Astrophysics Research at Liverpool John Moores University
Lead Research Organisation:
Liverpool John Moores University
Department Name: Astrophysics Research Institute
Abstract
We propose to continue our wide-ranging programme of research tackling cutting-edge astrophysical problems. We address two main topics: Explosive Transients (Theme A) and: Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei (Theme B). These Themes cover several of the scientific priorities in STFC's strategic plan under their theme Universal Challenges. In Theme A we will study the physics of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) - the most powerful explosions in the Universe - and use them as environmental probes. Combining cutting-edge theoretical predictions with novel observational experiments on the world's largest robotic telescopes, we will probe regions of extreme physics to determine the fundamental role of magnetic fields. We will use GRBs to probe the environment of massive stars locally and in the early Universe. We will search for the first electromagnetic counterparts to neutrino bursts predicted to be produced by GRBs, detection of which will revolutionise understanding of relativistic explosions. In a second part of Theme A we will investigate the fundamental properties of both Galactic and extragalactic Recurrent Novae, building on our considerable expertise in this area, focussing on the possibility that these objects are the progenitors of the important Type Ia Supernovae, which have become known as one of the primary probes of the scale and nature of the Universe. Theme B explores how the galaxies around us are formed, and how they then evolve over cosmic time. We will investigate what the properties are of the stellar populations which form in galaxies, when in the history of the galaxies the stars were formed, and how this depends upon the surroundings of the galaxies (e.g. whether they are in clusters or not, whether or not they contain the accreting Supermassive Black Holes which power Active Galactic Nuclei). We will use information from the most powerful ground based telescopes, and from optical, infrared and X-ray telescopes in space, combined with theoretical modeling, in an approach known as 'Galactic Archaeology' to uncover information on how the galaxies were assembled. All of our research uses the most advanced ground-based telescopes (such as our own Liverpool Telescope), satellites and data analysis techniques to carry out observations from gamma rays to radio wavelengths and ARI staff are lead many of the new generation surveys with these telescopes. The projects we propose in both themes are technically demanding and require computer software support to aid the delivery of the science. The structure and organisation of the ARI is designed to deliver internationally excellent research. The ARI is also a major international player in developing and exploiting outreach activities to engage the wider population in our science through the National Schools Observatory and the local astronomy visitor centre, Spaceport.
Publications
Mottram J
(2011)
THE RMS SURVEY: THE LUMINOSITY FUNCTIONS AND TIMESCALES OF MASSIVE YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS AND COMPACT H II REGIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bradshaw E
(2011)
Environments of active galactic nuclei at z < 1.5 in the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey AGN environments at z < 1.5 in the UKIDSS UDS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Batista V
(2011)
MOA-2009-BLG-387Lb: a massive planet orbiting an M dwarf
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
{Zamanov}, R.~K. And {Tomov}, T. And {Bode}, M.~F. And {Miko{\l}ajewski}, M. And {Stoyanov}, K.~A. And {Stanishev}, V.
(2011)
Connection between the flickering and the mass outflow in the symbiotic binary star MWC 560
in Bulgarian Astronomical Journal
Osborne J
(2011)
Swift observations of the March 2011 outburst of the cataclysmic variable NSV 1436: a probable dwarf nova
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gilbank D
(2011)
Erratum: The local star formation rate density: assessing calibrations using [O ii], Ha and UV luminosities Erratum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Shafter A
(2011)
A SPITZER SURVEY OF NOVAE IN M31
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gunawardhana M
(2011)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): the star formation rate dependence of the stellar initial mass function IMF-SFR relationship
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Furusawa J
(2011)
THE MASS-DEPENDENT CLUSTERING HISTORY OF K -SELECTED GALAXIES AT z < 4 IN THE SXDS/UDS FIELD
in The Astrophysical Journal
Driver S
(2011)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): survey diagnostics and core data release GAMA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Taylor E
(2011)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): stellar mass estimates GAMA: stellar mass estimates
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schwarz G
(2011)
SWIFT X-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF CLASSICAL NOVAE. II. THE SUPER SOFT SOURCE SAMPLE
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Starling R
(2011)
Discovery of the nearby long, soft GRB 100316D with an associated supernova Discovery of GRB 100316D
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
García-Berro E
(2011)
The white-dwarf cooling sequence of NGC 6791: a unique tool for stellar evolution
