Continued support for the RAVE survey
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics
Abstract
The dominant stellar component of our Galaxy is its disc - the Sun is a part of this disc, so in every direction the disc surrounds us. The RAVE survey is a major international effort to determine the structure and history of the disc by measuring the velocities and chemical compositions of a million stars spread over the southern hemisphere. From the velocities measured it will be possible to determine the mass density throughout a sphere centred on the Sun that is several thousand light years in radius. The difference between this mass density and the observed density of stars and gas we will determine the local distribution of the mysterious dark matter that makes up more than 80% of the mass of the Universe. Within the data taken we expect to be able to identify the relics of star clusters and dwarf galaxies that have been pulled apart by the Galaxy's gravitational field. A census of such objects will help us to understand the Galaxy's star-formation and accretion history. Additional insight into the Galaxy's star-formation history will be obtained from chemical composition measurements. The data will also reveal changes in the velocities of the stars caused by the Galaxy's spiral arms, and thus deepen our understanding of the important phenomenon of spiral structure.
People |
ORCID iD |
James Binney (Principal Investigator) |
Publications

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

Kunder A
(2017)
THE RADIAL VELOCITY EXPERIMENT (RAVE): FIFTH DATA RELEASE
in The Astronomical Journal

Kunder A.
(2017)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: RAVE 5th data release (Kunder+, 2017)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog

Lau J
(2019)
Relaxation of spherical stellar systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Matijevic G
(2010)
DOUBLE-LINED SPECTROSCOPIC BINARY STARS IN THE RAVE SURVEY
in The Astronomical Journal

McMillan P
(2018)
Improved distances and ages for stars common to TGAS and RAVE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

McMillan P
(2009)
The dangers of deprojection of proper motions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

Minchev I
(2014)
A NEW STELLAR CHEMO-KINEMATIC RELATION REVEALS THE MERGER HISTORY OF THE MILKY WAY DISK
in The Astrophysical Journal

Monari G
(2018)
Distribution functions for resonantly trapped orbits in our Galaxy
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union

Pascale R
(2018)
Action-based dynamical models of dwarf spheroidal galaxies: application to Fornax
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Piffl T
(2015)
Bringing the Galaxy's dark halo to life
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Piffl T
(2014)
The RAVE survey: the Galactic escape speed and the mass of the Milky Way
in Astronomy & Astrophysics

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

Schönrich R
(2010)
Local kinematics and the local standard of rest
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Sharma S
(2014)
KINEMATIC MODELING OF THE MILKY WAY USING THE RAVE AND GCS STELLAR SURVEYS
in The Astrophysical 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

Siebert A
(2011)
THE RADIAL VELOCITY EXPERIMENT (RAVE): THIRD DATA RELEASE
in The Astronomical Journal

Sormani M
(2018)
A theoretical explanation for the Central Molecular Zone asymmetry
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Sormani M
(2018)
Models of rotating coronae
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Williams M
(2011)
THE DAWNING OF THE STREAM OF AQUARIUS IN RAVE
in The Astrophysical Journal

Williams M
(2013)
The wobbly Galaxy: kinematics north and south with RAVE red-clump giants
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Wojno J
(2018)
Correlations between age, kinematics, and chemistry as seen by the RAVE survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Wojno J
(2016)
Chemical separation of disc components using RAVE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Wojno Jennifer
(2016)
The selection function of the RAVE survey
in ArXiv e-prints
Description | This survey has been a major source of information regarding the structure and history of our Galaxy. It has produced the tightest constraints on the local density of dark matter. On the way to doing this it has enabled us to understand in much greater detail the structure of the Galaxy's stellar discs. Exploitation of the data continues. |
Exploitation Route | Many |
Sectors | Education |
Description | The RAVE consortium |
Organisation | The RAVE consortium |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Expertise in modelling the Galaxy |
Collaborator Contribution | The consortium is an international collaboration involving ~40 institutes worldwide. As a result of this grant several consortium members from outside the UK have spent time in Oxford |
Impact | Many research papers |
Start Year | 2006 |
Description | Talks to schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Reported under another grant NA |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |