Durham Astronomy Consolidated Grant 2017-2020
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Astronomy attracts the imagination of the public to an extent that only very few other branches of science can match - this is due, in large part, to the fundamental nature of the questions it addresses: the origin of the Universe and our place within it. Astronomy is immediately accessible to every human by simply gazing up into the night sky to look the Moon, the planets and stars. Since the dawn of civilisation this has provoked questions about the origins of the Earth, stars and our Solar System, as well as the origins of the Universe. Over the past thirty years we have seen the emergence of a standard model in cosmology describing the constituents of our Universe, as well as a plausible explanation for the origin and evolution of all structure within it. According to this model, we live in a universe where at least two thirds of all mass-energy is now in the form of a dark energy field which is causing the Universe to expand at an ever increasing rate. About a quarter of the mass-energy is in the form of dark matter, most probably a new weakly interacting elementary particle yet to be detected on Earth (and hence of great interest to particle physicists). Only the remaining five percent of the mass-energy is in the form of ordinary, or baryonic, matter of which, at the present-day, only about a tenth is in stars and planets such as the Earth, and the rest resides mostly as gas in between galaxies. The structures formed by dark and baryonic matter are thought to have been seeded by quantum fluctuations imprinted in the density field of the Universe at the earliest instants of the Big Bang. These produced weak sound waves in the near-uniform primordial plasma that left observable imprints on the heat left over from the Big Bang, emitted when the Universe was only 400,000 years old (now visible as the Cosmic Microwave Background). These tiny ripples grew into the full richness of structures we see around us in the Universe today: galaxies, groups, clusters and larger-scale structures. It is this transformation from a near-uniform primordial soup to a cosmic web of structure that is the focus of our proposal. Our programme knits together cutting-edge theoretical research into the earliest phases of the Universe with theoretical and observational projects to determine the formation and evolution of structure in the Universe and to confront the predictions of our models with our latest observational results, while exploiting instrumentation developments pursued in Durham. We will explore astrophysical clues to the identity of the dark matter and the nature of the dark energy, focus on the evolution of galaxies back to the earliest times in the Universe and the influence which their environment has had on their properties. We will investigate the formation and evolution of black holes and their role in determining the structure and properties of galaxies and larger scale structures, using the latest instruments on ground-based observatories and Earth-orbiting satellites.
Planned Impact
We are proud of our track record at Durham of public engagement. The outreach initiative we started more than a decade ago has developed into a University-wide activity, which has, in turn, spawned the annual Celebrate Science festival in Durham (the most recent attended by almost 7,000 visitors). In our current programme we use a range of events, activities and techniques to engage with three key groups: a) the general public; b) school children; c) national and international audiences.
These activities include science festivals, Royal Society summer exhibition, public lectures, summer schools, master classes and school visits, which together reach 10-15,000 people a year across the region and nationally. To enhance the impact of our outreach we are developing demonstrations based on the science funded in our programme. These include an interactive illustration of gravitational lensing which makes innovative use of an Xbox kinect camera, laptop and large display screen to produce real time images of how people would lens their surroundings if their gravitational mass were greatly enhanced. We are continuing to develop our "Cosmic Universe" application for iPad and iPhone. This free app, which has been downloaded over 20,000 times from iTunes, allows the public to interact with the simulations of the Universe undertaken at Durham, providing a striking and effective way to visualise the size and structure of our Universe. We have plans for a more immersive experience using the Oculus rift. We produce high resolution movies of our cosmological structure formation simulations for public audiences and this year they formed the heart of the spectacular "World Machine" projection onto Durham Cathedral that was viewed by 150,000 people during the 4 day 2015 Durham Lumiere light festival (see front cover).
Our astronomical instrumentation projects include technology developments relevant to Earth Observation science (remote sensing) and we are continuing to explore the applications of compact integral field spectrometers to hyperspectral imaging. Our expertise in using adaptive optics for aberration correction has enabled the development of new techniques to image more deeply within human tissue samples whilst maintaining sub-micron resolution, whilst our experience in real-time data handling systems underpins our participation in an EPSRC CDT in Fusion Science & Technology. Finally we are investigating the commercialisation of muon tomography for carbon storage using techniques that we have developed using STFC, DECC and oil industry funding
As well as technology transfer, some of the methodology used in our theoretical and observational work has KE potential. For example, we are developing new statistical approaches to quantifying parameter uncertainties in complex computer models. This computationally efficient technique is appropriate for mapping the behaviour of models of climate change or oil extraction as well as galaxy formation models. Our work in this field has had significant impact in the statistical community, as well as attracting interest from the Bank of England as it may have application to the modelling of financial markets by regulators.
