Research in planetary formation, astrophysics, and cosmology at Bristol
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
This proposal is for a grant to cover cutting-edge research into planetary formation, astrophysics, cosmology, and data-handling at the University of Bristol in the schools of Earth Sciences and Physics.
The first element of the work involves understanding the early phases of planet formation. Information on these processes can be gleaned from both the chemistry of meteorites in our own solar system and astronomically from observations of so-called transitional disks - stars with infra-red spectra that indicate much orbiting dust at a range of temperatures, but with a dust-free region close to the star. Theories suggest that stars surrounded by such transitional disks are currently forming planets, but our understanding of this important phase in the formation of planetary systems is hampered by lack of knowledge of the types of dust that are present, lack of accurate calculations on how dust is converted into planets, and lack of detailed imaging that can test those models. We will start to solve these problems by seeing how different sorts of dust grains (formed from the explosions of diverse earlier stars) were sorted early in our solar system's history, over four thousand million years ago, and subsequently aggregated into the different types of meteorites that fall to Earth. We can then use this information to improve our computer models of how the dust converts into planets, and to make better predictions of what we should see when we use a new generation telescope (the Atacama Large Millimeter Array) which has special capabilities for observing these disks. If, when we do look, we see good agreement between the models and the data, this will give us confidence in our theories or otherwise will spur work into new theories of planet formation.
The second part of the work is again about the formation of objects, but on the much larger scale of whole galaxies, clumps of galaxies, and the Universe as a whole. We are UK leads for a large project to find distant and young clumps of galaxies (clusters) through the X-ray emission of the gas that lies around those galaxies. Over the next four years this survey with the orbiting XMM satellite will dicover hundreds of these high-redshift clusters, and by studing their X-ray emission and the shadows that they cast on the microwave background radiation we will be able to measure their masses and so to find out more about how gravity pulls structures in the Universe out of the original diffuse gas. The major indicator of clusters besides X-rays is their galaxy populations, and the range of types and masses of galaxies in clusters changes with time, possibly for a number of different physics reasons. We will improve our knowledge of the populations close to us (and so in the contemporary Universe) as a reference for comparisons with the populations in the new clusters. Theories tell us that the galaxies that we see cannot exist without some means of slowing the effects of gravity through some feedback process that stops gas collapsing into an over-massive object. It is conjectured that much of the feedback is due to phenomena occurring in a central supermassive black hole in galaxies, and we will study this process by looking at the X-ray signatures of strong gravity from these supermassive black holes (comparing them with the smaller holes known in our galaxy) and by looking at the processes by which energy emerges from the neighbourhoods of the black holes into their wider environments through jets and other outflows. We will also look back at the very most distant galaxies and clusters that we can study in detail, to see if we can understand the beginnings of the formation process.
The final element of the work involves developing a crucial set of computer codes that we, and many other researchers, use to examine astronomical data. Centred on TOPCAT, these codes are publically-available and popular, but must be improved to keep pace with changing data and computing needs.
The first element of the work involves understanding the early phases of planet formation. Information on these processes can be gleaned from both the chemistry of meteorites in our own solar system and astronomically from observations of so-called transitional disks - stars with infra-red spectra that indicate much orbiting dust at a range of temperatures, but with a dust-free region close to the star. Theories suggest that stars surrounded by such transitional disks are currently forming planets, but our understanding of this important phase in the formation of planetary systems is hampered by lack of knowledge of the types of dust that are present, lack of accurate calculations on how dust is converted into planets, and lack of detailed imaging that can test those models. We will start to solve these problems by seeing how different sorts of dust grains (formed from the explosions of diverse earlier stars) were sorted early in our solar system's history, over four thousand million years ago, and subsequently aggregated into the different types of meteorites that fall to Earth. We can then use this information to improve our computer models of how the dust converts into planets, and to make better predictions of what we should see when we use a new generation telescope (the Atacama Large Millimeter Array) which has special capabilities for observing these disks. If, when we do look, we see good agreement between the models and the data, this will give us confidence in our theories or otherwise will spur work into new theories of planet formation.
The second part of the work is again about the formation of objects, but on the much larger scale of whole galaxies, clumps of galaxies, and the Universe as a whole. We are UK leads for a large project to find distant and young clumps of galaxies (clusters) through the X-ray emission of the gas that lies around those galaxies. Over the next four years this survey with the orbiting XMM satellite will dicover hundreds of these high-redshift clusters, and by studing their X-ray emission and the shadows that they cast on the microwave background radiation we will be able to measure their masses and so to find out more about how gravity pulls structures in the Universe out of the original diffuse gas. The major indicator of clusters besides X-rays is their galaxy populations, and the range of types and masses of galaxies in clusters changes with time, possibly for a number of different physics reasons. We will improve our knowledge of the populations close to us (and so in the contemporary Universe) as a reference for comparisons with the populations in the new clusters. Theories tell us that the galaxies that we see cannot exist without some means of slowing the effects of gravity through some feedback process that stops gas collapsing into an over-massive object. It is conjectured that much of the feedback is due to phenomena occurring in a central supermassive black hole in galaxies, and we will study this process by looking at the X-ray signatures of strong gravity from these supermassive black holes (comparing them with the smaller holes known in our galaxy) and by looking at the processes by which energy emerges from the neighbourhoods of the black holes into their wider environments through jets and other outflows. We will also look back at the very most distant galaxies and clusters that we can study in detail, to see if we can understand the beginnings of the formation process.
The final element of the work involves developing a crucial set of computer codes that we, and many other researchers, use to examine astronomical data. Centred on TOPCAT, these codes are publically-available and popular, but must be improved to keep pace with changing data and computing needs.
Planned Impact
Direct benefits from the research will be our academic colleagues and interested members of the public, who will be exposed to the research results through our lectures and talks in schools, through the Bristol Cafe Scientifique, through the press release, podcast, and other WWW pages that we maintain, and through the exhibits given in the Bristol city centre shopping mall. We have also been involved in projects with @Bristol for talented school students and for teachers, and members of our team have formal links with schools in the Bristol area. Some members of the public will also encounter our radio or TV appearances. More indirectly, the public may be affected by advice that we give to our local MPs (Stephen Williams, Liam Fox) or city councillors (Mark Wright being the one with whom we are in close contact, since he did a PhD in Astrophysics Group a few years ago).
Commercial benefits have already been had from the isotope research (via projects with Shell) and the TOPCAT work (projects with Microsoft Research). Spin-offs from the instrumentation development in the isotope research have benefitted Thermo-Fisher Finnigan, and from the Fourier transform spectrometer work have benefitted BEAM and AlphaData (our partners in that development).
More generically, the image and time-series analysis techniques used in our work are sophisticated and can be applied to many problems. We will continue to work with the Atomic Force Microscopy group in real-time imaging of DNA and similar molecules as they react, and have discussed using exception-finding software in applications such as cancer screening. We have also worked with the local television and film post-processing sector to seek funding for computational methods of improving historical film stock (the BRICES proposal), and will continue to investigate these areas since post-processing is a considerable industry in the Bristol area.
Finally, the major economic output of this work will continue to be trained PhDs and PDRAs who (mostly) go into non-academic areas for their later careers. These have included local Government, the defense and security sector, plasma fusion research, meterorology, teaching, and finance.
Commercial benefits have already been had from the isotope research (via projects with Shell) and the TOPCAT work (projects with Microsoft Research). Spin-offs from the instrumentation development in the isotope research have benefitted Thermo-Fisher Finnigan, and from the Fourier transform spectrometer work have benefitted BEAM and AlphaData (our partners in that development).
More generically, the image and time-series analysis techniques used in our work are sophisticated and can be applied to many problems. We will continue to work with the Atomic Force Microscopy group in real-time imaging of DNA and similar molecules as they react, and have discussed using exception-finding software in applications such as cancer screening. We have also worked with the local television and film post-processing sector to seek funding for computational methods of improving historical film stock (the BRICES proposal), and will continue to investigate these areas since post-processing is a considerable industry in the Bristol area.
Finally, the major economic output of this work will continue to be trained PhDs and PDRAs who (mostly) go into non-academic areas for their later careers. These have included local Government, the defense and security sector, plasma fusion research, meterorology, teaching, and finance.
Organisations
- University of Bristol (Lead Research Organisation)
- California Institute of Technology (Collaboration)
- Swinburne University of Technology (Collaboration)
- University of Sydney (Collaboration)
- University of Portsmouth (Collaboration)
- Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE) (Collaboration)
- DURHAM UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON (Collaboration)
- Max Planck Society (Collaboration)
- The Open University (Collaboration)
- Cardiff University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM (Collaboration)
- LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Saclay Nuclear Research Centre (Collaboration)
- University of Barcelona (Collaboration)
- European Southern Observatory (ESO) (Collaboration)
- Leiden University (Collaboration)
- Universidade de São Paulo (Collaboration)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- University of Manchester (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER (Collaboration)
- University of Groningen (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE (Collaboration)
- University of St Andrews (Collaboration)
- National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (Collaboration)
- Australian National University (ANU) (Collaboration)
- Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun (Collaboration)
- Joint Astronomy Centre (Collaboration)
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) (Collaboration)
- Australian Astronomical Observatory (Collaboration)
- Academia Sinica (Collaboration)
- QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- University of Canterbury (Collaboration)
- McGill University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- University of Sussex (Collaboration)
- University of Waterloo (Collaboration)
- University of Central Lancashire (Collaboration)
- Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS) (Collaboration)
- Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) (Collaboration)
- University of Toronto (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Collaboration)
- Monash University (Collaboration)
Publications
Worrall Diana
(2014)
Jet-gas interactions at the crucial jet power for feedback
in 15 Years of Science with Chandra
Birkinshaw Mark
(2016)
Jets and the infra-red cores of low-redshift radio galaxies
in 41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly
Nowak Michael
(2014)
Hunting for the Variable Iron Line in NGC 4258
in AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #14
Wilkes Belinda J.
(2014)
High levels of absorption in orientation-unbiased, radio-selected 3CR Active Galaxies
in AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #14
Schwartz Daniel A.
(2012)
Constraining the Parameters of Kpc-scale, Relativistic, Inverse Compton X-ray Jets in AGN
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #219
Chiboucas Kristin
(2014)
Probing the Nature and Origin of Ultra-compact Dwarfs in Coma
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #223
Allen Alice
(2014)
You've Written a Cool Astronomy Code! Now What Do You Do with It?
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #223
Allen Alice
(2015)
Astrophysics Source Code Library -- Now even better!
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #225
Schwartz Daniel A.
(2015)
A Chandra survey of X-ray emission from radio jets: Correlations of the jet X-ray flux
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #225
Farmer John
(2015)
Probing Kinematic Substructures in the Virgo Overdensity using RR Lyrae from Recent Surveys
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #225
| Description | This grant supported work that detected a large and well-selected sample of clusters of galaxies in the X-ray. This sample can be used to study how the Universe developed, and the groundwork from this grant in this area has led to a significant group of papers that have recently been accepted. It also supported further development of the TOPCAT software products, which are used world-wide to access and analyse distributed datasets of astronomical data. The software forms a key component of several European space projects. Work was also done on the early development of galaxies in the Universe, and on how the black holes in the centres of massive galaxies reheat the gas around them. Much publicity was associated with the theoretical work on exoplanet formation, also. |
| Exploitation Route | They will form the basis of other research projects, including by this group. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Other |
| Description | The TOPCAT software has formed a key component of data archive access for ESA and other international projects. Other software, associated with Bristol's participation in the LSST project, is being adopted by industry to refine decision making. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Education,Transport |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Economic |
| Description | STFC Impact Accelerator Account |
| Amount | £20,302 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2014 |
| End | 06/2015 |
| Description | AMiBA collaboration |
| Organisation | Academia Sinica |
| Department | Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Diagnosis of issues in the design of AMiBA, suggestions for solutions, close collaboration on data analysis, co-authorship of papers (including much revision of English), design of some observing campaigns. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Access to AMiBA, access to Subaru, travel and subsistence expenses in Hilo and Taipei. |
| Impact | Multiple publications; large number of PhD students in Taipei trained on project. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Australian Astronomical Observatory |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Australian National University (ANU) |
| Department | Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Cardiff University |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS) |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) |
| Country | Chile |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Department | Institute for Computational Cosmology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | European Southern Observatory (ESO) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Astrophysics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Leiden University |
| Department | Leiden Observatory |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Liverpool John Moores University |
| Department | Astrophysics Research Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Monash University |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Swinburne University of Technology |
| Department | Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | Universidade de São Paulo |
| Department | Institute Of Astronomy |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Barcelona |
| Department | Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of British Columbia |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Canterbury |
| Department | Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Central Lancashire |
| Department | Jeremiah Horrocks Institute for Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | Institute for Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Portsmouth |
| Department | Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of St Andrews |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Sussex |
| Department | Astronomy Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Sydney |
| Department | Sydney Institute for Astronomy |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of Waterloo |
| Department | Department of Physics & Astronomy |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | GAMA |
| Organisation | University of the Western Cape |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Observations, optical image analysis, spectroscopic analysis, clustering properties |
| Collaborator Contribution | Observation, image and spectroscopic analysis, luminosity and correlation functions, |
| Impact | Many publications. |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | California Institute of Technology |
| Department | Caltech Astronomy |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Cardiff University |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Durham University |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Astrophysics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Joint Astronomy Centre |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE) |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Leiden University |
| Department | Leiden Observatory |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Max Planck Society |
| Department | Max Planck Institute for Astronomy |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | McGill University |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics |
| Country | Mexico |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Open University |
| Department | School of Physical Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | Queen's University Belfast |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Mullard Space Science Laboratory |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of British Columbia |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Institute of Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | Institute for Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Groningen |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Leicester |
| Department | Department of Physics & Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Department | Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Sussex |
| Department | Astronomy Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | H-ATLAS |
| Organisation | University of Toronto |
| Department | Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; follow-up observing and interpretation; paper editing. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Primary observing set-up; data analysis; science analysis; catalogue and image preparation; paper writing and editing. |
| Impact | Many papers; those in which we had a substantive role are given in the publications section. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | OCRA collaboration |
| Organisation | Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun |
| Department | Torun Observatory |
| Country | Poland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Analysis of data and diagnosis of issues with operation of telescope and receiver; assistance with proposals for funding in Poland, including for new 90-m telescope; interpretation of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect data; interpretation of X-ray data; paper authorships. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Scientific collaboration, construction of OCRA receivers |
| Impact | Multiple papers (see publication list). Experience in operating receivers of Planck style. Experience with snags arising from MMIC technology. |
| Description | OCRA collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Department | School of Physics and Astronomy Manchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Analysis of data and diagnosis of issues with operation of telescope and receiver; assistance with proposals for funding in Poland, including for new 90-m telescope; interpretation of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect data; interpretation of X-ray data; paper authorships. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Scientific collaboration, construction of OCRA receivers |
| Impact | Multiple papers (see publication list). Experience in operating receivers of Planck style. Experience with snags arising from MMIC technology. |
| Description | S2CLS |
| Organisation | McGill University |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Science analysis; proposal writing and editing; observing |
| Collaborator Contribution | Data analysis and catalogue creation; observing set-up and observing; science analysis; proposal writing |
| Impact | Main outputs in which we will be co-authors not yet generated. |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | XMM-LSS collaboration |
| Organisation | Saclay Nuclear Research Centre |
| Department | Service d'Astrophysique |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co-authored multiple papers and proposals; performed first SZ observations of sample clusters. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Access to XMM-LSS datasets, pipeline analysis of datasets that allowed sekection of high-redshift clusters for follow-up research. |
| Impact | Multiple publications on cosmology and astrophysics; development of concept for future surveys. |
| Title | JSAMP |
| Description | Message-passing software used for interaction between distinct desktop software components used by astronomers (e.g., to relate catalogue data to images). Methodology of general application, and used in commercial products. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Used worldwide, including in Microsoft World-Wide Telescope. v1.1 release in 2010. v1,2, v1.3, v1.3-1, v1.3-2 releases in 2011 v1.3-3 release in 2012 v1.3-4 release in 2013 |
| URL | http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/jsamp/ |
| Title | STIL |
| Description | Library underlying TOPCAT and STILTS, used for complex pipeline catalogue manipulations. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Worldwide use. 2010 release v3.0 2011 release v3.0-1, v3.0-2, v3.0-3 2012 release v3.0-4 2013 release v3.0-5 2014 release v3.0-6, v3.0-7 |
| URL | http://www.starlink.ac.uk/stil/ |
| Title | STILTS |
| Description | Set of command-line tools that can be used for powerful astronomical catalogue interrogation, manipulation, and plotting. 2010 releases v2.1-2, v2.2, v2.2-1 2011 releases v2.3, v2.3-1, v2.4 2013 releases v2.5, v2.5-1, v2.5-2 2014 releases v2.5-3, v3.0 |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Heavily used in catalogue manipulation, world-wide. |
| URL | http://www.starlink.ac.uk/stilts/ |
| Title | TOPCAT |
| Description | Astronomical data-handling software |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Used internationally for interaction with large distributed databases. 2010 releases v3.5-2, v3.6, v3.7 2011 releases v3.8, v3.9 2013 releases v4.0b, v4.0-1 2014 releases v4.1, v4.2 |
| URL | http://www.starlink.ac.uk/topcat/ |
| Description | Public lectures and science cafes |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Multiple public talks to astronomy societies and other organisations, also Science Cafes and other groups (e.g., Anglo-Polish society). Activities tended to go on to time limit because of question-and-answer sessions, and have generated eMail questions after the fact from attendees. Continued requests for talks and other contacts based on experiences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | Radio interview (BBC Radio Bristol; BBC Radio 4; BBC Radio Scotland) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Contacts from regional amateur astronomers, and astronomical societies. Talks to local societies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | School student placements |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 1/2 students per year visited the Group and worked with staff Students became more focussed in aims for science sstudies at University level. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | TV interview (BBC News channel) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Live interview discussing the meaning of dark energy for a global TV audience. Multiple eMail contacts from members of the public in the UK and USA. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |