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
Wahhaj Z
(2015)
Improving signal-to-noise in the direct imaging of exoplanets and circumstellar disks with MLOCI
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Robertson B
(2015)
COSMIC REIONIZATION AND EARLY STAR-FORMING GALAXIES: A JOINT ANALYSIS OF NEW CONSTRAINTS FROM PLANCK AND THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
in The Astrophysical Journal
McCracken H
(2015)
Probing the galaxy-halo connection in UltraVISTA to z ~ 2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jackson R. J.
(2015)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Velocity precision in the Gaia-ESO Survey (Jackson+, 2015)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Stefanon M
(2015)
STELLAR MASS FUNCTIONS OF GALAXIES AT 4 < z < 7 FROM AN IRAC -SELECTED SAMPLE IN COSMOS/ULTRAVISTA: LIMITS ON THE ABUNDANCE OF VERY MASSIVE GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Errani R
(2015)
Constraining the distribution of dark matter in dwarf spheroidal galaxies with stellar tidal streams
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Sabater J.
(2015)
Calibration of radio-astronomical data on the cloud. LOFAR, the pathway to SKA
in Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VIII
Nandra K.
(2015)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: AEGIS-X Deep survey of EGS (AEGIS-XD) (Nandra+, 2015)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Chapman S
(2015)
A blind CO detection of a distant red galaxy in the HS1700+64 protocluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Evans Chris
(2015)
The Science Case for Multi-Object Spectroscopy on the European ELT
in arXiv e-prints
Lam Marco C.
(2015)
A maximum volume density estimator generalized over a proper motion-limited sample
in arXiv e-prints
Sesar B
(2015)
EVIDENCE OF FANNING IN THE OPHIUCHUS STREAM
in The Astrophysical Journal
Collaboration P
(2015)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Updated Planck catalogue PSZ1 (Planck+, 2015)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Hand N
(2015)
First measurement of the cross-correlation of CMB lensing and galaxy lensing
in Physical Review D
Lam M
(2015)
A maximum volume density estimator generalized over a proper motion-limited sample
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Eardley E
(2015)
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): the galaxy luminosity function within the cosmic web
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sabater J
(2015)
Triggering optical AGN: the need for cold gas, and the indirect roles of galaxy environment and interactions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Swinbank A
(2015)
ALMA RESOLVES THE PROPERTIES OF STAR-FORMING REGIONS IN A DENSE GAS DISK AT z ~ 3
in The Astrophysical Journal
Agarwal Bhaskar
(2015)
New constraints on direct collapse black hole formation in the early Universe
in ArXiv e-prints
Durkalec A
(2015)
Evolution of clustering length, large-scale bias, and host halo mass at 2 < z < 5 in the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wilson Susan
(2015)
The XMM Cluster Survey: evolution of the velocity dispersion -- temperature relation over half a Hubble time
in ArXiv e-prints
Hudson M
(2015)
CFHTLenS: co-evolution of galaxies and their dark matter haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Biller Beth
(2015)
Exometeorology: Characterizing Weather on a Young Free-Floating Planet
in Spitzer Proposal
Kohn S
(2015)
Far-infrared observations of an unbiased sample of gamma-ray burst host galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Geach J
(2015)
The Red Radio Ring: a gravitationally lensed hyperluminous infrared radio galaxy at z = 2.553 discovered through the citizen science project Space Warps
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Primas F.
(2015)
Shaping ESO2020+ Together: Feedback from the Community Poll
in The Messenger
Garsden H
(2015)
LOFAR sparse image reconstruction
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Clark C
(2015)
Herschel -ATLAS: the surprising diversity of dust-selected galaxies in the local submillimetre Universe
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Viola M
(2015)
Dark matter halo properties of GAMA galaxy groups from 100 square degrees of KiDS weak lensing data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
McDermid R
(2015)
The ATLAS3D Project - XXX. Star formation histories and stellar population scaling relations of early-type galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jarvis M
(2015)
The star-formation history of the Universe with the SKA
Penarrubia Jorge
(2015)
The formation of the smooth halo component
in IAU General Assembly
Gibbons P
(2015)
Planetesimal formation in self-gravitating discs - dust trapping by vortices
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilson Michael J.
(2015)
Rapid modelling of the redshift-space power spectrum multipoles for a masked density field
in ArXiv e-prints
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
Kitching T. D.
(2015)
RCSLenS: Cosmic Distances from Weak Lensing
in arXiv e-prints
Rigby E
(2015)
Cosmic downsizing of powerful radio galaxies to low radio luminosities
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Shulevski A
(2015)
The peculiar radio galaxy 4C 35.06: a case for recurrent AGN activity?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Merlin E
(2015)
T-PHOT: A new code for PSF-matched, prior-based, multiwavelength extragalactic deconfusion photometry
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Durkalec A
(2015)
Stellar mass to halo mass relation from galaxy clustering in VUDS: a high star formation efficiency at z ? 3
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sobral D
(2015)
CF-HiZELS, an ~10 deg2 emission-line survey with spectroscopic follow-up: Ha, [O iii] + Hß and [O ii] luminosity functions at z = 0.8, 1.4 and 2.2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kitching T
(2015)
Image analysis for cosmology: Shape measurement challenge review & results from the Mapping Dark Matter challenge
in Astronomy and Computing
Sifón C
(2015)
The masses of satellites in GAMA galaxy groups from 100 square degrees of KiDS weak lensing data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
De Geyter G
(2015)
Dust energy balance study of two edge-on spiral galaxies in the Herschel-ATLAS survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Drake A
(2015)
Erratum: Evolution of star formation in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Field - I. Luminosity functions and cosmic star formation rate out to z = 1.6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Koprowski M. P.
(2015)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Luminous (sub-)millimetre galaxies (Koprowski+, 2014)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Timmons N
(2015)
EXTINCTION AND NEBULAR LINE PROPERTIES OF A HERSCHEL -SELECTED LENSED DUSTY STARBURST AT z = 1.027
in The Astrophysical Journal
Vedantham H
(2015)
Lunar occultation of the diffuse radio sky: LOFAR measurements between 35 and 80 MHz
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Brienza M
(2015)
LOFAR discovery of a 700-kpc remnant radio galaxy at low redshift
in Astronomy & Astrophysics