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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Austermann J (2010) AzTEC half square degree survey of the SHADES fields â?? I. Maps, catalogues and source counts in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Balogh M (2010) The stellar and hot gas content of low-mass galaxy clusters Stars and hot gas in low-mass galaxy clusters in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Dariush A (2010) The mass assembly of galaxy groups and the evolution of the magnitude gap in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Edge A (2010) Herschel photometry of brightest cluster galaxies in cooling flow clusters in Astronomy and Astrophysics

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Ivison R (2010) BLAST: the far-infrared/radio correlation in distant galaxies Bolometric FIR/radio correlation in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Crighton N (2010) Galaxies at a redshift of ~0.5 around three closely spaced quasar sightlines in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Bower R (2010) The parameter space of galaxy formation The parameter space of galaxy formation in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Sobral D (2010) The clustering and evolution of Ha emitters at z ~ 1 from HiZELS in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Wardlow J (2010) An AzTEC 1.1-mm survey for ULIRGs in the field of the Galaxy Cluster MS 0451.6-0305 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Messias H (2010) A MULTI-WAVELENGTH APPROACH TO THE PROPERTIES OF EXTREMELY RED GALAXY POPULATIONS. I. CONTRIBUTION TO THE STAR FORMATION RATE DENSITY AND ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS CONTENT in The Astrophysical Journal

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Swinbank A (2010) A Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS and ACS morphological study of z ~ 2 submillimetre galaxies in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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De Almeida U (2010) Particle acceleration and magnetic field structure in PKS 2155-304: optical polarimetric observations Optical polarimetry of PKS 2155-304 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Aharonian F (2010) Discovery of VHE ? -rays from the BL Lacertae object PKS 0548-322 in Astronomy and Astrophysics

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Muxlow T (2010) Discovery of an unusual new radio source in the star-forming galaxy M82: faint supernova, supermassive black hole or an extragalactic microquasar? in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

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McCarthy I (2010) The case for AGN feedback in galaxy groups AGN feedback in galaxy groups in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Egami E (2010) The Herschel Lensing Survey (HLS): Overview in Astronomy and Astrophysics

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Rawle T (2010) Deep Herschel view of obscured star formation in the Bullet cluster in Astronomy and Astrophysics

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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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Lehnert MD (2010) Spectroscopic confirmation of a galaxy at redshift z = 8.6. in Nature

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Bauer F (2010) X-RAY CONSTRAINTS ON THE ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI PROPERTIES IN SPITZER -INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH IDENTIFIED z ~ 2 ULTRALUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Coppin K (2010) MID-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF CANDIDATE ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI-DOMINATED SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES in The Astrophysical Journal

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Kimura Masahiko (2010) Fibre Multi-Object Spectrograph (FMOS) for the Subaru Telescope in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN

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Ivison R (2010) Gas, dust and stars in the SCUBA galaxy, SMM J0136: the EVLA reveals a colossal galactic nursery in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Swinbank AM (2010) Intense star formation within resolved compact regions in a galaxy at z = 2.3. in Nature

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Sawangwit U (2010) Cross-correlating WMAP 5 with 1.5 million LRGs: a new test for the ISW effect in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

 
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