Astronomy and Astrophysics at Edinburgh
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
An astonishing feature of modern astrophysical research is that we have in principle a chain of explanation that stretches from processes on cosmological scales of billions of light years, down to the creation of stars, planets around the stars and life on the planets. In a sense, this process is almost a closed loop: the early Universe was once of sub-nuclear scale, so that quantum mechanical uncertainty is bound to seed fluctuations in density, which eventually collapse under gravity to make astronomical structures. This is the same physics of the very small that governs the formation of the atoms out of which we are all made.
But unanswered questions abound at all stages of this process. Our theories of the early Universe and explanations of its current expansion rest on the concept that empty space can have weight: the so-called "dark energy". We need to study its properties and understand its origin. In so doing, we often assume that Einstein's relativity describes gravity correctly on all scales, but can we test this? If the standard theory is correct, dark matter is required, and we are driven to follow the processes by which it clumps, and by which the gas within these clumps evolves and eventually collapses to form stars and massive black holes. New large telescopes on the ground, together with observing platforms in space such as the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, allow us to see this process in action and compare the observations with detailed computer simulations. Nearer to home, we can dissect galaxies such as our own Milky Way into individual stars, for the most detail view of how they were assembled. And finally we can study how planets arise around these stars, both from new instruments that can detect the presence of "exo-planets" and by computer simulations of how they may be created within the discs of gas and dust left over from star formation. Ultimately, one can refine the search to planets potentially capable of supporting life, and ask how life might arise within these early planetary systems.
Research in astronomy at Edinburgh attacks all of these connected questions. Progress is rapid, driven by technological breakthroughs in observational facilities and computing power, and our understanding is evolving rapidly. Major progress, even if not final answers, can be expected within a few years. This is an exciting time for our understanding of the full history and structure of our Universe and our place within it.
But unanswered questions abound at all stages of this process. Our theories of the early Universe and explanations of its current expansion rest on the concept that empty space can have weight: the so-called "dark energy". We need to study its properties and understand its origin. In so doing, we often assume that Einstein's relativity describes gravity correctly on all scales, but can we test this? If the standard theory is correct, dark matter is required, and we are driven to follow the processes by which it clumps, and by which the gas within these clumps evolves and eventually collapses to form stars and massive black holes. New large telescopes on the ground, together with observing platforms in space such as the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, allow us to see this process in action and compare the observations with detailed computer simulations. Nearer to home, we can dissect galaxies such as our own Milky Way into individual stars, for the most detail view of how they were assembled. And finally we can study how planets arise around these stars, both from new instruments that can detect the presence of "exo-planets" and by computer simulations of how they may be created within the discs of gas and dust left over from star formation. Ultimately, one can refine the search to planets potentially capable of supporting life, and ask how life might arise within these early planetary systems.
Research in astronomy at Edinburgh attacks all of these connected questions. Progress is rapid, driven by technological breakthroughs in observational facilities and computing power, and our understanding is evolving rapidly. Major progress, even if not final answers, can be expected within a few years. This is an exciting time for our understanding of the full history and structure of our Universe and our place within it.
Planned Impact
Details of our Pathways to Impact are provided in the separate 2-page attachment. In brief, we carry out an extensive programme of public engagement and knowledge transfer, implemented in collaboration with the UK ATC, and our own Wide Field Astronomy Unit. Much stems directly from the research activities that are the subject of this application.
