Dynamical models of the milky way
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
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
Williams M
(2011)
THE DAWNING OF THE STREAM OF AQUARIUS IN RAVE
in The Astrophysical Journal
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
Binney J
(2015)
The distribution function of the Galaxy's dark halo
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jackson R
(2015)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: Empirical determination of the precision of stellar radial velocities and projected rotation velocities
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sacco G
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: processing FLAMES-UVES spectra
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smiljanic R
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: The analysis of high-resolution UVES spectra of FGK-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Bland-Hawthorn J
(2019)
The GALAH survey and Gaia DR2: dissecting the stellar disc's phase space by age, action, chemistry, and location
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Eyre A
(2011)
The mechanics of tidal streams The mechanics of tidal streams
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Marinacci F
(2010)
The mode of gas accretion on to star-forming galaxies
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
Kordopatis G
(2013)
THE RADIAL VELOCITY EXPERIMENT (RAVE): FOURTH DATA RELEASE
in The Astronomical Journal
Siebert A
(2011)
THE RADIAL VELOCITY EXPERIMENT (RAVE): THIRD DATA RELEASE
in The Astronomical Journal
Fulbright J
(2010)
THE RAVE SURVEY: RICH IN VERY METAL-POOR STARS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Piffl T
(2014)
The RAVE survey: the Galactic escape speed and the mass of the Milky Way
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kordopatis G
(2015)
The rich are different: evidence from the RAVE survey for stellar radial migration
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wojno J
(2017)
The selection function of the RAVE survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Binney J
(2020)
The shearing sheet and swing amplification revisited
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aumer M
(2017)
The structural evolution of galaxies with both thin and thick discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McMillan P
(2010)
The uncertainty in Galactic parameters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Williams M
(2013)
The wobbly Galaxy: kinematics north and south with RAVE red-clump giants
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Binney James
(2015)
TM: Torus Mapper
in Astrophysics Source Code Library
Binney J
(2015)
Torus mapper: a code for dynamical models of galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Binney J
(2020)
Trapped orbits and solar-neighbourhood kinematics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jackson R. J.
(2015)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Velocity precision in the Gaia-ESO Survey (Jackson+, 2015)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
| 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 |