Finally, our broader research programme underpins the research development of a cohort of postgraduate students at Durham, providing them with training in specific and transferable skills. Our students are given top level training in high performance computing, including parallel programming, "Big Data" methods applied to our huge datasets and developing advanced visualization tools. Using these skills our former students have taken jobs in a range of industries from computer gaming to finance and genetics. Similarly, Physics students at Durham benefit through their participation in our research work via their 4th year MSci projects. Our technical training of these post/undergraduate students provides a pool of talented, skilled candidates to the UK economy.
These activities include science festivals, Royal Society summer exhibition, public lectures, summer schools, master classes and school visits, which together reach 10-15,000 people a year across the region and nationally. To enhance the impact of our outreach we are developing demonstrations based on the science funded in our programme. These include an interactive illustration of gravitational lensing which makes innovative use of an Xbox kinect camera, laptop and large display screen to produce real time images of how people would lens their surroundings if their gravitational mass were greatly enhanced. We are continuing to develop our "Cosmic Universe" application for iPad and iPhone. This free app, which has been downloaded over 20,000 times from iTunes, allows the public to interact with the simulations of the Universe undertaken at Durham, providing a striking and effective way to visualise the size and structure of our Universe. We have plans for a more immersive experience using the Oculus rift. We produce high resolution movies of our cosmological structure formation simulations for public audiences and this year they formed the heart of the spectacular "World Machine" projection onto Durham Cathedral that was viewed by 150,000 people during the 4 day 2015 Durham Lumiere light festival (see front cover).
Our astronomical instrumentation projects include technology developments relevant to Earth Observation science (remote sensing) and we are continuing to explore the applications of compact integral field spectrometers to hyperspectral imaging. Our expertise in using adaptive optics for aberration correction has enabled the development of new techniques to image more deeply within human tissue samples whilst maintaining sub-micron resolution, whilst our experience in real-time data handling systems underpins our participation in an EPSRC CDT in Fusion Science & Technology. Finally we are investigating the commercialisation of muon tomography for carbon storage using techniques that we have developed using STFC, DECC and oil industry funding
As well as technology transfer, some of the methodology used in our theoretical and observational work has KE potential. For example, we are developing new statistical approaches to quantifying parameter uncertainties in complex computer models. This computationally efficient technique is appropriate for mapping the behaviour of models of climate change or oil extraction as well as galaxy formation models. Our work in this field has had significant impact in the statistical community, as well as attracting interest from the Bank of England as it may have application to the modelling of financial markets by regulators.
Finally, our broader research programme underpins the research development of a cohort of postgraduate students at Durham, providing them with training in specific and transferable skills. Our students are given top level training in high performance computing, including parallel programming, "Big Data" methods applied to our huge datasets and developing advanced visualization tools. Using these skills our former students have taken jobs in a range of industries from computer gaming to finance and genetics. Similarly, Physics students at Durham benefit through their participation in our research work via their 4th year MSci projects. Our technical training of these post/undergraduate students provides a pool of talented, skilled candidates to the UK economy.
Publications
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Aharonian F.
