High Energy Astrophysics at Southampton
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Sch of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
On the stellar scale we are interested in the significance of different environments on the evolution of high mass X-ray binary (HMXB) populations, in particular between the Milky Way and the SMC, where differing star formation rates and metallicities could be crucial. What are the relative importances of local and interstellar obscuration in what we see? Here the upcoming 2Msec INTEGRAL Key Programme observation of the SMC, almost unaffected by obscuration, will be of great value. Globular clusters are outstanding laboratories for studying stellar dynamics and stellar evolution, especially for understanding the most exotic stellar populations. We are drawing together observations of large samples of globular clusters to understand which cluster properties are most important for the production of these exotic stars, and comparing with low stellar density dwarf spheroidal galaxies to isolate the stellar evolution from stellar dynamics. The Netherlands-based low frequency radio array, LOFAR, is about to open a new window on the universe providing the first radio `all sky monitor'. We will study coherent radio bursts, perhaps associated with merging neutron stars, detectable at enormous distances (to z=7), providing a unique probe of the intergalactic medium and possibly even testing theories of gravity and cosmological distance scales via identification of LIGO inspiral events We will continue our research into the coupling between accretion and outflow (jets) in X-ray binaries, and how it relates to parallel processes in AGN (where scaling laws with black hole mass are established), accreting neutron stars and white dwarfs. We have amassed the first comprehensive database of black hole spectral states and will extend this analysis to include X-ray timing and radio results. Thus we will produce the most comprehensive analysis to date of the relation between black hole accretion flows and the formation and power of relativistic jets. The results can be applied to AGN feedback in galaxies and clusters. We will greatly improve our knowledge of the scaling relationship between characteristic X-ray timescale, mass and accretion rate in Seyfert galaxies and Galactic binaries, thus testing physical models for this important universal relationship. We will determine whether the relationship applies in jet dominated ``blazars'', implying a universal origin for variability. We are building a model, based on propagating fluctuations, to provide physical understanding of all spectral-timing relationships to derive physical parameters, eg disc emissivity profile. This model, with additional X-ray reprocessing, should also explain X-ray/optical correlations in AGN so we will test it against our X-ray/optical monitoring. To provide a census of the nearby universe on which models of the more distant universe can be built, we are heavily involved in eMERLIN legacy surveys of nearby galaxy samples It is now widely accepted that some process must reheat the gas in galaxy clusters or large amounts of cool gas, which are not seen, would be found in the cores of clusters of galaxies. But what is the heating mechanism? In our most theoretical project we will investigate, via MHD simulations, whether the dissipation of turbulent energy, driven by merger events, galaxy motions and AGN outflows, may be responsible. On the largest scales, both AGN and starforming galaxies (SFGs) contribute to the faint radio source population, but what is the mix? By combining radio morphology with a variety of spectral energy diagnostics we can distinguish AGN from SFGs. Hence, using radio luminosity as a starformation rate (SFR) indicator, we can determine the evolution of the cosmic SFR in an absorption-independent manner. We will push this technique to much higher redshifts, as major contributors to eMERLIN deep field legacy surveys, and also probe the relationship between SFGs and AGN.
Organisations
Publications
Thomson G
(2010)
A far-ultraviolet variability survey of the globular cluster M 80 A far-ultraviolet variability survey of M 80
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fiocchi M
(2010)
IGR J16328-4726: A NEW CANDIDATE SUPERGIANT FAST X-RAY TRANSIENT
in The Astrophysical Journal
Malizia A
(2010)
XMM-Newton observations of unidentified INTEGRAL/IBIS sources XMM observations of unidentified IBIS sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dieball A
(2010)
ERRATUM: "UNVEILING THE CORE OF THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER M 15 IN THE ULTRAVIOLET" (2007, ApJ, 670, 379)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Peacock M
(2010)
The M31 globular cluster system: ugriz and K -band photometry and structural parameters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Krongold Y
(2010)
SUZAKU MONITORING OF THE SEYFERT 1 GALAXY NGC 5548: WARM ABSORBER LOCATION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR COSMIC FEEDBACK
in The Astrophysical Journal
Clark D
(2010)
The orbital period in the supergiant fast X-ray transient IGR J16465-4507
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Sale S
(2010)
The structure of the outer Galactic disc as revealed by IPHAS early A stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vandenbroucke J
(2010)
DISCOVERY OF A GeV BLAZAR SHINING THROUGH THE GALACTIC PLANE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Noebauer U
(2010)
THE GEOMETRY AND IONIZATION STRUCTURE OF THE WIND IN THE ECLIPSING NOVA-LIKE VARIABLES RW TRI AND UX UMa
in The Astrophysical Journal
Townsend L
(2010)
The orbital solution and spectral classification of the high-mass X-ray binary IGR J01054-7253 in the Small Magellanic Cloud Orbital solution to the HMXB IGR J01054-7253
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Heinke C
(2010)
DISCOVERY OF A SECOND TRANSIENT LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARY IN THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER NGC 6440
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dunn R
(2010)
A global spectral study of black hole X-ray binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bird A
(2010)
THE FOURTH IBIS/ISGRI SOFT GAMMA-RAY SURVEY CATALOG
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Sell P
(2010)
PARSEC-SCALE BIPOLAR X-RAY SHOCKS PRODUCED BY POWERFUL JETS FROM THE NEUTRON STAR CIRCINUS X-1
in The Astrophysical Journal
Migliari S
(2010)
THE COMPLETE SPECTRUM OF THE NEUTRON STAR X-RAY BINARY 4U 0614+091
in The Astrophysical Journal
Russell D
(2010)
A long-term optical-X-ray correlation in 4U 1957+11
