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
Ebeling H
(2010)
The X-ray brightest clusters of galaxies from the Massive Cluster Survey The X-ray brightest MACS clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Danielson A
(2010)
The properties of the interstellar medium within a star-forming galaxy at z= 2.3 The ISM in a z= 2.3 star-forming galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hoyos C
(2011)
The HST/ACS Coma Cluster Survey - III. Structural parameters of galaxies using single Sérsic fits? Structural parameters of galaxies in Coma
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Raimundo S
(2010)
Radiation pressure, absorption and AGN feedback in the Chandra Deep Fields Absorption in the Chandra Deep Fields
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coppin K
(2008)
Testing the evolutionary link between submillimetre galaxies and quasars: CO observations of QSOs at z ~ 2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Mullaney J
(2008)
Optical emission-line properties of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies and comparison active galactic nuclei Emission line properties of NLS1 AGN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Swinbank A
(2008)
The properties of submm galaxies in hierarchical models
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pope E
(2010)
Mass transport by buoyant bubbles in galaxy clusters Mass transport by buoyant bubbles
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lira P
(2008)
An infrared study of the double nucleus in NGC 3256
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gilbank D
(2010)
The local star formation rate density: assessing calibrations using [O ii], H and UV luminosities Stripe 82 SFRDs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sanderson A
(2009)
LoCuSS: the connection between brightest cluster galaxy activity, gas cooling and dynamical disturbance of X-ray cluster cores
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Benson A
(2010)
Galaxy formation spanning cosmic history Galaxy formation spanning cosmic history
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Norris M
(2008)
Gemini/GMOS spectroscopy of the spheroid and globular cluster system of NGC 3923 The GC system and spheroid of NGC 3923
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bower R
(2010)
The parameter space of galaxy formation The parameter space of galaxy formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sobral D
(2011)
The dependence of star formation activity on environment and stellar mass at z~ 1 from the HiZELS-Ha survey? Star formation, environment & mass at z~1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Casey C
(2009)
Constraining star formation and AGN in z ~ 2 massive galaxies using high-resolution MERLIN radio observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jones D
(2009)
The 6dF Galaxy Survey: final redshift release (DR3) and southern large-scale structures
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mountrichas G
(2009)
QSO-LRG two-point cross-correlation function and redshift-space distortions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ebeling H
(2009)
A spectacular giant arc in the massive cluster lens MACS J1206.2-0847
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Price J
(2011)
The stellar populations of bright coma cluster galaxies Stellar populations of bright Coma galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fine S
(2008)
Constraining the quasar population with the broad-line width distribution
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hill M
(2011)
The contribution of AGN to the submillimetre population The AGN contribution to the sub-mm population
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Sobral D
(2010)
The clustering and evolution of Ha emitters at z ~ 1 from HiZELS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Casey C
(2009)
A search for neutral carbon towards two z = 4.05 submillimetre galaxies, GN???20 and GN???20.2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mahony E
(2010)
The RASSâ??6dFGS catalogue: a sample of X-ray selected AGN from the 6dF Galaxy Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goulding A
(2009)
Towards a complete census of AGN in nearby Galaxies: a large population of optically unidentified AGN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davies G
(2009)
A spectroscopic measure of the star formation rate density in dwarf galaxies at z ~ 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
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
Smith R
(2008)
A large population of recently quenched red-sequence dwarf galaxies in the outskirts of the Coma cluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Mullaney J
(2009)
The location and kinematics of the coronal-line emitting regions in active galactic nuclei
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Sawangwit U
(2010)
Beam profile sensitivity of the WMAP CMB power spectrum WMAP beam sensitivity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Richard J
(2010)
Abell 370 revisited: refurbished Hubble imaging of the first strong lensing cluster Strong-lensing analysis of Abell 370
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Matsuda Y
(2010)
A search for galaxies in and around an H i overdense region at
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Matsuda Y
(2009)
Ly?? blobs like company: the discovery of a candidate 100???kpc Ly?? blob near to a radio galaxy with a giant Ly?? halo B3???J2330+3927 at z = 3.1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Coppin K
(2010)
Detection of molecular gas in a distant submillimetre galaxy at z= 4.76 with Australia Telescope Compact Array CO(2-1) in an SMG at z = 4.76
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Gerssen J
(2009)
Highly ionized gas on galaxy scales: mapping the interacting Seyfert galaxy LEDA 135736
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Jin C
(2009)
The Seyfert AGN RX J0136.9-3510 and the spectral state of super Eddington accretion flows
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Geach J
(2009)
CO interferometry of gas-rich spiral galaxies in the outskirts of an intermediate redshift cluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Sobral D
(2009)
Bright Lya emitters at z ~ 9: constraints on the LF from Hi z ELS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Ibar E
(2010)
Deep multi-frequency radio imaging in the Lockman Hole â?? II. The spectral index of submillimetre galaxies The radio spectral index of sub-mm galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Landt H
(2011)
The near-infrared radius-luminosity relationship for active galactic nuclei Near-IR radius-luminosity relationship
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Swinbank AM
(2010)
Intense star formation within resolved compact regions in a galaxy at z = 2.3.
in Nature
Gierlinski M
(2008)
A periodicity of approximately 1 hour in X-ray emission from the active galaxy RE J1034+396.
in Nature
Lehnert MD
(2010)
Spectroscopic confirmation of a galaxy at redshift z = 8.6.
in Nature
Smail I
(2009)
Astrophysics: Hidden Universe uncovered.
in Nature
Stark DP
(2008)
The formation and assembly of a typical star-forming galaxy at redshift z approximately 3.
in Nature
Thomson Robert R.
(2009)
Ultrafast laser inscription: an enabling technology for astrophotonics
in OPTICS EXPRESS
Aharonian F
(2008)
Search for gamma rays from dark matter annihilations around intermediate mass black holes with the HESS experiment
in Physical Review D
| 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 |