Our work in knowledge transfer and exploitation is exemplified by the case study of MOPED and the resulting spin-out company Blackford Analysis. MOPED (Massively Optimised Parameter Estimation and Data compression) is a unique process that employs a massive data compression step, enabling very rapid analysis without compromising accuracy. The MOPED algorithm was designed at the IfA by Prof. Alan Heavens and Dr Benjamin Panter to solve problems in cosmology, but has since been successfully applied to a number of medical applications, the most obvious being the ability of MOPED to speed up 3-D MRI image reconstruction to the point where it would no longer be necessary to immobilize children with a general anaesthetic for MRI scans. A spin-out company, Blackford Analysis Ltd, started trading in August 2010, has received significant investment, and now employs 9 people in the UK (sited at ROE, allowing continued academic interaction), developing very rapid image alignment tools for the medical imaging market. There has been direct user-engagement in the medical imaging field, through researchers, clinicians and industry luminaries, as well as MRI scanner manufacturers and PACS vendors. Recently Blackford Analysis has expanded its work into applications in other areas, securing a two-year consultancy contract with Rolls Royce worth £65,000, and identifying further commercial applications of MOPED in security imaging and in the oil and gas industries.
The case of Blackford Analysis exemplifies how novel techniques developed for astronomical research can be effectively applied to have a major impact in wider society. We plan to replicate this success through the University of Edinburgh's involvement in the new Higgs Centre for Innovation (to be completed at ROE by spring 2016). The Higgs Centre aims to ensure that further technologies, algorithms, and techniques from any of ATC instrumentation, IfA research, or WFAU data handling are effectively transferred to industry through close interactions between our academics/PDRAs and the public and private sectors (with the potential to create of further spinout companies from the STFC incubator). We are also taking the Big Data initiative, and interaction with the commercial sector, very seriously. (i) We have a long tradition of designing and developing new data centre facilities in active collaboration with local companies, who then use their experience with other commercial customers. (ii) As part of leading a proposal for UK participation in LSST, we are working with STFC to identify BIS infrastructure funding to work with industry. (iii) We are currently advertising for a new position specialising in novel data handling techniques.
We are also involved in a particularly vigorous programme of Public Outreach, Engagement & Education, under the auspices of the ROE Visitor Centre (www.roe.ac.uk/vc; jointly funded by the University and STFC) that draws directly on the cutting-edge research supported by our STFC Consolidated grant. Within the UK university sector, this programme is unusual in its breadth and scope, extending well beyond the normal expectation of public talks, press releases and media interviews. This is in part because university staff, PDRAs and students have the opportunity to work collaboratively with Visitor Centre Staff, but is also due to the unique advantages afforded by the ROE site, with its unusual combination of front-line astronomical research, world-leadiing instrument development, and astronomical history/heritage. Further details of activities and impact are provided in the Pathways to Impact attachment.
Our work in knowledge transfer and exploitation is exemplified by the case study of MOPED and the resulting spin-out company Blackford Analysis. MOPED (Massively Optimised Parameter Estimation and Data compression) is a unique process that employs a massive data compression step, enabling very rapid analysis without compromising accuracy. The MOPED algorithm was designed at the IfA by Prof. Alan Heavens and Dr Benjamin Panter to solve problems in cosmology, but has since been successfully applied to a number of medical applications, the most obvious being the ability of MOPED to speed up 3-D MRI image reconstruction to the point where it would no longer be necessary to immobilize children with a general anaesthetic for MRI scans. A spin-out company, Blackford Analysis Ltd, started trading in August 2010, has received significant investment, and now employs 9 people in the UK (sited at ROE, allowing continued academic interaction), developing very rapid image alignment tools for the medical imaging market. There has been direct user-engagement in the medical imaging field, through researchers, clinicians and industry luminaries, as well as MRI scanner manufacturers and PACS vendors. Recently Blackford Analysis has expanded its work into applications in other areas, securing a two-year consultancy contract with Rolls Royce worth £65,000, and identifying further commercial applications of MOPED in security imaging and in the oil and gas industries.
