Astrophysics at Jodrell Bank: the Radio Universe

The Universe is a state of continuous evolution. This started with the Big Bang, and the small irregularities which later grew into clusters, galaxies, and stars. Large black holes formed at the centre of the galaxies. Infall of gas into the central black holes leads to highly energetic jets. Stars interact with their surroundings through winds, and for massive stars, through explosions at the end of their lives. The ejecta enrich the galaxies with new elements, molecules and dust.

The Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics studies the various phases of evolution especially through radio emission. Radio emission traces ionized plasmas which are found in high energy environments, The irregularities of the Big Bang are studied through the cosmic microwave radio emission. Galaxies emit radio emission and these are used to trace their evolution, from formation to star bursts. The cores of massive stars, left after their supernova explosions, emit radio pulses. The radio emissions are detected using a variety of telescopes. The Planck Space Telescope observes the cosmic microwave background. The Lovell Telescope detects the emission from pulsars. The e-Merlin array resolves the emission from individual galaxies.

The research is supported by an active technology program. We develop cyogenically cooled amplifiers, and low noise detectors at high and low frequencies, both for space telescopes and ground-based.

Much of our research is based on wide area surveys. In addition to radio surveys, we also make use of high resolution optical surveys. Gravity is an important focus for our research. The bending of light and radio waves can be used to detect material otherwise invisible. We use this to detect planets in the outer regions of the stellar systems. Gravitational waves can be detected through the long-term monitoring of pulsars.

The research in this grant covers cosmology, from the origin of large-scale structure in the Universe to the formation of cluster of galaxies, Pulsars, both as objects in their own right and as tracers of gravity, Dust and molecules in the interstellar medium, and finally a vigorous program of development of radio technology.

The future of radio astronomy is the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), in which the UK has a leading role. The research of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics is directed towards the SKA. Over the next three years, we will continue our study of the radio Universe at all scales. The SKA will bring this to fruition, and provide a unique tracer of the continuing evolution of the Universe.

Outreach

The Manchester group is a world-leader in public engagement. Outreach is
recognised as a core activity, to which considerable resources are devoted and
postgraduate students and early-career researchers encouraged to take part.
This builds on the public recognition of Jodrell Bank as a centre for UK
astronomy in general. The incredibly successful BBC2 ``Stargazing Live''
broadcast from the Control Building at Jodrell Bank, attracted around 10
million viewers over three nights. It showcased a wide range of UK astronomy
and space activity. This programme will have a lasting legacy in bringing young
people into scientific and technological careers.

During the International Year of Astronomy in 2009 JBCA staff ran a project in
which schools across the UK mapped the radio sky using a remotely operated 7-m
telescope at JBO; this culminated in a special webcast event in the Royal
Institution. In 2010, we organised a two-day outreach event in Cumbria to run
alongside an international research conference. Around 1500 Cumbrian pupils,
aged 6-17, from schools across the north of Cumbria travelled to Keswick
School where they took part in a series of talks, hands-on workshops and
planetarium shows. Our Jodcast (see http://www.jodcast.net/) is a
twice-monthly podcast covering all areas of astronomy and space science. It
has over 3,000 regular listeners.

A significant part of the outreach programme centres around the work at the
JBO site and the iconic Lovell Telescope. A new Discovery Centre opened in
April 2011, and is expected to attract 125,000 visitors per annum, including
an estimated 10,000 school students. Some of the exhibits highlight our
STFC-funded research. The award of a £100k STFC grant for Public Engagement to
JBCA provided the business plan for the Discovery Centre, and lead to the
award of £2.9M of regional funding from the Northwest Development Agency and
the Northwest European Regional Development Fund, towards the construction.
The Discovery Centre will generate £26M of regional economic benefit over the
next decade. The UK-Manchester case to site the SPO at Jodrell Bank nvolved
the synergy between the outreach programme of the SKA and that of JBCA and the
Discovery Centre.


Knowledge Exchange

Since the radio band is much used for commercial, civil and military
applications we are well-placed to work with a variety of companies and to
exchange researchers. eMERLIN and SKA have brought the Manchester group into
close contact with industry. e-Merlin requires very high data rates; the
eMERLIN fibre links use in-house designed equipment using our own
protocols. JBCA has also developed innovative high speed applications using
light-paths across academic networks initially through STFC & EPSRC co-funded
research and in collaboration with other groups including BT. Later
developments were funded by the EC.

Manchester, working through the Electronics KTN, has build relationships with
companies which may bid for supply to the SKA construction. Approximately 20
companies contributed letters of support for the successful UK SKA Project
Office bid.

The SKA programme has already resulted in a new collaboration with Selex-Galileo
airborne radar systems group in Edinburgh (SG-E). They are interested to
evolve their radar technology into a PAFs suitable for future large radio
telescope projects such as SKA. Together we have selected the Lovell
Telescope as the first target for a collaborative study with mutual benefits.

Other examples of industrial interests are Agilent, Rayth, and QinetiQ. A
Royal Society Industry Fellow, Dr. Neil Salmon (QinetiQ), is working with us
to develop the next generation of passive mm-wave imagers with digital
beam-forming techniques for a range of non-astronomical applications from
security screening to earth observation from space.