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
Frieman J
(2008)
THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY-II SUPERNOVA SURVEY: TECHNICAL SUMMARY
in The Astronomical Journal
Allanson S
(2009)
THE STAR FORMATION HISTORIES OF RED-SEQUENCE GALAXIES, MASS-TO-LIGHT RATIOS AND THE FUNDAMENTAL PLANE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Balogh M
(2010)
The stellar and hot gas content of low-mass galaxy clusters Stars and hot gas in low-mass galaxy clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Price J
(2011)
The stellar populations of bright coma cluster galaxies Stellar populations of bright Coma galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Natarajan P
(2009)
THE SURVIVAL OF DARK MATTER HALOS IN THE CLUSTER Cl 0024+16
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ebeling H
(2010)
The X-ray brightest clusters of galaxies from the Massive Cluster Survey The X-ray brightest MACS clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lehmer B. D.
(2007)
The X-ray evolution of early-type galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Alexander D
(2008)
The X-ray-infrared/submillimetre connection and the legacy era of cosmology
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Steffen A. T.
(2006)
The X-ray-to-optical properties of optically selected active galaxies over wide luminosity and redshift ranges
in ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL
Goulding A
(2010)
Towards a complete census of active galactic nuclei in nearby galaxies: the incidence of growing black holes The incidence of growing black holes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goulding A
(2009)
Towards a complete census of AGN in nearby Galaxies: a large population of optically unidentified AGN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McCarthy I
(2008)
Towards a holistic view of the heating and cooling of the intracluster medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lehmer B. D.
(2008)
Tracing the mass-dependent star formation history of late-type galaxies using X-ray emission: Results from the Chandra Deep Fields
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Ivison R
(2011)
Tracing the molecular gas in distant submillimetre galaxies via CO(1-0) imaging with the Expanded Very Large Array EVLA imaging of CO(1-0) in submm galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hopwood R
(2010)
ULTRA DEEP AKARI OBSERVATIONS OF ABELL 2218: RESOLVING THE 15 µm EXTRAGALACTIC BACKGROUND LIGHT
in The Astrophysical Journal
Thomson RR
(2009)
Ultrafast laser inscription: an enabling technology for astrophotonics.
in Optics express
Smith R
(2010)
Ultraviolet tails and trails in cluster galaxies: a sample of candidate gaseous stripping events in Coma Gaseous stripping candidates in Coma
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jenkins L. P.
(2007)
Uncovering the near-IR dwarf galaxy population of the coma cluster with
Spitzer IRAC
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Wilman D. J.
(2008)
Unveiling the important role of groups in the evolution of massive galaxies: Insights from an infrared passive sequence at intermediate redshift
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Aharonian F
(2007)
Upper limits from HESS active galactic nuclei observations in 2005-2007
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Aharonian F
(2009)
Very high energy ?-ray observations of the binary PSR B1259-63/SS2883 around the 2007 Periastron
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
LENAIN J
(2012)
VERY HIGH ENERGY ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI SYNCHROTRON SELF-COMPTON MODELING TOUR
in International Journal of Modern Physics D
Aharonian F
(2008)
Very high energy gamma-ray observations of the galaxy clusters Abell 496 and Abell 85 with HESS
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Alexander D
(2008)
WEIGHING THE BLACK HOLES IN z ˜ 2 SUBMILLIMETER-EMITTING GALAXIES HOSTING ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI
in The Astronomical Journal
Bauer F
(2010)
X-RAY CONSTRAINTS ON THE ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI PROPERTIES IN SPITZER -INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH IDENTIFIED z ~ 2 ULTRALUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lilly S. J.
(2007)
zCOSMOS:: A large VLT/VIMOS redshift survey covering 0<z<3 in the COSMOS field
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT SERIES
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 |