Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Sussex
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Sch of Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Abstract
This grant supports a rolling programme of research at the University of Sussex with 3 main themes: * Cosmology Observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) with the WMAP satellite have placed strong constraints on cosmological models, including those of inflation. Future experiments will probe gravitational wave production in the early universe. Sussex has been, and will continue to be, at the forefront of this field. Models of hybrid inflation end in phase transitions at which topological defects can form, including strings, textures and semi-local strings. We will make predictions for their effect on the CMBR. We have developed a rigorous framework for model comparisons. We will apply this to inflationary models, the reionisation history of the Universe, survey design, etc. One of the key questions in cosmology is the nature of the dark energy that dominates the energy density of the Universe. We will explore this question both theoretically and using data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) and ESO VST and VISTA surveys. * Clusters We will combine large observational and simulated cluster surveys to provide strong constraints on both cosmology and the physics of galaxy and cluster formation. Sussex is leading the XMM Cluster Survey (XCS) that has over 2000 cluster candidates and is expected to produce the largest ever homogeneous cluster sample, including many at high redshift. The evolution and large-scale distribution of clusters will provide strong constraints on cosmological models. The Millennium Gas simulations are the largest ever hydrodynamical simulations of clusters and provide an unrivalled catalogue of mock clusters for comparison with the observations. A variety of physical models for energy injection into the intracluster and intergalactic media can be tested, including supernovae/galaxy formation and active galactic nuclei. * Galaxies We are major contributors to a large number of deep surveys of forming galaxies. The most notable of these is the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES) that consists of 6 separate surveys of different depths and areas. Roughly half the light emitted by stars in the Universe has been absorbed by dust and re-radiated in the far infra-red. HerMES will provide a legacy study of the far infra-red galaxy populations and characterise the contribution of different redshifts, luminosities and environments to the star-formation history of the Universe. Complementary near-infrared data, essential for estimating reliable photometric redshifts, will be provided by UKIDSS DXS/UDS and VISTA VIDEO surveys. We are embarking on a new programme of 'hybrid modelling' that combines observations and theoretical models of galaxy formation using techniques borrowed from observational cosmology. We will use bayesian parameter estimation and models selection to constrain the models by direct comparison with observations, eliminating the need for intermediate phenomenological models such as luminosity functions.
Publications
Abazajian K
(2009)
THE SEVENTH DATA RELEASE OF THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Ahn K
(2012)
DETECTING THE RISE AND FALL OF THE FIRST STARS BY THEIR IMPACT ON COSMIC REIONIZATION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Amblard A
(2011)
Submillimetre galaxies reside in dark matter haloes with masses greater than 3 × 10(11) solar masses.
in Nature
Amblard A
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: Dust temperature and redshift distribution of SPIRE and PACS detected sources using submillimetre colours
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Amsler C
(2008)
Review of Particle Physics
in Physics Letters B
Asad K
(2016)
Polarization leakage in epoch of reionization windows - II. Primary beam model and direction-dependent calibration
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Asad K
(2015)
Polarization leakage in epoch of reionization windows - I. Low Frequency Array observations of the 3C196 field
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aubert D
(2018)
The Inhomogeneous Reionization Times of Present-day Galaxies
Description | Astronomy responsive grants |
Amount | £2,994,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2011 |
End | 03/2015 |
Description | EPSRC novel technologies |
Amount | £1,200,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/I036575/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2011 |
End | 08/2015 |
Description | COSMOS |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Sussex is a member of this multi-institution collaboration ( too many collaborators to list) runnign a large HPC facility |
Collaborator Contribution | Training of researchers in high-performance computation |
Impact | Publications as in individual applicant lists |
Description | GAMA: Galaxies and Mass Assembly |
Organisation | University of St Andrews |
Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Sussex is a member of this large collaboration (too many members to list) |
Impact | Publications as in individual applicant list |
Description | HerMES: Herschel Multi-Tiered Extragalactic Survey |
Organisation | California Institute of Technology |
Department | Infrared Processing and Analysis Center |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Sussex co-leads this project which has a very large number of international partners, far too many to list. |
Impact | Publications as in applicant list |
Description | VIRGO |
Organisation | Durham University |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Sussex is a member of this supercomputing consortium, which contains too many partners to list. |
Impact | Publications as in individual applicant lists |
Description | XCS: XMM cluster survey |
Organisation | Liverpool John Moores University |
Department | Astrophysics Research Institute |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Sussex lead this multi-institution collaboration (too many partners to list) creating a galaxy cluster catalogue using archival XMM satellite data |
Impact | Publications as detailed in appiicant lists |
Description | Sussex outreach programme |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | We have a wide ranging programme of outreach featuring hundreds of separate activities operated by a dedicated outreach officer. Many tens of these are directly relevant to this funded grant, far too many to attempt to list here. We have had several thousand schoolchildren covered by our outreach programmes, using a wide range of the methods listed in box 5.9, that however only lets me select one option. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011 |