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
Eswaraiah C
(2021)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Revealing the Diverse Magnetic Field Morphologies in Taurus Dense Cores with Sensitive Submillimeter Polarimetry
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Fanciullo L
(2022)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: multiwavelength polarimetry of bright regions in NGC 2071 in the far-infrared/submillimetre range, with POL-2 and HAWC+
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fleuren S
(2012)
Herschel -ATLAS: VISTA VIKING near-infrared counterparts in the Phase 1 GAMA 9-h data ? Herschel-ATLAS: VIKING counterparts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ford G
(2013)
HERSCHEL EXPLOITATION OF LOCAL GALAXY ANDROMEDA (HELGA). III. THE STAR FORMATION LAW IN M31
in The Astrophysical Journal
Foyle K
(2012)
The dust and gas properties of M83 The dust and gas properties of M83
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Frayer D
(2011)
GREEN BANK TELESCOPE ZPECTROMETER CO(1-0) OBSERVATIONS OF THE STRONGLY LENSED SUBMILLIMETER GALAXIES FROM THE HERSCHEL ATLAS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fritz J
(2012)
The Herschel Exploitation of Local Galaxy Andromeda (HELGA) I. Global far-infrared and sub-mm morphology
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Fu H
(2012)
A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF A STRONGLY LENSED PLANCK -ASSOCIATED SUBMILLIMETER GALAXY
in The Astrophysical Journal
Fuller C
(2016)
H-ATLAS: the far-infrared properties of galaxies in and around the Coma cluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Galametz M
(2010)
Herschel photometric observations of the nearby low metallicity irregular galaxy NGC 6822
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 |