(2018)
Hitomi X-ray studies of giant radio pulses from the Crab pulsar
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Agnello A
(2018)
Quasar lenses and pairs in the VST-ATLAS and Gaia
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Adhikari S
(2018)
Splashback in galaxy clusters as a probe of cosmic expansion and gravity
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Adamo A
(2017)
Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey with The Hubble Space Telescope: Stellar Cluster Catalogs and First Insights Into Cluster Formation and Evolution in NGC 628 *
in The Astrophysical Journal
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Adamek J
(2020)
Numerical solutions to Einstein's equations in a shearing-dust universe: a code comparison
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
![publication icon](/resources/img/placeholder-60x60.png)
Acharyya A
(2021)
Locating the gamma-ray emission region in the brightest Fermi -LAT flat-spectrum radio quasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description | The research explored in this consolidated grant is varied and carried out by 29 academic members of staff, with associated researchers. Amongst the most significant key findings across the duration of the grant were: (1) prediction from simulations that massive hot dark-matter halos suppress the formation of stars and trigger the growth of supermassive black holes; (2) prediction from simulations that the distribution of dark-matter sub structures in our own Milky Way galaxy can help identify the nature of dark matter; (3) measurements of how changes in the rate of supermassive black-hole growth impact their observed properties; (4) the characterisation of pulsations from ultra-luminous X-ray sources, identified to be due to accretion onto neutron stars, the extreme degenerate stellar core left following a supernova explosion; (5) the development of physically motivated models for the growth of supermassive black holes and their expected observed properties; (6) the structure and morphology of gas in the most rapidly forming galaxies: rings and bars are seen as found for nearby galaxies; (7) the role that angular momentum in galaxies has on their observed properties and their changes across half the age of the universe. |
Exploitation Route | Our results are driving the development of new facilities and these in turn will be used to test our results and lead to new avenues for research, both ourselves and other international groups. |
Sectors | Education Other |
URL | http://astro.dur.ac.uk |
Description | The research in our group is focused on studying the origin and evolution of the contents of the Universe. Consequently, our primary societal impact is through developing the general public's appreciation of the complexity and variety of the Universe around them. Our programme of science engagement is undertaken jointly with the Institute for Computational Cosmology and the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, both at Durham and with which we have strong links, including a number of joint staff appointments. The impact of our programme is enhanced considerably by our outreach and schools engagement activities which are spearheaded by Dr Lorraine Coghill, our Ogden Trust science outreach and engagement specialist. We deliver a wide range of talks, planetarium shows, hands-on science sessions, and art-science sessions to schools in the North East and local astronomical societies. These activities engage thousands of local school children in the latest developments in astronomy and cosmology to help inspire the next generation of scientists. Some of our largest science engagement activities are: - The Durham University Schools Science Festival which was attended by ~850 local school children. - The annual Durham Celebrate Science festival on palace green beside Durham cathedral. It is attended by ~7000 visitors/year - The bi-annual Durham Lumiere, where we show movies of our computational simulations, projected on buildings (including Durham cathedral). Durham Lumber is a city-wide several-day exhibition mixture of art and science - it is always sold out! We also have public engagement through our links with the Kielder Observatory (based in the Dark Skies reserve in the National Forest) which further widen the reach of our outreach activities. Some of our academic staff members sit on the Kielder Observatory board. |
First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
Sector | Education,Other |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Astronomy at Durham 2020-2023 |
Amount | £4,751,735 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/T000244/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2020 |
End | 03/2024 |
Description | Data Intensive Science Translation Fellow |
Amount | £276,889 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/R005516/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2018 |
End | 06/2021 |
Description | DiRAC Bridging Grant 2019 |
Amount | £311,755 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/T001372/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2019 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | DiRAC-2 Datacentric support grant |
Amount | £365,964 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/M007006/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2014 |
End | 03/2018 |
Description | DiRAC-2.5 DC - Operations 2017-2020 |
Amount | £2,115,360 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/R000832/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2017 |
End | 03/2021 |
Description | DiRAC: Memory Intensive 2.5x |
Amount | £2,120,279 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/R002371/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2017 |
End | 03/2018 |
Description | Dirac-3 Operations 2019-2022- Durham |
Amount | £7,358,945 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/V002376/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 03/2023 |
Description | Dirac-3 Operations 2019-2022- Durham |
Amount | £2,232,863 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/S003908/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 03/2020 |
Description | ERC Advanced Grant |
Amount | € 2,050,275 (EUR) |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 01/2013 |
End | 12/2018 |
Description | PATT Linked Grant for the Durham Astrophysics Group 2016-18 |
Amount | £41,301 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/P001157/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2017 |
