope. This is in addition to the outputs reported for the previous period through eVal. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
Description | School and Public Talks |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 50+ public talks and 200+ schools talks based around science from the Liverpool Telescope. This is in addition to data entered through eVal for the previous period. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
Description | TV and radio coverage |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Contributions to TV and radio broadcasts featuring LIverpool Telescope science. Total 20+ in this reporting period. This is in addition to the outputs reported for the previous period through eVal. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |