Dynamical models of the milky way
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics
Abstract
A huge investment is currently being made in surveys of stars in our Galaxy. From the motions of these stars we can in principle determine the distribution in the Galaxy of the mysterious dark matter that comprises more than 80% of the matter in the Universe. From the motions of stars we also expect to be able to reconstruct the way the Galaxy was assembled from smaller units that merged together. To achieve these goals we need sophistcated dynamical models and software that enables us to assess how likely a model is given the measured data. This grant funds the construction of such models and software, and early applications to data from ground-based observatories. Eventually the models will be used to extract the science goals of the European Space Agency's 'Cornerstone Mission' Gaia, which will measure the positions and velocities of a billion stars.
People |
ORCID iD |
| James Binney (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Jackson R. J.
(2015)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Velocity precision in the Gaia-ESO Survey (Jackson+, 2015)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Posti L.
(2016)
Self-consistent dynamical models for early-type galaxies in the CALIFA Survey
in The Interplay between Local and Global Processes in Galaxies,
Pezzulli G.
(2016)
The angular momentum of hot coronae around spiral galaxies and its impact on the evolution of star forming discs
in The Interplay between Local and Global Processes in Galaxies,
Sharma S
(2014)
KINEMATIC MODELING OF THE MILKY WAY USING THE RAVE AND GCS STELLAR SURVEYS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Minchev I
(2014)
A NEW STELLAR CHEMO-KINEMATIC RELATION REVEALS THE MERGER HISTORY OF THE MILKY WAY DISK
in The Astrophysical Journal
Williams M
(2011)
THE DAWNING OF THE STREAM OF AQUARIUS IN RAVE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kos J
(2013)
DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR BAND AT 8620 Å IN RAVE: A NEW METHOD FOR DETECTING THE DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR BAND IN SPECTRA OF COOL STARS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Sharma S
(2011)
GALAXIA: A CODE TO GENERATE A SYNTHETIC SURVEY OF THE MILKY WAY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fouvry J
(2015)
SELF-GRAVITY, RESONANCES AND ORBITAL DIFFUSION IN STELLAR DISKS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ruchti G
(2010)
ORIGINS OF THE THICK DISK AS TRACED BY THE ALPHA ELEMENTS OF METAL-POOR GIANT STARS SELECTED FROM RAVE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fraternali F
(2013)
IONIZED ABSORBERS AS EVIDENCE FOR SUPERNOVA-DRIVEN COOLING OF THE LOWER GALACTIC CORONA
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fulbright J
(2010)
THE RAVE SURVEY: RICH IN VERY METAL-POOR STARS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Siebert A
(2011)
THE RADIAL VELOCITY EXPERIMENT (RAVE): THIRD DATA RELEASE
in The Astronomical Journal
Kordopatis G
(2013)
THE RADIAL VELOCITY EXPERIMENT (RAVE): FOURTH DATA RELEASE
in The Astronomical Journal
Matijevic G
(2010)
DOUBLE-LINED SPECTROSCOPIC BINARY STARS IN THE RAVE SURVEY
in The Astronomical Journal
Kos J
(2014)
Interstellar medium. Pseudo-three-dimensional maps of the diffuse interstellar band at 862 nm.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Famaey B
(2018)
Distribution functions for Galactic disc stellar populations in the presence of non-axisymmetric perturbations
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Monari G
(2018)
Distribution functions for resonantly trapped orbits in our Galaxy
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Cole D
(2018)
Self-consistent Modelling of the Milky Way using Gaia data
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Binney J
(2020)
Modelling our galaxy
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Sanders J
(2014)
Stream-orbit misalignment & a new algorithm for constraining the Galactic potential with streams
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Binney J
(2014)
Dynamical models and Galaxy surveys
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Binney J
(2013)
Dynamics for galactic archaeology
in New Astronomy Reviews
Featherstone K
(2015)
Greece: Greek politics stall research reforms.
in Nature
Eyre A
(2009)
Fitting orbits to tidal streams with proper motions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
| Description | STFC studentships |
| Amount | £35,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2009 |
| End | 09/2012 |
| Description | A new generation of Galaxy models |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute For Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Expertise in dynamical modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | Participation in several worthwhile papers |
| Impact | The paper Sharma et al in the publications list. Also a contribution to a paper Burnett et al that has been submitted & is under review |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | A new generation of Galaxy models |
| Organisation | University of Sydney |
| Department | School of Physics |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Expertise in dynamical modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | Participation in several worthwhile papers |
| Impact | The paper Sharma et al in the publications list. Also a contribution to a paper Burnett et al that has been submitted & is under review |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | Galactic fountains and gas accretion |
| Organisation | University of Bologna |
| Department | Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Expertise in dynamical modelling and in the theory of the intergalactic medium |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellowships to suport work in Oxford by colleagues from Bologna and through this participation in several publications (only 1 of these appeared after the grant start date and a further one has been submitted & is under review) |
| Impact | Several well-cited papers |
| Description | Modelling the chemodynamical evolution of the Milky Way |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute For Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Expertise in dynamical modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | Participation in significant papers |
| Impact | We have published three joint papers so far (two in the publication list, one appeared before the grant start date) and several in preparation. These are already widely cited papers |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | School visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I regularly give talks at schools. Sometimes it is to the Physics Society, sometimes it is a talk to 6th formers (although younger pupils often attend too). There are always lots of good questions. Nothing to report |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | Talks to local astronomy clubs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | These events usually attract ~30 people with a wide range of educational backgrounds. There are always plenty of questions, some quite shrewd. Nothing to report |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006,2007,2008,2009,2011 |