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
Lehmer B
(2009)
THE CHANDRA DEEP PROTOCLUSTER SURVEY: EVIDENCE FOR AN ENHANCEMENT OF AGN ACTIVITY IN THE SSA22 PROTOCLUSTER AT z = 3.09
in The Astrophysical Journal
Smith R
(2009)
Abundance ratios in red-sequence galaxies over a wide mass range: the 'X-planes' for magnesium, calcium, carbon and nitrogen
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lehmer B
(2009)
The Chandra Deep Protocluster Survey: point-source catalogues for a 400-ks observation of the z = 3.09 protocluster in SSA22
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mountrichas G
(2009)
2PIGG group masses via 2dF galaxy z -space distortion
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Oemler A
(2009)
ERRATUM: "ABELL 851 AND THE ROLE OF STARBURSTS IN CLUSTER GALAXY EVOLUTION" (2009, ApJ, 693, 152)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Liu R
(2009)
ASYMMETRIC ERUPTIVE FILAMENTS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Casey C
(2009)
Confirming a population of hot-dust dominated, star-forming, ultraluminous galaxies at high redshift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chapman S
(2009)
DO SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES REALLY TRACE THE MOST MASSIVE DARK-MATTER HALOS? DISCOVERY OF A HIGH- z CLUSTER IN A HIGHLY ACTIVE PHASE OF EVOLUTION
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rasmussen J
(2009)
HOT GAS HALOS AROUND DISK GALAXIES: CONFRONTING COSMOLOGICAL SIMULATIONS WITH OBSERVATIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aharonian F
(2009)
DISCOVERY OF VERY HIGH ENERGY ?-RAY EMISSION FROM CENTAURUS A WITH H.E.S.S.
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aharonian F
(2009)
Constraints on the multi-TeV particle population in the Coma galaxy cluster with HESS observations
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
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
Aharonian F
(2009)
SIMULTANEOUS OBSERVATIONS OF PKS 2155-304 WITH HESS, FERMI , RXTE , AND ATOM: SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS AND VARIABILITY IN A LOW STATE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Siana B
(2009)
DETECTION OF FAR-INFRARED AND POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON EMISSION FROM THE COSMIC EYE: PROBING THE DUST AND STAR FORMATION OF LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES
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
Weiß A
(2009)
THE LARGE APEX BOLOMETER CAMERA SURVEY OF THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD SOUTH
in The Astrophysical Journal
Murray G
(2009)
Strategies for spectroscopy on Extremely Large Telescopes - II. Diverse-field spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aharonian F
(2009)
A SEARCH FOR A DARK MATTER ANNIHILATION SIGNAL TOWARD THE CANIS MAJOR OVERDENSITY WITH H.E.S.S.
in The Astrophysical Journal
Thomson RR
(2009)
Ultrafast laser inscription: an enabling technology for astrophotonics.
in Optics express
Matsuda Y
(2009)
Lya blobs like company: the discovery of a candidate 100 kpc Lya blob near to a radio galaxy with a giant Lya halo B3 J2330+3927 at z = 3.1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Aharonian F
(2009)
DISCOVERY OF GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM THE SHELL-TYPE SUPERNOVA REMNANT RCW 86 WITH HESS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Tanaka M
(2009)
Star formation activities of galaxies in the large-scale structures at z = 1.2
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Poppett C
(2009)
Strategies for spectroscopy on extremely large telescopes - III. Remapping switched fibre systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Murphy E
(2009)
BALANCING THE ENERGY BUDGET BETWEEN STAR FORMATION AND ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN HIGH-REDSHIFT INFRARED LUMINOUS GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Morris S
(2009)
String-like Lagrangians from a generalized geometry
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
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 |