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Darnley M
(2011)
On the progenitor system of Nova V2491 Cygni
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Osborne J
(2011)
THE SUPERSOFT X-RAY PHASE OF NOVA RS OPHIUCHI 2006
in The Astrophysical Journal
Zhang Y
(2011)
X-ray properties in massive galaxy clusters: XMM-Newton observations of the REFLEX-DXL sample ( Corrigendum )
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Urquhart J
(2011)
The Red MSX Source survey: ammonia and water maser analysis of massive star-forming regions? NH3 and H2O maser analysis of MSFRs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Perets H
(2011)
THE OLD ENVIRONMENT OF THE FAINT CALCIUM-RICH SUPERNOVA SN 2005cz
in The Astrophysical Journal
Li I
(2011)
Dependence of star formation activity on stellar mass and environment from the Redshift One LDSS-3 Emission line Survey SFR at z~ 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wang J
(2011)
A DEEP CHANDRA ACIS STUDY OF NGC 4151. III. THE LINE EMISSION AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF THE IONIZATION CONE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bolton J
(2011)
How neutral is the intergalactic medium surrounding the redshift z = 7.085 quasar ULAS J1120+0641? How neutral is the IGM around J1120+0641?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Ness J
(2011)
XMM-NEWTON X-RAY AND ULTRAVIOLET OBSERVATIONS OF THE FAST NOVA V2491 Cyg DURING THE SUPERSOFT SOURCE PHASE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Mortlock DJ
(2011)
A luminous quasar at a redshift of z = 7.085.
in Nature
Hounsell R
(2011)
A very luminous, highly extinguished, very fast nova - V1721 Aquilae
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Den Brok M
(2011)
The HST/ACS Coma Cluster Survey - VI. Colour gradients in giant and dwarf early-type galaxies Colour gradients in Coma galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Skowron J
(2011)
BINARY MICROLENSING EVENT OGLE-2009-BLG-020 GIVES VERIFIABLE MASS, DISTANCE, AND ORBIT PREDICTIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Jurdana-Šepic R
(2011)
Historical light curve and search for previous outbursts of Nova KT Eridani (2009)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rivera-Ingraham A
(2011)
STAR FORMATION AND YOUNG STELLAR CONTENT IN THE W3 GIANT MOLECULAR CLOUD
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ivory C
(2011)
Spectroscopic confirmation of Ha-selected satellite galaxies Spectroscopy of satellite galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Shafter A
(2011)
A SPECTROSCOPIC AND PHOTOMETRIC SURVEY OF NOVAE IN M31
in The Astrophysical Journal
Nugent PE
(2011)
Supernova SN 2011fe from an exploding carbon-oxygen white dwarf star.
in Nature
Schaefer B
(2011)
ECLIPSES DURING THE 2010 ERUPTION OF THE RECURRENT NOVA U SCORPII
in The Astrophysical Journal
Prescott M
(2011)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): the red fraction and radial distribution of satellite galaxies GAMA: satellite galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Guo Q
(2011)
Which haloes host Herschel-ATLAS galaxies in the local Universe? Clustering of Herschel-ATLAS galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Windhorst R
(2011)
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 EARLY RELEASE SCIENCE DATA: PANCHROMATIC FAINT OBJECT COUNTS FOR 0.2-2 µm WAVELENGTH
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Kawamura S
(2011)
The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna: DECIGO
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Cano Z
(2011)
A tale of two GRB-SNe at a common redshift of z=0.54 A tale of two GRB-SNe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Carter D
(2011)
The spatial distribution and origin of the FUV excess in early-type galaxies The FUV excess in early-type galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cassisi S
(2011)
A CLASSICAL CEPHEID IN A LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD ECLIPSING BINARY: EVIDENCE OF SHORTCOMINGS IN CURRENT STELLAR EVOLUTIONARY MODELS?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Sbordone L
(2011)
Photometric signatures of multiple stellar populations in Galactic globular clusters
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Brough S
(2011)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): galaxies at the faint end of the Ha luminosity function GAMA: low-Ha-luminosity galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Salaris M
(2011)
Distance indicators from colour-magnitude-diagrams: main sequence, red clump and tip of the RGB
in Astrophysics and Space Science
Krauss M
(2011)
EXPANDED VERY LARGE ARRAY NOVA PROJECT OBSERVATIONS OF THE CLASSICAL NOVA V1723 AQUILAE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dalessandro E
(2011)
The peculiar horizontal branch of NGC 2808 The peculiar horizontal branch of NGC 2808
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Robotham A
(2011)
Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): the GAMA galaxy group catalogue (G3Cv1) GAMA: the GAMA galaxy group catalogue (G3Cv1)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Miyake N
(2011)
A SUB-SATURN MASS PLANET, MOA-2009-BLG-319Lb
in The Astrophysical Journal
James P
(2011)
On the scarcity of Magellanic Cloud like satellites Magellanic satellite galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chuter R
(2011)