End | 12/2018 |
Description | PATT Linked Grant for the Durham Astrophysics Group 2019-20 |
Amount | £30,347 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/S001557/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2019 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | STFC Durham Physics 2017 DTP |
Amount | £735,070 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/R504725/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2017 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | UK Programme for the European Extremely Large Telescope |
Amount | £2,007,087 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/N002660/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2015 |
End | 03/2019 |
Description | UK Programme for the European Extremely Large Telescope - Additional Support 17/18 |
Amount | £182,957 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/P003095/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2018 |
Description | Using Cosmic Beasts to Uncover the Nature of Dark Matter |
Amount | £743,842 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/S017216/1 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2019 |
End | 04/2023 |
Description | Your Place in the Universe |
Amount | £14,484 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/T00567X/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2020 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | Zooming in on feedback in active galaxies: the first high-resolution radio survey |
Amount | £992,150 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/T042842/1 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 09/2024 |
Title | A galaxy sample with CO(2-1) and CO(5-4) detections |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'CO excitation, molecular gas density, and interstellar radiation field in local and high-redshift galaxies.' (bibcode: 2021ApJ...909...56L) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Largest compilation of CO spectra for distant star-forming galaxies. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/909/56 |
Title | AGN effect on cold gas in distant SFGs |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The effect of active galactic nuclei on the cold interstellar medium in distant star-forming galaxies.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...654A.165V) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The largest compilation of CO observations of AGN at the time of publication. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/654/A165 |
Title | CANARY ELT-elongated LGS AO telemetry |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'ELT-scale elongated LGS wavefront sensing: on-sky results.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...649A.158B) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/649/A158 |
Title | COSMOS-XS. II. Ultra-faint radio population |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'A Multiwavelength Analysis of the Faint Radio Sky (COSMOS-XS): the Nature of the Ultra-faint Radio Population.' (bibcode: 2020ApJ...903..139A) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Comprehensive spectroscopy for one of the most studied deep fields known. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/903/139 |
Title | G09v1.97 CO and H2O datacubes |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'CO, H_2_O, H_2_O^+^ line and dust emission in a z = 3.63 strongly lensed starburst merger at sub-kiloparsec scales.' (bibcode: 2019A&A...624A.138Y) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Most detailed ALMA imaging of a strongly lensed galaxy at z=3.63. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/624/A138 |
Title | Gaia Photometric Science Alerts |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Gaia Photometric Science Alerts.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...652A..76H) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | All the transient alerts from the most sensitive all sky survey instrument in the optical. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/652/A76 |
Title | Gaia16aye microlensing event photometry |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Full orbital solution for the binary system in the northern Galactic disk microlensing event Gaia16aye.' (bibcode: 2020A&A...633A..98W) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/633/A98 |
Title | OI abs. search in Keck and VLT spectra of 199 QSOs |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'The evolution of OI over 3.2 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/883/163 |
Title | Properties of the AGN sample |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'SUPER IV. CO(J=3-2) properties of active galactic nucleus hosts at cosmic noon revealed by ALMA.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...646A..96C) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Largest compilation of CO observations of galaxies at this redshift. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/646/A96 |
Title | Quasar Feedback Survey - APEX CO Results Tables (M.E. Jarvis et al. 2020) |
Description | These are machine readable versions of Tables 1, 3 and B1 from M.E. Jarvis et al. 2020, MNRAS, 498, 1560. "High molecular gas content and star formation rates in local galaxies that host quasars, outflows, and jets" This journal article is also available on the pre-print arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.10351. Table 1 contains the main properties of the 9 quasar host galaxies observed in the study, including redshifts, star formation rates and stellar masses. Table 3 contains the results of the APEX observations, which includes CO(2-1) emission-line properties for all 9 targets and CO(6-5) emission-line properties for a subset of 3 of the targets. Table B1 contains the derived molecular gas masses for all 9 targets using two different methods. All tables are in fits format and information about the units and column descriptions are included in the header. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | First dedicated search for molecular gas in quasars. |
URL | https://data.ncl.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Quasar_Feedback_Survey_-_APEX_CO_Results_Tables_M_E_Jarvis_e... |
Title | Quasar Feedback Survey - APEX CO Results Tables (M.E. Jarvis et al. 2020) |
