Extragalactic Astronomy at Durham 2008-2013

Lead Research Organisation: Durham University
Department Name: Physics

Abstract

Over recent years observational astronomers at Durham have been at the forefront of many major advances in the study of galaxies and cosmology. We have a publication and citation record which we believe speaks for itself (see proposal introduction). Durham astronomers currently lead major international projects that exploit many of the the world's foremost ground and space observatories. We will capitalize on our proven track record in AGN studies, precision spectrophotometric analysis of stellar populations in nearby galaxies, multiwavelength studies of galaxy populations at high redshift and panoramic QSO and galaxy surveys, to answer open questions which lie at the core of modern astrophysics. In this proposal we present the case for support of a coherent and comprehensive programme that builds on our strengths and seizes new opportunities. Our programme addresses key questions in the STFC Roadmap, such as ``What are the laws of physics in extreme conditions?'', ``How do galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve?'' and ``What is the Universe made of and how does it evolve?''. This proposal is constructed around the four core themes of our research: Theme A: AGN: outflows from black holes their growth and environment Theme B: Galaxy evolution and archaeology and closely related to this; Theme C: feedback and the formation of galaxies Theme D: Survey cosmology, using galaxies and clusters as probes of large scale structure and evolution There is a well established deep rooted synergy between our work and the research of the ICC group, and the instrumentation group (CfAI).

Publications

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Andersen David R. (2006) Performance modeling of a wide-field ground-layer adaptive optics system in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC

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Eales S. (2010) The Herschel ATLAS in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC

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Rauscher Bernard J. (2007) Detectors for the James Webb space telescope near-infrared spectrograph. I. Readout mode, noise model, and calibration considerations in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC

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VERITAS Collaboration (2009) Radio imaging of the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission region in the central engine of a radio galaxy. in Science (New York, N.Y.)

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Acero F (2009) Detection of gamma rays from a starburst galaxy. in Science (New York, N.Y.)

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Negrello M (2010) The detection of a population of submillimeter-bright, strongly lensed galaxies. in Science (New York, N.Y.)

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Sandman A (2009) Comparison of STEREO/EUVI Loops with Potential Magnetic Field Models in Solar Physics

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Frieman J (2008) THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY-II SUPERNOVA SURVEY: TECHNICAL SUMMARY in The Astronomical Journal

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Middelberg E (2008) DEEP AUSTRALIA TELESCOPE LARGE AREA SURVEY RADIO OBSERVATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN LARGE AREA ISO SURVEY S1/ SPITZER WIDE-AREA INFRARED EXTRAGALCTIC FIELD in The Astronomical Journal

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Zheng C (2008) FIRST-YEAR SPECTROSCOPY FOR THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY-II SUPERNOVA SURVEY in The Astronomical Journal

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Middelberg E (2008) ERRATUM: "DEEP AUSTRALIA TELESCOPE LARGE AREA SURVEY RADIO OBSERVATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN LARGE AREA ISO SURVEY S1/ SPITZER WIDE-AREA INFRARED EXTRAGALACTIC FIELD" (2008, AJ, 135, 1276) in The Astronomical Journal

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Alexander D (2008) WEIGHING THE BLACK HOLES IN z ˜ 2 SUBMILLIMETER-EMITTING GALAXIES HOSTING ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI in The Astronomical Journal

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Liu R (2009) IMPLOSION IN A CORONAL ERUPTION in The Astrophysical Journal

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Oemler A (2009) ABELL 851 AND THE ROLE OF STARBURSTS IN CLUSTER GALAXY EVOLUTION in The Astrophysical Journal

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Kilper G (2009) MASS COMPOSITION IN PRE-ERUPTION QUIET SUN FILAMENTS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Liu R (2009) ASYMMETRIC ERUPTIVE FILAMENTS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Gilbert H (2011) COMPARING SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF SOLAR PROMINENCE MASS DERIVED FROM CORONAL ABSORPTION in The Astrophysical Journal

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Coyner A (2009) IMPLICATIONS OF TEMPORAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOCALIZED ULTRAVIOLET AND HARD X-RAY EMISSION FOR LARGE SOLAR FLARES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Fan Y (2009) ON THE ORIGIN OF THE ASYMMETRIC HELICITY INJECTION IN EMERGING ACTIVE REGIONS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Hainline L (2009) A MID-INFRARED IMAGING SURVEY OF SUBMILLIMETER-SELECTED GALAXIES WITH THE SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE in The Astrophysical Journal

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Tian L (2009) ASYMMETRY OF HELICITY INJECTION FLUX IN EMERGING ACTIVE REGIONS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Liu R (2009) HARD X-RAY EMISSION IN KINKING FILAMENTS in The Astrophysical Journal

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Silverman J (2010) THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD-SOUTH SURVEY: OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY OF FAINT X-RAY SOURCES WITH THE VLT AND KECK in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

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Luo B (2010) IDENTIFICATIONS AND PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS OF THE 2 Ms CHANDRA DEEP FIELD-SOUTH SOURCES in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

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Hammer D (2010) THE HST /ACS COMA CLUSTER SURVEY. II. DATA DESCRIPTION AND SOURCE CATALOGS in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

 
Description The programme funded by this grant produce a number of observational insights into fundamental features of galaxies, black holes and large-scale structure. To give just one example, using the newly-completed Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) we undertook the first survey of extreme starburst galaxies in the distant Universe, demonstrating that these galaxies are very likely to be the progenitors of the most massive galaxies seen today in the local Universe, but seen in an early and very active phase of formation.
Exploitation Route Further academic research or through the development of new facilities (e.g. ELT and SKA) or observational programmes.
Sectors Education
URL http://www.astro.dur.ac.uk/Cosmology
 
Description 6dFGS survey 
Organisation Australian Astronomical Observatory
Country Australia 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Data analysis and construction of the FP catalogue, i.e. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.443.1231C
Collaborator Contribution Many other science contributions, e.g. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.444.3926J http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.445.2677S http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016MNRAS.455..386S
Impact now focused on mostly exclusively on 6dF++, i.e. TAIPAN http://www.taipan-survey.org/ Map the southern cosmography with ~110 k redshifts. First detailed map of the southern hemisphere peculiar velocities.
 
Description 6dFGS survey 
Organisation Australian National University (ANU)
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Data analysis and construction of the FP catalogue, i.e. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.443.1231C
Collaborator Contribution Many other science contributions, e.g. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.444.3926J http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.445.2677S http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016MNRAS.455..386S
Impact now focused on mostly exclusively on 6dF++, i.e. TAIPAN http://www.taipan-survey.org/ Map the southern cosmography with ~110 k redshifts. First detailed map of the southern hemisphere peculiar velocities.
 
Description Wide field astronomical surveys 
Organisation University of Hawaii
Department Institute for Astronomy
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Durham an offical partnet in the Pan-STARRS consortium, which operate a telescope in Hawaii.
Collaborator Contribution They provide the telscope and operations support.
Impact The principle output is research papers published in refereed journals.
Start Year 2007
 
Description Seminars and invited talks 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation Paper Presentation
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.)
Results and Impact All of the co-applicants on this grants have given numberous seminars and invited talks at universities and international meetings and conferences.

These activities help to enhance the wider knowledge of our research, and foster new collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012