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
Sacco G
(2014)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: processing FLAMES-UVES spectra
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Jackson R
(2015)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: Empirical determination of the precision of stellar radial velocities and projected rotation velocities
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sormani M
(2015)
Gas flow in barred potentials - III. Effects of varying the quadrupole
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Binney J
(2015)
Torus mapper: a code for dynamical models of galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sormani M
(2015)
Gas flow in barred potentials
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kordopatis G
(2015)
The rich are different: evidence from the RAVE survey for stellar radial migration
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lanzafame A
(2015)
Gaia -ESO Survey: Analysis of pre-main sequence stellar spectra
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Jackson R. J.
(2015)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Velocity precision in the Gaia-ESO Survey (Jackson+, 2015)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Binney James
(2015)
TM: Torus Mapper
in Astrophysics Source Code Library
Anguiano B
(2015)
Identification of globular cluster stars in RAVE data - I. Application to stellar parameter calibration
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
Binney James
(2015)
Chemodynamical modelling of the Milky Way
in ArXiv e-prints
Binney J
(2015)
The distribution function of the Galaxy's dark halo
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nipoti C
(2015)
Early flattening of dark matter cusps in dwarf spheroidal galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fouvry J
(2015)
SELF-GRAVITY, RESONANCES AND ORBITAL DIFFUSION IN STELLAR DISKS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Piffl T
(2015)
Bringing the Galaxy's dark halo to life
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sormani M
(2015)
Gas flow in barred potentials - II. Bar-driven spiral arms
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sanders Jason L.
(2015)
TACT: The Action Computation Tool
in Astrophysics Source Code Library
Featherstone K
(2015)
Greece: Greek politics stall research reforms.
in Nature
Dora KA
(2016)
Isolated Human Pulmonary Artery Structure and Function Pre- and Post-Cardiopulmonary Bypass Surgery.
in Journal of the American Heart Association
Das P
(2016)
Characterizing stellar halo populations II: the age gradient in blue horizontal-branch stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kordopatis G.
(2016)
Chemodynamics of the Milky Way and disc formation history: insight from the RAVE and Gaia-ESO surveys
in ArXiv e-prints
Binney J
(2016)
Chemodynamical modelling of the Milky Way
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Aumer M
(2016)
The quiescent phase of galactic disc growth
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,
Sanders J
(2016)
A review of action estimation methods for galactic dynamics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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,
Das P
(2016)
Characterizing stellar halo populations - I. An extended distribution function for halo K giants
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Binney James
(2017)
Modelling the Milky Way's globular cluster system
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
Aumer M
(2017)
The structural evolution of galaxies with both thin and thick discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cole D
(2017)
A centrally heated dark halo for our Galaxy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Binney J
(2017)
Orbital tori for non-axisymmetric galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Monari G
(2017)
Distribution functions for resonantly trapped orbits in the Galactic disc
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pezzulli Gabriele
(2017)
The angular momentum of cosmological coronae and the inside-out growth of spiral galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Binney J
(2017)
Modelling the Milky Way's globular cluster system
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pezzulli G
(2017)
The angular momentum of cosmological coronae and the inside-out growth of spiral galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aumer M
(2017)
Migration and kinematics in growing disc galaxies with thin and thick discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cole D
(2018)
Self-consistent Modelling of the Milky Way using Gaia data
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
Binney J
(2018)
The origin of the Gaia phase-plane spiral
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Famaey B
(2018)
Distribution functions for Galactic disc stellar populations in the presence of non-axisymmetric perturbations
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Pascale R
(2019)
Action-based models for dwarf spheroidal galaxies and globular clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Lau J
(2019)
Relaxation of spherical stellar systems
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
Binney J
(2020)
The shearing sheet and swing amplification revisited
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Binney J
(2020)
Modelling our galaxy
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Binney J
(2020)
Angle-action variables for orbits trapped at a Lindblad resonance
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 |