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coe M
(2010)
Exploring accretion theory with X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hardcastle M
(2010)
Searching for the inverse-Compton emission from bright cluster-centre radio galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dieball A
(2010)
A FAR-ULTRAVIOLET SURVEY OF M80: X-RAY SOURCE COUNTERPARTS, STRANGE BLUE STRAGGLERS, AND THE RECOVERY OF NOVA T SCO
in The Astrophysical Journal
Liu Y
(2010)
SUZAKU MONITORING OF THE IRON K EMISSION LINE IN THE TYPE 1 ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS NGC 5548
in The Astrophysical Journal
Abdo A
(2010)
FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE AND MULTI-WAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF THE FLARING ACTIVITY OF PKS 1510-089 BETWEEN 2008 SEPTEMBER AND 2009 JUNE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Scott T
(2010)
Probing evolutionary mechanisms in galaxy clusters: neutral atomic hydrogen in Abell 1367
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lal D
(2010)
A CHANDRA OBSERVATION OF 3C 288-REHEATING THE COOL CORE OF A 3 keV CLUSTER FROM A NUCLEAR OUTBURST at z = 0.246
in The Astrophysical Journal
Soleri P
(2010)
Investigating the disc-jet coupling in accreting compact objects using the black hole candidate Swift J1753.5-0127 Disc-jet coupling in black hole candidates
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Russell D
(2011)
A tool to separate optical/infrared disc and jet emission in X-ray transient outbursts: the colour-magnitude diagrams of XTE J1550-564 CMDs to separate OIR disc/jet emission
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vercellone S
(2011)
THE BRIGHTEST GAMMA-RAY FLARING BLAZAR IN THE SKY: AGILE AND MULTI-WAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF 3C 454.3 DURING 2010 NOVEMBER
in The Astrophysical Journal
Knigge C
(2011)
Two populations of X-ray pulsars produced by two types of supernova.
in Nature
Emmanoulopoulos D
(2011)
Negative X-ray reverberation time delays from MCG-6-30-15 and Mrk 766
Dunn R
(2011)
A global study of the behaviour of black hole X-ray binary discs X-ray binary discs: a gloabal study
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jonker P
(2011)
THE GALACTIC BULGE SURVEY: OUTLINE AND X-RAY OBSERVATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Croston J
(2011)
A LARGE-SCALE SHOCK SURROUNDING A POWERFUL RADIO GALAXY?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lira P
(2011)
Optical and near-IR long-term monitoring of NGC 3783 and MR 2251-178: evidence for variable near-IR emission from thin accretion discs Optical and near-IR monitoring
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ferrari C
(2011)
Discovery of the correspondence between intra-cluster radio emission and a high pressure region detected through the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Peacock M
(2011)
The ultraviolet colour of globular clusters in M31: a core density effect? The UV colour of globular clusters in M31
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Broderick J
(2011)
Is there really a dichotomy in active galactic nucleus jet power? Is there really a dichotomy in AGN jet power?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Panessa F
(2011)
Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies at hard X-rays? INTEGRAL narrow-line Seyfert 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Soleri P
(2011)
On the nature of the 'radio-quiet' black hole binaries Radio-quiet black hole binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rajoelimanana A
(2011)
Very long-term optical variability of high-mass X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud Very long optical variability in BeX sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Knigge C
(2011)
THE EVOLUTION OF CATACLYSMIC VARIABLES AS REVEALED BY THEIR DONOR STARS
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Hardcastle M
(2011)
Modelling TeV ?-ray emission from the kiloparsec-scale jets of Centaurus A and M87 TeV jets in Cen A & M87
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coriat M
(2011)
Radiatively efficient accreting black holes in the hard state: the case study of H1743-322 H1743-322: radio/X-ray correlation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Leigh N
(2011)
Dissecting the colour-magnitude diagram: a homogeneous catalogue of stellar populations in globular clusters Dissecting the colour-magnitude diagram
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Emmanoulopoulos D
(2011)
An XMM-Newton view of the `bare' nucleus of Fairall 9
Scaringi S
(2011)
Confirmation of 1RXS J165443.5-191620 as an intermediate polar and its orbital and spin periods
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Aharonian F
(2011)
Primary particle acceleration above 100 TeV in the shell-type supernova remnant RX J1713.7 - 3946 with deep H.E.S.S. observations ( Corrigendum )
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Owen R
(2011)
IKT 16: a composite supernova remnant in the Small Magellanic Cloud
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sturm R
(2011)
The XMM-Newton survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud: discovery of the 11.866 s Be/X-ray binary pulsar XMMU J004814.0-732204(SXP11.87)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wang Y
(2011)
The entrainment-limited evolution of FR II sources: maximum sizes and a possible connection to FR Is The entrainment-limited evolution of FR IIs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maiorano E
(2011)
Searching for active galactic nuclei among unidentified INTEGRAL sources Searching for AGNs among INTEGRAL sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | Many details regarding the accretion of material onto compact objects such as black holes, and the resulting emission, particularly with regard to the variability properties and to jets |
| Exploitation Route | We work on some of the major questions in high energy astrophysics and our work on timing properties and scaling relationships between different mass and accretion rates will certainly form the basis of future examinations of scaling relationships, ie are black holes the same, apart from scale? |
| Sectors | Creative Economy Education |
| Description | Other researchers have applied the techniques developed during the course of this grant to different types of astrophysical objects. We have also used them in the context of undergraduate projects on the time series analysis of stock market data, resulting the in the said undergraduates getting better paid jobs than their lecturers. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy |
| Impact Types | Cultural |