Astronomy at St Andrews 2015-2018

The St Andrews astronomy group is interested in questions of origins: where do galaxies, stars and planets come from, and what fundamental physics explains their formation? We are world leaders in solving intricate mathematical problems, and we use novel methods such as observations at very high precision and simulations with super-computers. We are joined by other groups across Scotland via the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), and internationally, in searching for hot and cool Earth-sized planets, homing in on habitable worlds where life could exist.

Our research spans a wide range of size scales, from discovering planetary systems around stars a few light years away to measuring the force of gravity acting on the whole universe. We discover `hot Jupiters' by using robotic wide-angle cameras that monitor thousands of stars to find those that briefly dim each time an orbiting planet passes in front of its parent star. We discover cooler and smaller more Earth-like planets, using robotic telescopes to watch gravitational lenses, exploiting Einstein's prediction that a planet drifting across the sightline to a distant background star bends its light. We learn about how planets form by looking at the radiation from dust grains and pebbles, which are either in the process of forming planets or, like our comets, remnants of the planet forming process.

Young stars have strong magnetic fields that interact with orbiting planets and their own magnetic fields. We study the signatures of this
interaction to understand how planets form and evolve. We investigate the physics of mineral clouds and lightning in atmospheres of cool brown dwarf stars and extrasolar planets, processes altering our view of planetary systems and help us understand dust and lightning in volcanic eruptions on Earth. We use observations and numerical simulations to study how stars form in galaxies and how feedback from young stars drives a dynamic, bubbling interstellar medium, the dusty gas from which new stars are born. We include energetic supernova explosions when massive stars die and the ionising radiation from massive stars that heats the gas in the galaxy to temperatures above than 10,000 degrees Centigrade.

On cosmological scales, we conduct large scale galaxy surveys to study how their structure emerges, forming their characteristic shapes of flat discs, spiral arms and central bulges. We study the central engines of galaxies, the supermassive black holes that lurk in their hearts, to understand how they grow and how they affect the host galaxy evolution. We study how gravity works both in galaxies and in the universe. Stars orbit in galaxies so fast that there appears to be too little mass to hold the galaxies together. On larger scales, our expanding universe is accelerating. We understand gravity on small scales, well enough to send space probes to other planets, but these puzzles challenge our understanding of gravity on the larger scales of galaxies and beyond. We investigate alternatives to current ideas of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, comparing our predictions with observations to test how gravity works.

Thus we address all four of the STFC Science Roadmap Challenges: How did the Universe begin and how is it evolving? How do stars and planetary systems develop and is life unique to our planet? What are the fundamental constituents and fabric of the universe and how do they interact? How can we explore and understand the extremes of the universe? What are the laws of physics in extreme conditions? How do galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve? Are we alone in the Universe? We exploit major international and space observatories (ALMA, APEX, ASKAP, e-MERLIN, CFHT, ESO, CHARA, HARPS, HST, Gaia, Herschel, JCMT, Kepler, LCOGT, SMA, SOFIA, Suzaku, Swift, Spitzer, VLA, XMM) and future facilities including EUCLID, JWST, SKA, and PLATO.

Our research creates three major kinds of impact, related to
(1) the insatiable public interest in the fundamental questions behind our existence that are being addressed,
(2) the practical implications for understanding atmospheric processes,
(3) the universality of techniques pioneered by our cutting-edge scientific endeavour.
Moreover, our facilities are of use beyond astronomy.

The widespread public fascination about objects in the sky is rooted in astronomy providing context to life on Earth. Our research on extra-solar planets, astrobiology, formation processes, and large-scale forces provides answers that cannot be found on our home planet. We thereby directly affect the culture of our society, using the media, museums, or other outreach organisations as intermediaries to stipulate members of various age groups to wonder, explore and investigate. Moreover, beyond any other scientific discipline, we inspire young people and motivate more of them to pursue careers in STEM subjects, leading to them acquiring skills that are essential for safeguarding the economic competitiveness of the UK.

Our research work and its consequences are widely and frequently presented in the national and world-wide media, both as news reports and features in major newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV stations, with several of our PIs having gained a substantial reputation. Members of our group have also published popular science books. We moreover address the public through exhibits as well as documentary films, having worked with the Dundee Science Centre, Mills Observatory Dundee, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of Scotland, the Edinburgh International Science Festival, the Royal Society, the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh, and the Edinburgh College of Art. Upcoming partners include the Goethe Institute and the Zeppelin Museum.

Following the goals to connect people with our research, create opportunities for citizen engagement in science, and making the process of science transparent, our new project `Transparent Observatory' will see the University Observatory opening up to the public and involve a permanent exhibition, Scotland-wide advertising, as well as live observations of transiting exoplanets and young stars.

In collaboration with Qatar Foundation, we will not only contribute to the development of astronomy in the Gulf region, but create a global cultural experience for school classes from different countries.

We have been active in establishing networks involving other academic areas, the health sector, commercial companies, and government agencies.

The study of dust and cloud formation processes in stellar and planetary atmospheres is related to applications of substantial commercial value as well as safety. This includes dust removal from plasma-processing devices, fusion reactor safety, the safety of airports near volcanoes, as well as dust charging on Mars as a hazard for future explorations.

We established a cooperation with Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on photodynamic therapy for the treatment of skin cancer, using simulations of light propagation through human tissue and fluorescence based on radiation transfer codes.

Our dynamic real-time scheduling of robotic telescopes acts as a technology driver at the intersection of constraint programming and cloud computing, which are enabling technologies widely applicable in many disciplines in industry and academia such as industrial design, aviation, banking, combinatorial mathematics, as well as the petrochemical and steel industries.

Our local 0.94m James Gregory Telescope, the largest operating optical telescope in the UK, is used to discover space debris in geosynchronous and Molniya orbits, in collaboration with SpaceInsight, a company providing observations and tracking of man-made near-Earth objects, and supported by the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, and the Defense Science & Technology Laboratory.