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
Acero F
(2009)
Detection of gamma rays from a starburst galaxy.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Reed D
(2009)
The clustering of the first galaxy haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Murray G
(2009)
Strategies for spectroscopy on Extremely Large Telescopes - II. Diverse-field spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Geach J
(2009)
CO interferometry of gas-rich spiral galaxies in the outskirts of an intermediate redshift cluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Sanderson A
(2009)
LoCuSS: the connection between brightest cluster galaxy activity, gas cooling and dynamical disturbance of X-ray cluster cores
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Croom S
(2009)
The 2dF???SDSS LRG and QSO survey: the QSO luminosity function at 0.4 < z < 2.6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Guzzo L
(2009)
The REFLEX galaxy cluster survey VIII. Spectroscopic observations and optical atlas,
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Murphy E
(2009)
BALANCING THE ENERGY BUDGET BETWEEN STAR FORMATION AND ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN HIGH-REDSHIFT INFRARED LUMINOUS GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Liu R
(2009)
ASYMMETRIC ERUPTIVE FILAMENTS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aharonian F
(2009)
Detection of very high energy radiation from HESS J1908+063 confirms the Milagro unidentified source MGRO J1908+06
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gelbord J
(2009)
AGN with strong forbidden high-ionization lines selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Liu R
(2009)
IMPLOSION IN A CORONAL ERUPTION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smith R
(2009)
Ages and metallicities for quiescent galaxies in the Shapley supercluster: driving parameters of the stellar populations Driving parameters of stellar populations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Matsuda Y
(2009)
Ly?? blobs like company: the discovery of a candidate 100???kpc Ly?? blob near to a radio galaxy with a giant Ly?? halo B3???J2330+3927 at z = 3.1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Gerssen J
(2009)
Highly ionized gas on galaxy scales: mapping the interacting Seyfert galaxy LEDA 135736
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Geach J
(2009)
THE NATURE OF DUSTY STARBURST GALAXIES IN A RICH CLUSTER AT z = 0.4: THE PROGENITORS OF LENTICULARS?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Jin C
(2009)
The Seyfert AGN RX J0136.9-3510 and the spectral state of super Eddington accretion flows
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Coyner A
(2009)
IMPLICATIONS OF TEMPORAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOCALIZED ULTRAVIOLET AND HARD X-RAY EMISSION FOR LARGE SOLAR FLARES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smail I
(2009)
Astrophysics: Hidden Universe uncovered.
in Nature
Swinbank A
(2009)
A spatially resolved map of the kinematics, star formation and stellar mass assembly in a star-forming galaxy at z = 4.9
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Huang J
(2009)
INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH SPECTROSCOPY AND MULTI-WAVELENGTH STUDY OF LUMINOUS STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT z ? 1.9
in The Astrophysical Journal
Sobral D
(2009)
Bright Lya emitters at z ~ 9: constraints on the LF from Hi z ELS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Sobral D
(2009)
HiZELS: a high-redshift survey of Ha emitters - II. The nature of star-forming galaxies at z = 0.84
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilman R
(2009)
Integral field spectroscopy of ionized and molecular gas in cool cluster cores: evidence for cold feedback?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mitchell N
(2009)
On the origin of cores in simulated galaxy clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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 |