The case of Blackford Analysis exemplifies how novel techniques developed for astronomical research can be effectively applied to have a major impact in wider society. We plan to replicate this success through the University of Edinburgh's involvement in the new Higgs Centre for Innovation (to be completed at ROE by spring 2016). The Higgs Centre aims to ensure that further technologies, algorithms, and techniques from any of ATC instrumentation, IfA research, or WFAU data handling are effectively transferred to industry through close interactions between our academics/PDRAs and the public and private sectors (with the potential to create of further spinout companies from the STFC incubator). We are also taking the Big Data initiative, and interaction with the commercial sector, very seriously. (i) We have a long tradition of designing and developing new data centre facilities in active collaboration with local companies, who then use their experience with other commercial customers. (ii) As part of leading a proposal for UK participation in LSST, we are working with STFC to identify BIS infrastructure funding to work with industry. (iii) We are currently advertising for a new position specialising in novel data handling techniques.
We are also involved in a particularly vigorous programme of Public Outreach, Engagement & Education, under the auspices of the ROE Visitor Centre (www.roe.ac.uk/vc; jointly funded by the University and STFC) that draws directly on the cutting-edge research supported by our STFC Consolidated grant. Within the UK university sector, this programme is unusual in its breadth and scope, extending well beyond the normal expectation of public talks, press releases and media interviews. This is in part because university staff, PDRAs and students have the opportunity to work collaboratively with Visitor Centre Staff, but is also due to the unique advantages afforded by the ROE site, with its unusual combination of front-line astronomical research, world-leadiing instrument development, and astronomical history/heritage. Further details of activities and impact are provided in the Pathways to Impact attachment.
Organisations
Publications
Nesvadba N
(2017)
Gas kinematics in powerful radio galaxies at z ~ 2: Energy supply from star formation, AGN, and radio jets
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Nesvadba N
(2017)
The SINFONI survey of powerful radio galaxies at z ~ 2: Jet-driven AGN feedback during the Quasar Era
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Nesvadba N.
(2016)
The SINFONI survey of powerful radio galaxies at z~2: Jet-driven AGN feedback during the Quasar Era
in ArXiv e-prints
Nesvadba N.
(2016)
Gas kinematics in powerful radio galaxies at z~2: Energy supply from star formation, AGN, and radio jet
in ArXiv e-prints
Newman J
(2015)
Corrigendum to "Spectroscopic needs for imaging dark energy experiments" [Astropart. Phys. 63 (2015) 81-100]
in Astroparticle Physics
Newman J
(2015)
Spectroscopic needs for imaging dark energy experiments
in Astroparticle Physics
Nicholl M
(2020)
An outflow powers the optical rise of the nearby, fast-evolving tidal disruption event AT2019qiz
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nicholl M
(2022)
Systematic light-curve modelling of TDEs: statistical differences between the spectroscopic classes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nielsen E
(2016)
Mapping the Distributions of Exoplanet Populations with NICI and GPI
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Nielsen Eric L.
(2015)
Mapping the Distributions of Exoplanet Populations with NICI and GPI
in IAU Symposium
Nielsen N
(2020)
The CGM at Cosmic Noon with KCWI: Outflows from a Star-forming Galaxy at z = 2.071
in The Astrophysical Journal
Nisbet D
(2015)
The mass fraction of AGN and the Fundamental Plane of black hole activity from a large X-ray-selected sample of LINERs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nyland K
(2016)
The atlas 3D Project - XXXI. Nuclear radio emission in nearby early-type galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nyland Kristina
(2016)
The Atlas3D project -- XXXI. Nuclear radio emission in nearby early-type galaxies
in ArXiv e-prints
Oh B
(2020)
Calibration of a star formation and feedback model for cosmological simulations with enzo
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Onori F
(2022)
The nuclear transient AT 2017gge: a tidal disruption event in a dusty and gas-rich environment and the awakening of a dormant SMBH
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Orrù E
(2015)
Wide-field LOFAR imaging of the field around the double-double radio galaxy B1834+620 A fresh view on a restarted AGN and doubeltjes
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Oteo I
(2017)
ALMACAL II: Extreme Star Formation Rate Densities in Dusty Starbursts Revealed by ALMA 20 mas Resolution Imaging
in The Astrophysical Journal
Oteo I
(2016)
WITNESSING THE BIRTH OF THE RED SEQUENCE: ALMA HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING OF [C II] AND DUST IN TWO INTERACTING ULTRA-RED STARBURSTS AT z = 4.425
in The Astrophysical Journal
Oteo I
(2017)
High Dense Gas Fraction in Intensely Star-forming Dusty Galaxies
in The Astrophysical Journal
Oteo I
(2015)
On the nature of Ha emitters at z ~ 2 from the HiZELS survey: physical properties, Lya escape fraction and main sequence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Oteo I
(2016)
ALMACAL I: FIRST DUAL-BAND NUMBER COUNTS FROM A DEEP AND WIDE ALMA SUBMILLIMETER SURVEY, FREE FROM COSMIC VARIANCE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Oteo I.
