Support of the astronomical research of the Cavendish Astrophysics Group

The Cavendish Astrophysics group's proposed research programme addresses many of the key science questions in contemporary astrophysics. Observational, instrumental, data analysis and theoretical work are all being pursued under the roof of the new Battcock Centre for Experimental Astrophysics, adjacent to the Institute of Astronomy and the Kavli Institute for Cosmology. Significant new areas of research have recently been brought in by the appointments of new senior staff, Profs. Roberto Maiolino, Didier Queloz and Chris Carilli, who are developing their research areas alongside and in collaboration with existing staff members. The growing area of exoplanet detection and characterisation is being pursued as part of the new Centre for Extra-Solar Planetary Science: this work includes the detection of new exo-planets using their radial velocity Doppler shift technique, measuring exoplanet atmosphere properties, and measuring the structure of protoplanetary discs to understand the formation and evolution mechanisms of exo-planet systems. This work will involve ALMA observations of the dust structures in protoplanetary discs around newly-formed stars. This work leads naturally into the problem of how stars themselves form in their protostellar discs: using their extensive expertise in submillimetre interferometry, the work will use ALMA to image the chemical and dynamical state of the gas deep in the potential wells of protostars where active accretion on to the star/disc system and jet generation is expected to occur. These high-resolution studies will be made possible for the first time by the commissioning on long baselines in ALMA during the course of this grant. In addition, the recent commissioning of e-MERLIN will allow the high-resolution measurement of the thermal radio emission from protostars, revealing the ionised accretion and outflow components close to the protostars. Together we expect these studies to help us understand the detailed physics of star formation and feedback on small physical scales. Beyond the Galaxy, the scientific focus is on the evolution of galaxies in the Universe through studies of their metallicity evolution; in particular we will prepare the ground for the use of guaranteed time on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which is due for launch in this grant period. We will also continue work on the physics of galaxy clusters and how they evolve, and start an active involvement in an experiment aimed to detect the epoch of reionisation, the epoch when the Universe rapidly transitioned from neutral to ionised form. In parallel with these astrophysical studies, researchers will be pursuing blue-sky technical studies aimed at delivering new detection capabilities at optical, infrared and radio wavelengths.

As well as our immediate scientific colleagues, our research will benefit a much wider community, spanning the commercial sector, policy makers in science and technology, and the wider public through our participation in specific educational outreach projects as well as more general engagement activities with the interested public.

Our experience in developing advanced experimental techniques to address the most pressing astrophysical problems has frequently led to much wider benefits than might have been anticipated. For example, our expertise in Bayesian data analysis which we have exploited in much of our cosmological work is now being utilised in the Oil and Gas exploration sector for geophysical inversion. Similarly, our proposed work on electromagnetic modeling of advanced radio astronomy receivers will likely benefit a much wider community of radio-frequency engineers than those focused on astronomy alone. The later stages of that work will be targeted towards utilising the newly developed modeling tool to explore the possible applications of Graphene and other new materials. While our focus will be on astronomy and space applications, the potential this work has to support new initiatives and possible commerical applications is likely to be large.

Our on-going work on low-noise detector characterization is a good example of a synergy between our astronomical research (as part of a wider UK collaboration) and the commerical interests of Selex, who fabricate the devices. Our aim is to guide their product development so that it both supports the UK's astrophysical goals, but also to provide a unique market advantage to Selex in the field of low-noise fast-readout infrared detectors. These have potential applications in many other arenas, for example in biological imaging studies, where the relative high transparency of tissue to infrared wavelenghts provides an important advantage.

Our proposed work on the Epoch of Reionization provides another example where our technical work will have wider societal contributions. The SKA-precursors we are participating in will clearly lead to major impacts on the local technical, economic and social climate, all benefiting the community in South Africa. Furthermore, there is likely to be significant technology transfer between SKA development activities and these nearer-term experiments, with implications for both significant UK and South African knowledge exchange.

In parallel with our technical activities, we will continue to support a wide range of outreach activities. Our staff and students regularly contribute to the very extensive programme of outreach activities organized at the Cavendish. In addition, our students and post-docs participate in regular tours of our observatory site. A key goal here is to inform the general public on both what we do, but also to explain the value of skilled research scientists in the non-academic environment as key players in the UKs knowledge base and innovation community.