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
Ribeiro V
(2011)
The morphology of the expanding ejecta of V2491 Cygni (2008 N.2) Ejecta morphology in nova V2491 Cyg
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McQuillin R
(2012)
Novae in the SuperWASP data base Novae in the SuperWASP data base
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Viana P
(2012)
The XMM Cluster Survey: predicted overlap with the Planck Cluster Catalogue XCS and the Planck Cluster Catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Taylor E
(2011)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): stellar mass estimates GAMA: stellar mass estimates
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chuter R
(2011)
Galaxy environments in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Galaxy environments in the UKIDSS UDS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Furnell K
(2018)
Exploring relations between BCG and cluster properties in the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources survey from 0.05 <z < 0.3
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Percival S
(2011)
Modelling realistic horizontal branch morphologies and their impact on spectroscopic ages of unresolved stellar systems Modelling realistic horizontal branches
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kelvin L
(2012)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Structural Investigation of Galaxies via Model Analysis GAMA: sigma
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Elia D
(2017)
The Hi-GAL compact source catalogue - I. The physical properties of the clumps in the inner Galaxy (-71$_{.}^{\circ}$0 < l < 67$_{.}^{\circ}$0)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mucciarelli A
(2012)
Giants reveal what dwarfs conceal: Li abundance in lower red giant branch stars as diagnostic of the primordial Li? Li abundance in lower RGB stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Small E
(2013)
Star formation histories of resolved galaxies - I. The method
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Bozza V
(2012)
OGLE-2008-BLG-510: first automated real-time detection of a weak microlensing anomaly - brown dwarf or stellar binary?? OGLE-2008-BLG-510 - weak microlensing anomaly
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Anderson J
(2009)
Comparisons of the radial distributions of core-collapse supernovae with those of young and old stellar populations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Guidorzi C
(2011)
A faint optical flash in dust-obscured GRB 080603A: implications for GRB prompt emission mechanisms Prompt and afterglow emission of GRB 080603A
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Capozzi D
(2010)
The ratio of luminous to faint red-sequence galaxies in X-ray and optically selected low-redshift clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Anderson J
(2008)
Constraints on core-collapse supernova progenitors from correlations with Ha emission ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Magliocchetti M
(2007)
On the evolution of clustering of 24-µm-selected galaxies The evolution of clustering of 24-µm-selected galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Polychroni D
(2012)
The gas properties of the W3 giant molecular cloud: a HARP study The gas properties of the W3 GMC
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smith R
(2010)
Ultraviolet tails and trails in cluster galaxies: a sample of candidate gaseous stripping events in Coma Gaseous stripping candidates in Coma
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Ilee J
(2013)
CO bandhead emission of massive young stellar objects: determining disc properties?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Walker D
(2018)
Star formation in a high-pressure environment: an SMA view of the Galactic Centre dust ridge
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Carter D
(2011)
The spatial distribution and origin of the FUV excess in early-type galaxies The FUV excess in early-type galaxies
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
Guo Q
(2011)
Which haloes host Herschel-ATLAS galaxies in the local Universe? Clustering of Herschel-ATLAS galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ching J
(2017)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): the environments of high- and low-excitation radio galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zamanov R
(2008)
Rotational velocities of the giants in symbiotic stars - III. Evidence of fast rotation in S-type symbiotics ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Maguire K
(2012)
Hubble Space Telescope studies of low-redshift Type Ia supernovae: evolution with redshift and ultraviolet spectral trends NUV observations of SNe Ia
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davies L
(2017)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly: the 1.4 GHz SFR indicator, SFR-M * relation and predictions for ASKAP-GAMA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ivory C
(2011)
Spectroscopic confirmation of Ha-selected satellite galaxies Spectroscopy of satellite galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Balaguera-Antolínez A
(2011)
The REFLEX II galaxy cluster survey: power spectrum analysis The REFLEX II power spectrum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nettke W
(2017)
The SCUBA-2 Ambitious Sky Survey: a catalogue of beam-sized sources in the Galactic longitude range 120°-140°
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barbarino C
(2017)
LSQ14efd: observations of the cooling of a shock break-out event in a type Ic Supernova
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kourkchi E
(2012)
Dwarf galaxies in the Coma cluster - II. Spectroscopic and photometric fundamental planes?† Coma dwarf galaxies - II. Fundamental Plane
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mehrtens N
(2012)
The XMM Cluster Survey: optical analysis methodology and the first data release The XMM Cluster Survey first data release
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Agius N
(2013)
GAMA/H-ATLAS: linking the properties of submm detected and undetected early-type galaxies - I. z = 0.06 sample
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Holoien T
(2017)
The ASAS-SN Bright Supernova Catalog - II. 2015
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Owers M
(2017)
The SAMI Galaxy Survey: the cluster redshift survey, target selection and cluster properties
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Finoguenov A
(2010)
X-ray groups and clusters of galaxies in the Subaru-XMM Deep Field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Robotham A
(2013)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): the life and times of L? galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Hartley W
(2008)
The clustering and abundance of star-forming and passive galaxies at z ~ 2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Scowcroft V
(2009)
The effect of metallicity on Cepheid magnitudes and the distance to M33
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smith D
(2009)
An 80-kpc Lya halo around a high-redshift type-2 quasi-stellar object
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Longmore S
(2017)
H2O Southern Galactic Plane Survey (HOPS): Paper III - properties of dense molecular gas across the inner Milky Way
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davies B
(2018)
The initial masses of the red supergiant progenitors to Type II supernovae
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Page K
(2010)
Swift observations of the X-ray and UV evolution of V2491 Cyg (Nova Cyg 2008 No. 2)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hardcastle M
(2013)
Herschel-ATLAS/GAMA: a difference between star formation rates in strong-line and weak-line radio galaxies?
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 |