Description | These are machine readable versions of Tables 1, 3 and B1 from M.E. Jarvis et al. 2020, MNRAS, 498, 1560. "High molecular gas content and star formation rates in local galaxies that host quasars, outflows, and jets" This journal article is also available on the pre-print arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.10351. Table 1 contains the main properties of the 9 quasar host galaxies observed in the study, including redshifts, star formation rates and stellar masses. Table 3 contains the results of the APEX observations, which includes CO(2-1) emission-line properties for all 9 targets and CO(6-5) emission-line properties for a subset of 3 of the targets. Table B1 contains the derived molecular gas masses for all 9 targets using two different methods. All tables are in fits format and information about the units and column descriptions are included in the header. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | First dedicated search for molecular gas in quasars. |
URL | https://data.ncl.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Quasar_Feedback_Survey_-_APEX_CO_Results_Tables_M_E_Jarvis_e... |
Title | Quasar Feedback Survey - APEX Pilot Data (M.E. Jarvis et al. 2020) |
Description | This is the reduced APEX data covering the CO(2-1) and CO(6-5) emission lines for the 9 quasars as described in in M.E. Jarvis et al. 2020, MNRAS, 498, 1560 (DOI: 10.1903/mnras/staa2196). The pre-print article is also available on the public arXiv: arxiv.org/abs/2007.10351. As explained in the paper 9 of the quasars have CO(2-1) emission-line data and three of the quasars, additionally, have CO(6-5) data. All details of data acquisition and data reduction are explained in the journal article. The tar file contains 12 .fits files, clearly named to correspond to each quasar and indicating which CO line is in the data. Comprehensive meta data is attached as headers to each fits file following the astronomy standards. A python code is also provided in the tar file to plot the data for each source. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | First dedicated search for molecular gas in quasars. |
URL | https://data.ncl.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Quasar_Feedback_Survey_-_APEX_Pilot_Data_M_E_Jarvis_et_al_20... |
Title | Radio & opt/NIR counterparts of S2COSMOS submm galaxies |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'Multi-wavelength properties of radio- and machine-learning-identified counterparts to submillimeter sources in S2COSMOS.' (bibcode: 2019ApJ...886...48A) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Largest sample of precise counterparts to sub-mm selected galaxies. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/886/48 |
Title | S2COSMOS: bright SCUBA-2 submm sources in COSMOS |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'The East Asian Observatory SCUBA-2 survey of the COSMOS field: unveiling 1147 bright sub-millimeter sources across 2.6 square degrees.' (bibcode: 2019ApJ...880...43S) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The best available sub-mm survey of the premier deep survey field, COSMOS. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/880/43 |
Title | STUDIES. II. NIR morphologies of submm galaxies |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (STUDIES). II. Structural properties and near-infrared morphologies of faint submillimeter galaxies.' (bibcode: 2018ApJ...865..103C) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Detailed imaging of counterparts to distant star-forming galaxies. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/865/103 |
Title | STUDIES. III. SCUBA-2 450um gal. with MIPS & VLA obs. |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (STUDIES). III. Multiwavelength properties, luminosity functions, and preliminary source catalog of 450 {mu}m selected galaxies.' (bibcode: 2020ApJ...889...80L) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The results from the widest and deepest 450um sub-mm imaging survey with the JCMT. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/889/80 |
Title | SUPER. V. ALMA continuum observations of z~2 AGN and the elusive evidence of outflows influencing star formation |
Description | This is a data release to the publication: Lamperti et al. (2021), SUPER. V. ALMA continuum observations of z ~ 2 AGN and the elusive evidence of outflows influencing star formation, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volumbe 654, page 90. This data release contains: 1. The ALMA Band 7 continuum maps, that are first presented in Figure 2 of the publication. These are packaged in a zip file. 2. The emission-line images produced from the SINFONI data cubes (H-alpha and [O III]). These are presented in Figures 3 and 10 of the publication. These are packaged in a zip file. 3. A README containing more detailed information. The images are released in fits format, including world coordinate system information in the header. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://data.ncl.ac.uk/articles/dataset/SUPER_V_ALMA_continuum_observations_of_z_2_AGN_and_the_elusi... |
Title | Spectral & environment properties of z~2 QSO pairs |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'The spectral and environment properties of z~2.0-2.5 quasar pairs.' (bibcode: 2018ApJ...860...41L) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Largest study of quasar pairs at the peak of their activity. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/860/41 |
Title | Strongly lensed submm galaxies CO spectra |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Molecular gas in the Herschel-selected strongly lensed submillimeter galaxies at z~2.4 as probed by multi-J CO lines.' (bibcode: 2017A&A...608A.144Y) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Largest compilation of molecular gas observations of strongly lensed galaxies. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/608/A144 |
Title | Swift optical & UV flux of four AGNs |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'The first Swift intensive AGN accretion disk reverberation mapping survey.' (bibcode: 2019ApJ...870..123E) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Long term monitoring of several AGN to determine black hole masses. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/870/123 |
Title | The PHLEK survey: oxygen & helium abundances |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'The PHLEK survey: a new determination of the primordial helium abundance.' (bibcode: 2020ApJ...896...77H) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/896/77 |
Title | VIS3COS. III. Galaxy spectra |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'VIS3COS. III. Environmental effects on the star formation histories of galaxies at z~0.8 seen in [OII], H{delta}, and D_n_4000.' (bibcode: 2020A&A...633A..70P) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Largest compilation of rest frame optical spectra of star-forming galaxies at this redshift. |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/633/A70 |
Description | LOFAR radio telescope |
Organisation | LOFAR |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Development of the processing and reduction of international long-baseline array data |
Collaborator Contribution | Priority access to the LOFAR radio data |
Impact | Publications on the long-baseline LOFAR results will be coming out very soon |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | SKA radio telescope |
Organisation | SKA Square Kilometre Array |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Scientific and technical development through membership of the SKA science committee and member of very long baseline interferometry and extragalactic continuum working groups. |
Collaborator Contribution | Scientific planning and development. |
Impact | none |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Astronomical society talks (~5/year) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Giving presentations on specialist topics to astronomical societies: typically about 5/year. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022 |
Description | Celebrate Science Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Celebrate Science is an annual Durham University science festival. It runs for approximately 3 days and attracts about 7000 visitors, many of them school children and their parents: it is scheduled for a half-term week. Each year ~30 members of the astronomy group participate to the Celebrate Science festival. They engage with visitors through exhibits including many created in the astronomy group such as our "Galaxy Maker" and "Gravitational Lens" simulators. Unfortunately, Celebrate Science was cancelled in 2020 due to the covid pandemic and was on line in 2021. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2022 |
URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/celebrate.science/ |
Description | Durham University Schools' Science Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | The school's science festival targets year 9 and 10 students with the objective of enthusing them in STEM subjects. The astronomy-related activities are focused on understanding the nature of light and how it is used to understand the physics of astronomical objects. The activities including making spectroscopes using readily available materials. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2022 |
URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/science.outreach/sciencefestival/ |
Description | General public talks including Pint of Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presenting and discussing ideas in astronomy and cosmology to the general public including the popular "Pint of Science" series of talks organised in a local pubs. Typically about 10 talks/year. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022 |
Description | Great Debate: Science, Rationality, and Religion |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Including debates lead by a speaker representing each side of the argument. The speakers included the Bishop of Durham and academics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/ias/events/events_listings/?eventno=33785 |
Description | Locomotion dark skies event with Tim Peakes Spacecraft |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A guided tour of the Universe |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.locomotion.org.uk/dark-sky-sessions/ |
Description | Numerous schools visits, science fairs and open days |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | The outreach activity in Durham is too wide and frequent to make filling in boxes like this feasible. If any group can they they are\ n't doing enough of it. The public appreciation of astronomy in the North East is higher than it would be without our work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023,2024 |
Description | Numerous schools visits, science fairs and open days |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | The outreach activity in Durham is too wide and frequent to make filling in boxes like this feasible. If any group can they they aren't doing enough of it. The public appreciation of astronomy in the North East is higher than it would be without our work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023,2024 |
Description | Planetarium visits (~20/year) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Planetarium shows to schoolchildren, social clubs (e.g., Brownies), and astronomical societies in the North East region. Shows include an understanding of objects in the night sky, the constellations, and basic physics. An excellent introduction to the excitement of astronomy and physics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/celebrate.science/ |
Description | Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Summer Science Exhibition is run by the Royal Society and is held in London. Over 14,000 members of the public including 2000 school children visit the Summer Science Exhibition each year. Many more are engaged through media coverage on TV and online. Exhibiting at the Royal Society not only engages the school children and the general public in STEM subjects, it also has the potential to influence policy makers and to engage potential funders. We estimate we had direct contact with over 3000 visitors for our astronomy and cosmology exhibits. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2022 |
Description | School visits to enthuse students about STEM subjects (~10/year) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | School visits to discuss astronomy to enthuse them in STEM-related subjects. Typically ~10 visits per year. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022 |
Description | Talking Science at STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Lecture on black holes: fact, fiction, or fantasy |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.stfc.ac.uk/public-engagement/activities-for-the-public/visit-the-rutherford-appleton-labo... |
Description | Twitter account |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Twitter account with currently over 1400 followers |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://twitter.com/DarkerMatters |