Research in Theoretical Astronomy 2009-2014
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of Astronomy
Abstract
The Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, is one of the worlds leading research Institutes in Astronomy. It comprises 19 academic staff, 51 postdoctoral research assistants and 52 PhD students, about half of whom work on theoretical astronomy. This grant application is asking for a renewal of the main theoretical rolling grant at the IoA. Over the next five years we will pursue a broad range of theoretical research on the following problems: (i) The Planck satellite is a third generation space satellite dedicated to measuring the temperature and polarization anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. Planck is scheduled for launch at the end of 2008, some 15 years after it was first proposed to ESA. The years covered by the grant coincide with the peak period for the scientific exploitation of this satellite. PDRA support is requested to work with the Co-Investigators on core science projects. In particular, we are responsible for leading the key analysis of cosmological parameters from Planck and wish to investigate constraints on models of cosmic inflation. Cambridge has a leading role in the Clover polarization experiment and we wish to involve PDRAs in the scientific interpretation of that experiment. (ii) The cosmic microwave background radiation provides us with a picture of the Universe when it was 400,000 years old. At that time, the Universe was filled with a near uniform mixture of hydrogen , helium, dark matter and radiation. We will investigate how the first non-linear structures emerged from this stochastic background. Over the grant period the main emphasis of the research will be to perform hydrodynamic simulations including radiative transfer to model the thermal state of the intergalactic medium and spatially extended Lyalpha emission. We will also extend previous work on the matter power spectrum from the Ly alpha forest to constrain neutrino masses, in combination with data from Planck. (iii) The discovery of large numbers of extrasolar planets has led to enormous interest in theoretical work on the formation of planets. Over the grant period we will pursue a research programme building on expertise in protoplanetary and debris disk evolution. The work will be centred on linking the protoplanetary phase, when discs were gas rich and possible sites of ongoing gaseous planet formation, through to the debris disc phase, when discs were gas poor, dusty structures, with planetesimal bels as possible sites for terrestrial planet formation. (iv) Accretion discs are present in a wide variety of astronomical systems . In particular, accretion onto compact objects such as black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs produce observational signatures that provide the main scientific justification for X-ray satellites and gravitational wave detectors. Magnetic fields are central to understanding the evolution of accretion discs. We will perform state-of-the-art numerical simulations of magnetised accretion discs to understand their role in accretion disc dynamics and to compute observational signatures. (v) Understanding stellar evolution is essential for the interpretation of all astrophysical systems, from stars in our own Galaxy to the formation of the first non-linear structures in the Universe. Over the next five years we will develop improved models of massive stars as the progenitors of supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. We will also develop fully three-dimensional numerical models of stellar evolution in binary systems, in collaboration with colleagues at Livermore. (vi) Finally, we will pursue two research themes to understand feedback processes in the cores of clusters of galaxies. We will investigate the physics of `emission line filaments', which are still not understood and we will use large numerical simulations to assess the impact of baryonic physics on the use of clusters as cosmological probes (e.g. testing the nature of dark energy.
Organisations
Publications
Booth M
(2009)
The history of the Solar system's debris disc: observable properties of the Kuiper belt
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wyatt M
(2010)
Collisional evolution of eccentric planetesimal swarms Collisional evolution of eccentric debris
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ercolano B
(2011)
The clearing of discs around late-type T Tauri stars: constraints from the infrared two-colour plane Disc clearing in M stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Choudhury T
(2009)
Inside-out or outside-in: the topology of reionization in the photon-starved regime suggested by Lya forest data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tout C
(2011)
A common envelope binary star origin of long gamma-ray bursts LGRBs from common envelope evolution
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lodato G
(2011)
Resolution requirements for smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of self-gravitating accretion discs Resolving fragmentation in SPH simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Eldridge J
(2009)
Spectral population synthesis including massive binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moeckel N
(2009)
Does subcluster merging accelerate mass segregation in local clusters?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bonsor A
(2012)
The scattering of small bodies in planetary systems: constraints on the possible orbits of cometary material Scattering in planetary systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lau H
(2009)
The evolution of low-metallicity asymptotic giant branch stars and the formation of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stancliffe R
(2009)
Modelling the binary progenitor of Supernova 1993J
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Efstathiou G
(2009)
Impact of Galactic polarized emission on B -mode detection at low multipoles
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kennedy G
(2011)
Collisional evolution of irregular satellite swarms: detectable dust around Solar system and extrasolar planets Evolution of irregular satellite swarms
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Owen J
(2011)
The imprint of photoevaporation on edge-on discs Photoevaporation of discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Brown M
(2009)
Impact of modulation on CMB B -mode polarization experiments
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gaburov E
(2011)
Astrophysical weighted particle magnetohydrodynamics Astrophysical WPMHD
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes L
(2009)
A joint model for the emission and absorption properties of damped Lya absorption systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Potter A
(2010)
Magnetic field evolution of white dwarfs in strongly interacting binary star systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mustill A
(2011)
A general model of resonance capture in planetary systems: first- and second-order resonances Resonance capture
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moeckel N
(2010)
On the evolution of a star cluster and its multiple stellar systems following gas dispersal Star cluster evolution following gas dispersal
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bird S
(2012)
Massive neutrinos and the non-linear matter power spectrum The matter power with neutrinos
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hurley J
(2010)
Formation of binary millisecond pulsars by accretion-induced collapse of white dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kennedy G
(2011)
Searching for Saturn's dust swarm: limits on the size distribution of irregular satellites from km to micron sizes Seeking Saturn's swarm
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davis O
(2010)
Stellar collisions in accreting protoclusters: a Monte Carlo dynamical study Stellar collisions in accreting protoclusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fraser M
(2011)
SN 2009md: another faint supernova from a low-mass progenitor Supernova 2009md
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Veras D
(2011)
The great escape: how exoplanets and smaller bodies desert dying stars The great escape
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sijacki D
(2009)
Growing the first bright quasars in cosmological simulations of structure formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes L
(2011)
Galactic winds and extended Lya emission from the host galaxies of high column density quasi-stellar object absorption systems Galactic winds and extended Lya emission
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Martin R
(2010)
Supernova kicks and misaligned microquasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Becker G
(2011)
Detection of extended He ii reionization in the temperature evolution of the intergalactic medium? IGM temperatures over 2 < z < 5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hu H
(2011)
Slowing down atomic diffusion in subdwarf B stars: mass loss or turbulence? Slowing down atomic diffusion in sdB stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moeckel N
(2011)
Collisional formation of very massive stars in dense clusters Collisional formation of very massive stars in dense clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Payne M
(2009)
Outward migration of terrestrial embryos in binary systems Terrestrial embryo migration around binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Calverley A
(2011)
Measurements of the ultraviolet background at 4.6 < z < 6.4 using the quasar proximity effect? Proximity-effect measurements of the UVB at high redshift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kennedy G
(2010)
Are debris discs self-stirred?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bolton J
(2010)
A first direct measurement of the intergalactic medium temperature around a quasar at z= 6 The IGM temperature around a quasar at z=6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ercolano B
(2010)
Metallicity, planet formation and disc lifetimes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Church R
(2009)
Mass transfer in eccentric binaries: the new oil-on-water smoothed particle hydrodynamics technique
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cantalupo S
(2011)
radamesh: cosmological radiative transfer for Adaptive Mesh Refinement simulations radamesh
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cossins P
(2010)
The effects of opacity on gravitational stability in protoplanetary discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Greaves J
(2010)
Debris discs and comet populations around Sun-like stars: the Solar system in context
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moeckel N
(2012)
Hydrodynamic outcomes of planet scattering in transitional discs Hydrodynamics of planet scattering
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rice W
(2011)
Stability of self-gravitating discs under irradiation Irradiated self-gravitating discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Owen J
(2010)
Radiation-hydrodynamic models of X-ray and EUV photoevaporating protoplanetary discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Churcher L
(2011)
Multiwavelength modelling of the ß Leo debris disc: one, two or three planetesimal populations?? Modelling the ß Leo debris disc
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Owen J
(2011)
Protoplanetary disc evolution and dispersal: the implications of X-ray photoevaporation Disc evolution and dispersal
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maschberger T
(2010)
Properties of hierarchically forming star clusters Hierarchically forming star clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Greaves J
(2009)
Debris discs around nearby solar analogues
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Churcher L
(2011)
Resolved imaging of the HD 191089 debris disc Resolved imaging of the HD 191089 debris disc
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moeckel N
(2012)
Circumbinary disc survival during binary-single scattering: towards a dynamical model of the Orion BN/KL complex Circumbinary disc survival during scattering
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | Fundamental contributions to a wide range of problems in theoretical astronomy |
| Exploitation Route | Via publication in academic journals |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Other |