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
Owen J
(2011)
The imprint of photoevaporation on edge-on discs Photoevaporation of discs
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
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
Nelemans G
(2010)
The chemical composition of donors in AM CVn stars and ultracompact X-ray binaries: observational tests of their formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Regan J
(2009)
Pathways to massive black holes and compact star clusters in pre-galactic dark matter haloes with virial temperatures ?10 000 K
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
Smartt S
(2009)
The death of massive stars - I. Observational constraints on the progenitors of Type II-P supernovae
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
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
Potter A
(2010)
Magnetic field evolution of white dwarfs in strongly interacting binary star systems
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
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
Eldridge J
(2009)
Spectral population synthesis including massive binaries
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
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
Walmswell J
(2012)
Circumstellar dust as a solution to the red supergiant supernova progenitor problem Circumstellar dust and the red supergiant problem
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bolton J
(2012)
Improved measurements of the intergalactic medium temperature around quasars: possible evidence for the initial stages of He ii reionization at z ? 6 IGM temperature measurements around z ? 6 quasars
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
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
Kennedy G
(2010)
Are debris discs self-stirred?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes L
(2010)
Faint extended Lya emission due to star formation at the centre of high column density QSO absorption systems
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
Kruijssen J
(2012)
The dynamical state of stellar structure in star-forming regions Dynamical state of star-forming regions
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
Martin R
(2009)
Supernova kicks and misaligned Be star binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kains N
(2011)
Steady-state evolution of debris discs around solar-type stars Evolution of discs around solar-type stars
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
Efstathiou G
(2009)
Impact of Galactic polarized emission on B -mode detection at low multipoles
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Eldridge J
(2011)
Runaway stars as progenitors of supernovae and gamma-ray bursts Runaway stars as progenitors of SNe and GRBs
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
Ball W
(2011)
The structure and evolution of quasi-stars The structure and evolution of quasi-stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bonsor A
(2011)
Dynamical effects of stellar mass-loss on a Kuiper-like belt Dynamical effects of stellar mass-loss
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kendall S
(2011)
Spiral structure in nearby galaxies - I. Sample, data analysis and overview of results Spiral structure in nearby galaxies - I
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Beckwith K
(2011)
Turbulence in global simulations of magnetized thin accretion discs Turbulence in magnetized thin discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mustill A
(2012)
Dependence of a planet's chaotic zone on particle eccentricity: the shape of debris disc inner edges Eccentric chaotic zone
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
Eldridge J
(2012)
The effect of stellar evolution uncertainties on the rest-frame ultraviolet stellar lines of C iv and He ii in high-redshift Lyman-break galaxies Uncertainties of the UV stellar lines in LBGs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Martin R
(2010)
Supernova kicks and misaligned microquasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wickramasinghe D
(2009)
Accretion induced collapse of white dwarfs in binary systems and their observational properties
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Viel M
(2010)
The effect of neutrinos on the matter distribution as probed by the intergalactic medium
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Lewis A
(2011)
The shape of the CMB lensing bispectrum
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Efstathiou G
(2009)
B-mode detection with an extended planck mission
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Hanson D
(2010)
Weak lensing of the CMB
in General Relativity and Gravitation
Pontzen A
(2011)
Linearization of homogeneous, nearly-isotropic cosmological models
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Wyatt M
(2011)
Debris disk size distributions: steady state collisional evolution with Poynting-Robertson drag and other loss processes
in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy
Clarke C
(2009)
The initial mass function in clusters: theoretical and observational perspectives
in Astrophysics and Space Science
Tauber J
(2010)
Planck pre-launch status: The Planck mission
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Lamarre J
(2010)
Planck pre-launch status: The HFI instrument, from specification to actual performance
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Smith R
(2010)
Warm dusty discs: exploring the A star 24 µ m debris population
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
| 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 |