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
Piffl T
(2014)
The RAVE survey: the Galactic escape speed and the mass of the Milky Way
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Piffl T
(2015)
Bringing the Galaxy's dark halo to life
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Posti L
(2015)
Action-based distribution functions for spheroidal galaxy components
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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,
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
Sacco G
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: processing FLAMES-UVES spectra
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sanders J
(2014)
Actions, angles and frequencies for numerically integrated orbits
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sanders J
(2016)
A review of action estimation methods for galactic dynamics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sanders J
(2013)
Stream-orbit misalignment - II. A new algorithm to constrain the Galactic potential
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sanders J
(2014)
Stream-orbit misalignment & a new algorithm for constraining the Galactic potential with streams
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Sanders J
(2013)
Stream-orbit misalignment - I. The dangers of orbit-fitting
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sanders Jason L.
(2015)
TACT: The Action Computation Tool
in Astrophysics Source Code Library
Schönrich R
(2012)
A new formula for disc kinematics A new formula for disc kinematics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schönrich R
(2009)
Origin and structure of the Galactic disc(s)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schönrich R
(2012)
The detection and treatment of distance errors in kinematic analyses of stars The detection and treatment of distance errors
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schönrich R
(2010)
Local kinematics and the local standard of rest
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sharma S
(2011)
GALAXIA: A CODE TO GENERATE A SYNTHETIC SURVEY OF THE MILKY WAY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Sharma S
(2014)
KINEMATIC MODELING OF THE MILKY WAY USING THE RAVE AND GCS STELLAR SURVEYS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Siebert A
(2011)
THE RADIAL VELOCITY EXPERIMENT (RAVE): THIRD DATA RELEASE
in The Astronomical Journal
Siebert A
(2011)
Detection of a radial velocity gradient in the extended local disc with RAVE A velocity gradient in the Galactic disc
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Siebert A
(2012)
The properties of the local spiral arms from RAVE data: two-dimensional density wave approach The local spiral structure with RAVE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smiljanic R
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: The analysis of high-resolution UVES spectra of FGK-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sormani M
(2015)
Gas flow in barred potentials - II. Bar-driven spiral arms
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sormani M
(2015)
Gas flow in barred potentials - III. Effects of varying the quadrupole
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sormani M
(2015)
Gas flow in barred potentials
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| 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 |