Galaxy environments in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Galaxy environments in the UKIDSS UDS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wijesinghe D
(2011)
GAMA/H-ATLAS: the ultraviolet spectral slope and obscuration in galaxies UV spectral slope and obscuration
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description | Discoveries into the evolution of galaxies and stars, their origin and astrophysical processes. |
Exploitation Route | Continue to research into unsolved problems in astrophysics. |
Sectors | Education |
Description | Many outreach activities across all sectors, e.g. Schools, public, policy makers, flower shows |
First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
Sector | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
Description | NSO Presentation in House of Commons |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | Consolidated Renewal |
Amount | £1,200,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/R000484/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2018 |
End | 03/2021 |
Description | EU Framework Programme |
Amount | £71,038 (GBP) |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 06/2012 |
End | 06/2015 |
Description | EU Framework Programme |
Amount | £29,175 (GBP) |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 06/2011 |
End | 06/2013 |
Description | STFC Large Awards |
Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2011 |
End | 06/2013 |
Description | STFC SiS Fellowships |
Amount | £74,252 (GBP) |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2011 |
End | 10/2013 |
Description | University Widening Access |
Amount | £1,283,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Liverpool John Moores University |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2011 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | ARI Engagement |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The ARI Outreach team delivers 50 events per year in addition to School based activities. These include, astronomy and science societies and associations, public open events, theatre, street theatre etc..art exhibitions, church societies, cubs, scouts, brownies etc.. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
Description | Input to Parliamentary Inquiry |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Provision of evidence and acting as expert witness for House of Commons S&T Committee Inquiry into astronomy and particle physics. Recommendations in final report supporting the Liverpool Telescope and National Schools' Observatory. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | NSO-Garden Chelsea |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | In 2015 the NSO exhibited a garden called Dark Matter; at the Chelsea Flower Show winning a Gold medal and Best in Class" (Fresh Gardens). The aggregate audience was estimated at 211 million. The garden has an extensive legacy value at the STFC Daresbury Laboratory and is highlighted on the front cover of the 2015 STFC Impact Report. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.stfc.ac.uk/files/impact-report-2015/ |
Description | National Schools Observatory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Enhanced interest and uptake of STEM subjects Each year the NSO delivers just over 40 different events or visits to or involving schools. This reaches a total of about 4,500 pupils per year in about 80 different schools. Increasing schools registration on NSO - more than 4000 currently |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
URL | http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/ |
Description | National Schools' Observatory in Primary Schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 1000 Primary school teachers and their pupils engaged with astronomical research using the Liverpool Telescope and resources of the NSO website. Over all NSO activity (Primary, Secondary, FE) over the period: 30,000 observing requests were delivered and just under 3,000,000 educational webpages viewed. This is in addition to the engagement activity entered into eVal for the previous period. www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
URL | http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |
Description | Press coverage relating to the Liverpool Telescope |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Paper Presentation |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | 12+ significant stories covered by the media through press releases related to the Liverpool Telescope. This is in addition to the outputs reported for the previous period through eVal. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
Description | School and Public Talks |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 50+ public talks and 200+ schools talks based around science from the Liverpool Telescope. This is in addition to data entered through eVal for the previous period. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
URL | http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/outreach |
Description | TV and radio coverage |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | Keynote/Invited Speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Contributions to TV and radio broadcasts featuring LIverpool Telescope science. Total 20+ in this reporting period. This is in addition to the outputs reported for the previous period through eVal. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013 |
URL | http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk |