Extragalactic Astronomy at Durham 2008-2013
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Over recent years observational astronomers at Durham have been at the forefront of many major advances in the study of galaxies and cosmology. We have a publication and citation record which we believe speaks for itself (see proposal introduction). Durham astronomers currently lead major international projects that exploit many of the the world's foremost ground and space observatories. We will capitalize on our proven track record in AGN studies, precision spectrophotometric analysis of stellar populations in nearby galaxies, multiwavelength studies of galaxy populations at high redshift and panoramic QSO and galaxy surveys, to answer open questions which lie at the core of modern astrophysics. In this proposal we present the case for support of a coherent and comprehensive programme that builds on our strengths and seizes new opportunities. Our programme addresses key questions in the STFC Roadmap, such as ``What are the laws of physics in extreme conditions?'', ``How do galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve?'' and ``What is the Universe made of and how does it evolve?''. This proposal is constructed around the four core themes of our research: Theme A: AGN: outflows from black holes their growth and environment Theme B: Galaxy evolution and archaeology and closely related to this; Theme C: feedback and the formation of galaxies Theme D: Survey cosmology, using galaxies and clusters as probes of large scale structure and evolution There is a well established deep rooted synergy between our work and the research of the ICC group, and the instrumentation group (CfAI).
Publications
Aharonian F
(2008)
Limits on an energy dependence of the speed of light from a flare of the active galaxy PKS 2155-304.
in Physical review letters
Aharonian F
(2008)
Energy spectrum of cosmic-ray electrons at TeV energies.
in Physical review letters
Kimura M
(2010)
Fibre Multi-Object Spectrograph (FMOS) for the Subaru Telescope
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Andersen David R.
(2006)
Performance modeling of a wide-field ground-layer adaptive optics system
in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC
Rauscher Bernard J.
(2007)
Detectors for the
James Webb space telescope near-infrared spectrograph.: I.: Readout mode, noise model, and calibration considerations
in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC
Eales S.
(2010)
The Herschel ATLAS
in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC
Acero F
(2009)
Detection of gamma rays from a starburst galaxy.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Negrello M
(2010)
The detection of a population of submillimeter-bright, strongly lensed galaxies.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
VERITAS Collaboration
(2009)
Radio imaging of the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission region in the central engine of a radio galaxy.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Sandman A
(2009)
Comparison of STEREO/EUVI Loops with Potential Magnetic Field Models
in Solar Physics
Middelberg E
(2008)
DEEP AUSTRALIA TELESCOPE LARGE AREA SURVEY RADIO OBSERVATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN LARGE AREA ISO SURVEY S1/ SPITZER WIDE-AREA INFRARED EXTRAGALCTIC FIELD
in The Astronomical Journal
Alexander D
(2008)
WEIGHING THE BLACK HOLES IN z ˜ 2 SUBMILLIMETER-EMITTING GALAXIES HOSTING ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI
in The Astronomical Journal
Middelberg E
(2008)
ERRATUM: "DEEP AUSTRALIA TELESCOPE LARGE AREA SURVEY RADIO OBSERVATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN LARGE AREA ISO SURVEY S1/ SPITZER WIDE-AREA INFRARED EXTRAGALACTIC FIELD" (2008, AJ, 135, 1276)
in The Astronomical Journal
Frieman J
(2008)
THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY-II SUPERNOVA SURVEY: TECHNICAL SUMMARY
in The Astronomical Journal
Zheng C
(2008)
FIRST-YEAR SPECTROSCOPY FOR THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY-II SUPERNOVA SURVEY
in The Astronomical Journal
Engel H
(2010)
MOST SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES ARE MAJOR MERGERS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Coyner A
(2009)
IMPLICATIONS OF TEMPORAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOCALIZED ULTRAVIOLET AND HARD X-RAY EMISSION FOR LARGE SOLAR FLARES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Liu R
(2009)
HARD X-RAY EMISSION IN KINKING FILAMENTS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hopwood R
(2010)
ULTRA DEEP AKARI OBSERVATIONS OF ABELL 2218: RESOLVING THE 15 µm EXTRAGALACTIC BACKGROUND LIGHT
in The Astrophysical Journal
Peng E
(2011)
THE HST /ACS COMA CLUSTER SURVEY. IV. INTERGALACTIC GLOBULAR CLUSTERS AND THE MASSIVE GLOBULAR CLUSTER SYSTEM AT THE CORE OF THE COMA GALAXY CLUSTER
in The Astrophysical Journal
Natarajan P
(2009)
THE SURVIVAL OF DARK MATTER HALOS IN THE CLUSTER Cl 0024+16
in The Astrophysical Journal
O'Dea K
(2010)
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE FAR-ULTRAVIOLET OBSERVATIONS OF BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXIES: THE ROLE OF STAR FORMATION IN COOLING FLOWS AND BCG EVOLUTION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smith G
(2009)
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF A SPECTACULAR NEW STRONG-LENSING GALAXY CLUSTER: MACS J1149.5+2223 AT z = 0.544
in The Astrophysical Journal
Tian L
(2009)
ASYMMETRY OF HELICITY INJECTION FLUX IN EMERGING ACTIVE REGIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Description | The programme funded by this grant produce a number of observational insights into fundamental features of galaxies, black holes and large-scale structure. To give just one example, using the newly-completed Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) we undertook the first survey of extreme starburst galaxies in the distant Universe, demonstrating that these galaxies are very likely to be the progenitors of the most massive galaxies seen today in the local Universe, but seen in an early and very active phase of formation. |
Exploitation Route | Further academic research or through the development of new facilities (e.g. ELT and SKA) or observational programmes. |
Sectors | Education |
URL | http://www.astro.dur.ac.uk/Cosmology |
Description | 6dFGS survey |
Organisation | Australian Astronomical Observatory |
Country | Australia |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Data analysis and construction of the FP catalogue, i.e. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.443.1231C |
Collaborator Contribution | Many other science contributions, e.g. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.444.3926J http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.445.2677S http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016MNRAS.455..386S |
Impact | now focused on mostly exclusively on 6dF++, i.e. TAIPAN http://www.taipan-survey.org/ Map the southern cosmography with ~110 k redshifts. First detailed map of the southern hemisphere peculiar velocities. |
Description | 6dFGS survey |
Organisation | Australian National University (ANU) |
Country | Australia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Data analysis and construction of the FP catalogue, i.e. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.443.1231C |
Collaborator Contribution | Many other science contributions, e.g. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.444.3926J http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014MNRAS.445.2677S http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016MNRAS.455..386S |
Impact | now focused on mostly exclusively on 6dF++, i.e. TAIPAN http://www.taipan-survey.org/ Map the southern cosmography with ~110 k redshifts. First detailed map of the southern hemisphere peculiar velocities. |
Description | Wide field astronomical surveys |
Organisation | University of Hawaii |
Department | Institute for Astronomy |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Durham an offical partnet in the Pan-STARRS consortium, which operate a telescope in Hawaii. |
Collaborator Contribution | They provide the telscope and operations support. |
Impact | The principle output is research papers published in refereed journals. |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | Seminars and invited talks |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | All of the co-applicants on this grants have given numberous seminars and invited talks at universities and international meetings and conferences. These activities help to enhance the wider knowledge of our research, and foster new collaborations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012 |