(2017)
High dense gas fraction in intensely star-forming dusty galaxies at high redshift
in ArXiv e-prints
Oteo I.
(2015)
ALMACAL I: First dual-band number counts from a deep and wide ALMA submm survey, free from cosmic variance
in ArXiv e-prints
Otor O
(2016)
THE ORBIT AND MASS OF THE THIRD PLANET IN THE KEPLER-56 SYSTEM
in The Astronomical Journal
Owen J
(2020)
Massive discs around low-mass stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Paardekooper J
(2015)
The First Billion Years project: the escape fraction of ionizing photons in the epoch of reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Palmese A
(2020)
Stellar mass as a galaxy cluster mass proxy: application to the Dark Energy Survey redMaPPer clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Palmese A
(2020)
A Statistical Standard Siren Measurement of the Hubble Constant from the LIGO/Virgo Gravitational Wave Compact Object Merger GW190814 and Dark Energy Survey Galaxies
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pancino E
(2017)
The Gaia -ESO Survey: Calibration strategy
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pannella M
(2015)
GOODS- HERSCHEL : STAR FORMATION, DUST ATTENUATION, AND THE FIR-RADIO CORRELATION ON THE MAIN SEQUENCE OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES UP TO z ? 4
in The Astrophysical Journal
Parsa S
(2016)
The galaxy UV luminosity function at z ? 2 -4; new results on faint-end slope and the evolution of luminosity density
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Parsa S
(2018)
No evidence for a significant AGN contribution to cosmic hydrogen reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Patrick L
(2017)
Physical properties of the first spectroscopically confirmed red supergiant stars in the Sculptor Group galaxy NGC 55
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Paulino-Afonso A
(2020)
VIS 3 COS III. Environmental effects on the star formation histories of galaxies at z ~ 0.8 seen in [O II], H d , and D n 4000
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Paulino-Afonso A
(2018)
VIS 3 COS I. Survey overview and the role of environment and stellar mass on star formation
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Paulino-Afonso A
(2018)
VIS3COS: I. survey overview and the role of environment and stellar mass on star formation
Paulino-Afonso A
(2019)
VIS 3 COS II. Nature and nurture in galaxy structure and morphology
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pe
(2016)
What galaxy masses perturb the local cosmic expansion?
in ArXiv e-prints
Peacock J
(2016)
The cosmic web: a selective history and outlook
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Peacock J
(2016)
The SuperCOSMOS all-sky galaxy catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Penarrubia Jorge
(2015)
The formation of the smooth halo component
in IAU General Assembly
Pentericci L
(2018)
The VANDELS ESO public spectroscopic survey: Observations and first data release
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pereira M
(2020)
µ? masses: weak-lensing calibration of the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 redMaPPer clusters using stellar masses
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Petersen M
(2020)
Detection of the Milky Way reflex motion due to the Large Magellanic Cloud infall
in Nature Astronomy
Petrus S
(2020)
A new take on the low-mass brown dwarf companions on wide orbits in Upper-Scorpius
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pezzotta A
(2017)
The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) The growth of structure at 0.5 < z < 1.2 from redshift-space distortions in the clustering of the PDR-2 final sample ?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics