Cosmology and Astrophysics at Portsmouth

This consolidated grant is to support cosmology and astrophysics research in the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) at the University of Portsmouth. The ICG was formed in 2002 through a strategic investment from the university, and now hosts 50 researchers making it one of the largest extragalactic astronomy groups in the UK.

Cosmology and astrophysics are experiencing a golden age of discovery driven by new experiments and theoretical advances. However, we still face three fundamental challenges before a more complete model of the Universe can be achieved: i) What are the properties of the "dark matter" and "dark energy" that make up 96% of the Universe? ii) How do galaxies form and evolve? iii) What is the origin and distribution of structures in the Universe?

This grant will address these fundamental problems through pioneering theoretical work and the use of new surveys of the sky to map billions of distant galaxies. Galaxies are the "building blocks" of the Universe and as well as studying how they form, we will use the galaxies to improve our understanding of cosmology (the properties of the Universe as a whole). We will exploit current and forthcoming galaxy surveys including the Dark Energy Survey, BOSS and LOFAR to measure numerous probes of cosmology such as the clustering of galaxies, supernovae and weak gravitational lensing (distortions of the galaxies' shape due to gravity). Precise cosmological models will be constructed and analysed, and simulated with Portsmouth's SCIAMA supercomputer. These models will be compared to data to reveal the cosmological properties of the Universe.

These surveys will also be used to study how galaxies form, by measuring their colours and taking detailed spectra of the galaxies. We will also study the evolution of galaxies by comparing the galaxies in the nearby Universe, showing their present state, with those of the distant Universe, which gives us a window into the past.

Bringing together all our work, we will model and measure the evolution of the Universe throughout its entire history. We will constrain whether the accelerated cosmic expansion is best accounted for by a cosmological constant, as first proposed by Einstein, or more exotic theories like quintessence, extra dimensions or changes to the laws of gravity. Additionally, our analyses will shed light on the properties of dark matter, which we can detect via gravity but which does not interact like normal matter. We will also obtain a fuller understanding of the characteristics of galaxies throughout cosmic time. This will tell us whether the usual assumptions about dark matter provide an adequate description of the formation and evolution of galaxies.

In addition to research, the ICG staff are committed to public outreach and have been engaged in a number of high-profile activities in the media and local community. For example, our staff have visited many local schools to discuss their careers, their research (e.g. Galaxy Zoo), and their enthusiasm for astrophysics and cosmology.

Over the last five years, the ICG has established a comprehensive public outreach programme, including:

1) Providing popular talks to numerous local astro societies, local schools, festivals, and public events. In Jan 2012, the ICG deliver a major BBC `Stargazing Live' event at Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower, with 450 ticketed visitors. We also include public talks in our professional meetings, e.g., in Nov 2011, Carlos Frenk gave a popular talk to 300 people. We will continue to deliver such popular talks at roughly one a month

2) Contributing work experience for school students (short work visits or longer Nuffield summer bursaries). In March 2012, we expect 120 local pupils to attend our annual "Cosmology Masterclass" to provide pupils with additional material for their physics GSCE modules. We will continue this engagement with schools, building upon our strong relationship with local teachers, SEPNet and the University school liaison officer

3) Continuing to engage local and national media. ICG has obtained excellent local exposure with frequent articles in the Portsmouth News, many radio interviews and features on local TV news. Nationally, our staff are featured in science magazines, newspapers, and BBC science shows. We will continue to liaise with the university media office and offer all staff and postdocs professional media training

4) Deployment of the latest technologies, e.g., ICG members are deeply involved in Galaxy Zoo (GZ), which has had phenomenal impact, including the education of GZ users via blogs and forums. Beyond GZ, Karen Masters maintains the LOFAR-UK public website, and several ICG postdocs are actively using social networking media to engage the public (podcasts, twittering, facebook). We will continue to engage with these new technologies and plan to make them central to our impact agenda

5) Engaging policy makers: Karen Masters participated in "Voice of the Future 2009" which visited and questioned the UK Science Select Committee, while Bob Nichol has lobbied STFC & DIUS as Chair of the Far Universe Advisory Panel (FUAP). This resulted in David Willetts visiting the Univ. of Portsmouth in July 2011 to discuss a range of issues including science funding, immigration and EU competition rules. We will continue this engagement with policy makers, including writing to local MPs.

Overall, ICG will seek to increase the capacity of outreach activity over the period of this grant through the continued encouragement and funding of scientists engaged in outreach activity. This will include offering training courses, travel and equipment expenses where appropriate. Beyond department support, all of our staff, students and postdocs are actively encouraged to apply for external outreach funding from STFC, Royal Society, Nuffield and IoP. Finally, the ICG is part of the South-East Physics Network (SEPNet), which is a regional network of physics departments with a full-time outreach coordinator and additional resources.

The ICG knowledge exchange (KE) plan is focused on inter-disciplinary science, including maintaining the SCIAMA supercomputer, of which 15% is being used by other disciplines (maths, engineering, applied physics and biology). This collaboration stimulates inter-disciplinary research and we provide specialized training to all users. We will continue to interact with industry, including local companies (IBM and EADS-Astrium) and we received $50k from Google for GZ resulting in a visit to the Google office in London. The goal of such interactions is to investigate the opportunities for CASE studentships, and such activity should increase with our strong involvement in the ESA Euclid mission, which includes EADS-Astrium. The ICG provides all members with access and training on KE, and everyone is encouraged to consider commercial applications of their research. This education is provided through the university's "Purple Door" initiative.