Unveiling the Hidden Universe - From the First Galaxies to Brown Dwarfs
Lead Research Organisation:
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
We propose a scientific programme that uses three revolutionary new instruments. The Planck Surveyor will map the cosmic microwave background radiation. The Herschel Space Observatory and the SCUBA-2 camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope will observe the universe in the submillimetre waveband, which is still largely unexplored and which probably holds the answers to the questions of the origins of the stars and galaxies. These questions, of course, are two of the biggest ones in astronomy, and the reason we don't yet have very good answers is interstellar dust, the tiny solid particles that fill interstellar space and which, like smoke, hide optical light. This dust is a particular problem in studying the formation of stars and galaxies, which happens in regions where there are especially large amounts of gas and dust - and so the youngest stars, for example, are completely hidden from the view of normal optical telescopes. Fortunately, the dust is warmed by the absorbed optical radiation and then emits submillimetre radiation, and so by observing the submillimetre radiation we can study the objects that are hidden by the dust. Our group will use Herschel and SCUBA-2 for a number of large projects to investigate the origin of stars and galaxies. For example, we are leading a project to use SCUBA-2 to observe the youngest stars in the Gould Belt, a ring of nearby molecular clouds, the birthplaces of stars, that circles the sky. We are also part of international teams that will use Herschel to study the same molecular clouds and also to map a large part of the Milky Way in this waveband. We will study the origin and evolution of galaxies using another observational trick: the fact that by looking out into space we are also, because of the finite speed of light, looking back in time. In four huge Herschel projects, three of which we are leading, we will study galaxies from ones in the nearby universe to ones ten billion light years away, which will allow us to study the evolution of galaxies over ten billion years of cosmic history, and especially their birth. Finally, in another Herschel project, we will study the origin of the dust itself, and determine whether dust is formed in the atmospheres of old stars or whether it is formed in supernovae, the colossal explosions that end the lives of massive stars. We will also carry out a set of parallel theoretical programmes to address these questions. For example, we will carry out computer simulations of the formation of both stars and of prestellar cores, which are the densest parts of molecular cloud and the places where the stars actually form. Any computer simulation is necessarily built on a number of assumptions about the way in which stars form, and by comparing the predictions of the simulations with the results of our SCUBA-2 and Herschel surveys, we will test whether these assumptions are correct. The Planck Surveyor will extend the time-machine trick to a time only 400,000 years after the big bang, which is when the cosmic background radiation was emitted. Because this radiation has been travelling in a straight line for almost 14 billion years, its variation over the sky reveals the tiny differences in density that existed in the universe at this time - differences that eventually after 14 billion years (and the effect of gravity acting during this period) turned into the lumpy universe we see around us today. We will use this window into the early universe in two ways. First, using some new statistical techniques we have developed, we will use the properties of the cosmic background radiation to determine the type of universe we live in. Second, by studying the scattering of this radiation by the gas in rich clusters of galaxies, we will study the evolution of clusters over the last 14 billion years.
Organisations
Publications
Oliver S
(2010)
HerMES: SPIRE galaxy number counts at 250, 350, and 500 µ m
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Elbaz D
(2010)
Herschel unveils a puzzling uniformity of distant dusty galaxies
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rigopoulou D
(2010)
HerMES: Herschel-SPIRE observations of Lyman break galaxies HerMES: SPIRE observations of LBGs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Clements D
(2010)
The submillimetre properties of ultraluminous infrared galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vaccari M
(2010)
The HerMES SPIRE submillimeter local luminosity function
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Baes M
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: The dust energy balance in the edge-on spiral galaxy UGC 4754
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Brisbin D
(2010)
The Deep SPIRE HerMES Survey: spectral energy distributions and their astrophysical indications at high redshift Deep HerMES Survey: SEDs at high redshift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sauvage M
(2010)
The central region of spiral galaxies as seen by Herschel M 81, M 99, and M 100
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Eales S.
(2010)
The Herschel ATLAS
in PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC
Gomez H
(2010)
Submillimetre variability of Eta Carinae: cool dust within the outer ejecta Submillimetre variability of Eta Carinae
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Austermann J
(2010)
AzTEC half square degree survey of the SHADES fields â?? I. Maps, catalogues and source counts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ibar E
(2010)
H-ATLAS: PACS imaging for the Science Demonstration Phase PACS data reduction
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hwang H
(2010)
Evolution of dust temperature of galaxies through cosmic time as seen by Herschel? Evolution of dust temperature of galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jarvis M
(2010)
Herschel-ATLAS: the far-infrared-radio correlation at z < 0.5? The far-infrared-radio correlation at z < 0.5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schulz B
(2010)
HerMES: The submillimeter spectral energy distributions of Herschel /SPIRE-detected galaxies
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
O'Halloran B
(2010)
Herschel photometric observations of the low metallicity dwarf galaxy NGC 1705
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Pohlen M
(2010)
Radial distribution of gas and dust in spiral galaxies The case of M 99 (NGC 4254) and M 100 (NGC 4321)
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Eales S
(2010)
First results from HerMES on the evolution of the submillimetre luminosity function
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Hardcastle M
(2010)
Herschel-ATLAS: far-infrared properties of radio-selected galaxies? Herschel-ATLAS: radio-selected galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dye S
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: Evolution of the 250 µm luminosity function out to z = 0.5
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rowan-Robinson M
(2010)
Cold dust and young starbursts: spectral energy distributions of Herschel SPIRE sources from the HerMES survey? Cold dust and young starbursts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maddox S
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: The angular correlation function of submillimetre galaxies at high and low redshift
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Nguyen H
(2010)
HerMES: The SPIRE confusion limit
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Bendo G
(2010)
The Herschel Space Observatory view of dust in M81
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Glenn J
(2010)
HerMES: deep galaxy number counts from a P(D) fluctuation analysis of SPIRE Science Demonstration Phase observations HerMES P(D) fluctuation analysis
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Roussel H
(2010)
SPIRE imaging of M 82: Cool dust in the wind and tidal streams
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Boselli A
(2010)
The Herschel Reference Survey
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Negrello M
(2010)
The detection of a population of submillimeter-bright, strongly lensed galaxies.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Eales S
(2010)
Mapping the interstellar medium in galaxies with Herschel /SPIRE
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Eales S
(2010)
The Herschel ATLAS
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Cava A
(2010)
HerMES: SPIRE detection of high-redshift massive compact galaxies in GOODS-N field SPIRE detection of high-z massive galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Galametz M
(2010)
Herschel photometric observations of the nearby low metallicity irregular galaxy NGC 6822
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Ivison R
(2010)
BLAST: the far-infrared/radio correlation in distant galaxies Bolometric FIR/radio correlation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cortese L
(2010)
Herschel -SPIRE observations of the disturbed galaxy NGC 4438
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Ivison R
(2010)
The far-infrared/radio correlation as probed by Herschel
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Gomez H
(2010)
The dust morphology of the elliptical Galaxy M 86 with SPIRE
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Cooray A
(2010)
HerMES: Halo occupation number and bias properties of dusty galaxies from angular clustering measurements
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Serjeant S
(2010)
Herschel ATLAS: The cosmic star formation history of quasar host galaxies
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Panuzzo P
(2010)
Probing the molecular interstellar medium of M82 with Herschel -SPIRE spectroscopy
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Buat V
(2010)
Measures of star formation rates from infrared (Herschel) and UV (GALEX) emissions of galaxies in the HerMES fields SFRs from Herschel and GALEX observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Chapman S
(2010)
Herschel-SPIRE, far-infrared properties of millimetre-bright and -faint radio galaxies Herschel galaxies at z > 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Clements D
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: Extragalactic number counts from 250 to 500 microns
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Thompson M
(2010)
A search for debris disks in the Herschel -ATLAS
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Boselli A.
(2010)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Herschel Reference Survey Sample (Boselli+, 2010)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
González-Nuevo J
(2010)
Herschel -ATLAS: Blazars in the science demonstration phase field
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Dye S
(2010)
Evolution of the star formation histories of BLAST galaxies SFH evolution of BLAST galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Ciesla L.
(2010)
SED fitting of nearby galaxies in the Herschel Reference Survey
in SF2A-2010: Proceedings of the Annual meeting of the French Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Magdis G
(2010)
Herschel reveals a Tdust-unbiased selection of z~ 2 ultraluminous infrared galaxies Herschel observations of z ~ 2 ULIRGs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Clements David
(2010)
The Herschel ATLAS: A Large Area Extragalactic Survey with Herschel
in 38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
Hatziminaoglou E
(2010)
HerMES: Far infrared properties of known AGN in the HerMES fields
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
| Description | Herschel website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We produced a website showing the results of the Herschel mission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |