Consolidated Grant Astronomy Observation and Theory 2019-2022
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of Astronomy
Abstract
This proposal is for a single Consolidated Grant to support the majority of research in Theoretical and Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Institute of Astronomy (IoA) in Cambridge.
On the largest scales, the proposal includes work to understand the origin and evolution of the Universe itself through precision observations of the cosmic microwave background with new ground-based telescopes, measurements of the 3D positions of galaxies measured with the DES and DESI galaxy surveys, and the development of new techniques to obtain robust constraints on the history of the expansion of the Universe from observations of distant supernovae.
The Universe today is filled with galaxies, of which our own Milky Way is a not atypical example. A full understanding of galaxy formation and evolution requires multiple lines of attack. Observations of the resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and its Local Group companions provide a detailed fossil record of the dynamical assemblies of the galaxies, the formation of stars, and the buildup of heavy elements over a wide range of mass scales and initial conditions. Researchers at the IoA lead key parts of the data processing for the ESA Gaia space mission, which is performing a survey of the Milky Way with unprecedented precision and volume. Several projects in this proposal will exploit the forthcoming second data release from Gaia (a thousand-fold increase in data over the first release) to understand the dynamics of the Galaxy and its companions. At the other end of the scale, observations of distant galaxies spanning lookback times of up to 12 billion years provide direct measurements of the evolution of galaxy populations and the buildup of stars and metals with cosmic time. The light from these first galaxies likely led to the reionization of hydrogen in the intergalactic medium, when the age of the Universe was less than one billion years. Modelling this process requires sophisticated hydrodynamical simulations, including radiative transfer effects, and is a further focus of this proposal.
It is now recognised that there is an intimate link between the evolution of galaxies and the origin and properties of super-massive black holes, which reside at the centre of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The regions close to black holes allow the exploration of physics at the extremes. The formation and properties of super-massive black holes and their relation to the galaxies in which they reside is a research theme that involves theoretical high-energy astrophysics and observational programmes in the grant.
On much smaller scales within galaxies, the grant focusses of the formation of planetary systems through theoretical modelling of the evolution of protoplanetary disks (exploiting high-resolution imaging with ALMA) and their associated debris disks, and on the atmospheres and geology of extrasolar planets.
On the largest scales, the proposal includes work to understand the origin and evolution of the Universe itself through precision observations of the cosmic microwave background with new ground-based telescopes, measurements of the 3D positions of galaxies measured with the DES and DESI galaxy surveys, and the development of new techniques to obtain robust constraints on the history of the expansion of the Universe from observations of distant supernovae.
The Universe today is filled with galaxies, of which our own Milky Way is a not atypical example. A full understanding of galaxy formation and evolution requires multiple lines of attack. Observations of the resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and its Local Group companions provide a detailed fossil record of the dynamical assemblies of the galaxies, the formation of stars, and the buildup of heavy elements over a wide range of mass scales and initial conditions. Researchers at the IoA lead key parts of the data processing for the ESA Gaia space mission, which is performing a survey of the Milky Way with unprecedented precision and volume. Several projects in this proposal will exploit the forthcoming second data release from Gaia (a thousand-fold increase in data over the first release) to understand the dynamics of the Galaxy and its companions. At the other end of the scale, observations of distant galaxies spanning lookback times of up to 12 billion years provide direct measurements of the evolution of galaxy populations and the buildup of stars and metals with cosmic time. The light from these first galaxies likely led to the reionization of hydrogen in the intergalactic medium, when the age of the Universe was less than one billion years. Modelling this process requires sophisticated hydrodynamical simulations, including radiative transfer effects, and is a further focus of this proposal.
It is now recognised that there is an intimate link between the evolution of galaxies and the origin and properties of super-massive black holes, which reside at the centre of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The regions close to black holes allow the exploration of physics at the extremes. The formation and properties of super-massive black holes and their relation to the galaxies in which they reside is a research theme that involves theoretical high-energy astrophysics and observational programmes in the grant.
On much smaller scales within galaxies, the grant focusses of the formation of planetary systems through theoretical modelling of the evolution of protoplanetary disks (exploiting high-resolution imaging with ALMA) and their associated debris disks, and on the atmospheres and geology of extrasolar planets.
Planned Impact
The Institute of Astronomy ensures all students, postdoctoral researchers and staff are actively involved both in delivering high-value science, and also engaging and stimulating a variety of additional knowledge-creation activities. These activities focus on public awareness of astrophysical science, and on applications of research developments in medical, space-industry and commercial spheres.
The University of Cambridge has one of the most successful programmes for nurturing knowledge transfer and the resulting economic and societal impact between University departments and industry both in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The extraordinarily successful Cambridge Science Park is well known, with expertise and ideas from Cambridge Astrophysics being involved in the establishment of several businesses in the Cambridge area.
The IoA's approach to the search for impact opportunities is embedded in the mechanisms that the University has in place to facilitate this. The University's Research Office provides the primary point of contact for corporate liaison, and is actively involved in pursuing impact and knowledge-exchange activities and opportunities throughout the University. Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer and entrepreneurship arm, exists to enhance the University of Cambridge's contribution to society through knowledge transfer from the University to the community. Members of the Institute of Astronomy interact with these organisations regularly. Engagement with the wider economic community is supported by a Collaborative Research Facilitator, based in the Cavendish Laboratory, who is able to provide advice on relevant networking and funding opportunities.
In summary, the research carried out at the IoA supported through this will lead to a wide range of impacts across a broad range of areas from direct and specific impact in the application of analysis techniques to problems in the medical field to inspirational outreach programmes engaging with those teaching the next generation of scientists.
The University of Cambridge has one of the most successful programmes for nurturing knowledge transfer and the resulting economic and societal impact between University departments and industry both in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The extraordinarily successful Cambridge Science Park is well known, with expertise and ideas from Cambridge Astrophysics being involved in the establishment of several businesses in the Cambridge area.
The IoA's approach to the search for impact opportunities is embedded in the mechanisms that the University has in place to facilitate this. The University's Research Office provides the primary point of contact for corporate liaison, and is actively involved in pursuing impact and knowledge-exchange activities and opportunities throughout the University. Cambridge Enterprise, the University's technology transfer and entrepreneurship arm, exists to enhance the University of Cambridge's contribution to society through knowledge transfer from the University to the community. Members of the Institute of Astronomy interact with these organisations regularly. Engagement with the wider economic community is supported by a Collaborative Research Facilitator, based in the Cavendish Laboratory, who is able to provide advice on relevant networking and funding opportunities.
In summary, the research carried out at the IoA supported through this will lead to a wide range of impacts across a broad range of areas from direct and specific impact in the application of analysis techniques to problems in the medical field to inspirational outreach programmes engaging with those teaching the next generation of scientists.
Organisations
Publications
Hogg J
(2021)
2MASX J00423991 + 3017515: an offset active galactic nucleus in an interacting system
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Grady J
(2021)
Magellanic Mayhem: Metallicities and Motions
Roberts C
(2021)
The Black Hole Mass of NGC 4151 from Stellar Dynamical Modeling
in The Astrophysical Journal
Darwish O
(2021)
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: a CMB lensing mass map over 2100 square degrees of sky and its cross-correlation with BOSS-CMASS galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Quanz S
(2021)
Atmospheric characterization of terrestrial exoplanets in the mid-infrared: biosignatures, habitability, and diversity
in Experimental Astronomy
Panic O
(2021)
Planet formation in intermediate-separation binary systems
Parsons S
(2021)
Magnetic white dwarfs in post-common-envelope binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Witstok J
(2021)
Prospects for Observing the Cosmic Web in Lyman-a Emission
Paneque-Carreño T
(2021)
Spiral Arms and a Massive Dust Disk with Non-Keplerian Kinematics: Possible Evidence for Gravitational Instability in the Disk of Elias 2-27
in The Astrophysical Journal
Husseiniova A
(2021)
A microlensing search of 700 million VVV light curves
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sefilian A
(2021)
Formation of Gaps in Self-gravitating Debris Disks by Secular Resonance in a Single-planet System. I. A Simplified Model
in The Astrophysical Journal
Baleato Lizancos A
(2021)
Impact of internal-delensing biases on searches for primordial -modes of CMB polarisation
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
DeGraf C
(2021)
Morphological evolution of supermassive black hole merger hosts and multimessenger signatures
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Roy A
(2021)
Revised estimates of CMB B -mode polarization induced by patchy reionization
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Tazzari M
(2021)
Multiwavelength continuum sizes of protoplanetary discs: scaling relations and implications for grain growth and radial drift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Reynolds C
(2021)
Observational Constraints on Black Hole Spin
in Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Hutchison M
(2021)
Dust delivery and entrainment in photoevaporative winds
Martin-Alvarez S
(2021)
Unravelling the origin of magnetic fields in galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hodgkin S
(2021)
Gaia Early Data Release 3 Gaia photometric science alerts
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kral Q
(2021)
A molecular wind blows out of the Kuiper belt
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Booth R
(2021)
Modelling the delivery of dust from discs to ionized winds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dhillon V
(2021)
HiPERCAM: a quintuple-beam, high-speed optical imager on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Khoperskov S
(2021)
Bimodality of [a Fe]-[Fe/H] distributions is a natural outcome of dissipative collapse and disc growth in Milky Way-type galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coulton W
(2021)
Primordial information content of Rayleigh anisotropies
in Physical Review D
Vincentelli F
(2021)
On the multiwavelength variability of Mrk 110: two components acting at different time-scales
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Booth R
(2021)
Modelling the delivery of dust from discs to ionized winds
Pinilla P
(2021)
A bright inner disk and structures in the transition disk around the very low-mass star CIDA 1
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Shu Y
(2021)
Discovering strongly lensed QSOs from unresolved light curves
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hinkley S
(2021)
Discovery of an Edge-on Circumstellar Debris Disk around BD+45° 598: A Newly Identified Member of the ß Pictoris Moving Group
in The Astrophysical Journal
Schneiderman T
(2021)
Carbon monoxide gas produced by a giant impact in the inner region of a young system.
in Nature
Kim T
(2021)
The evolution of the low-density H i intergalactic medium from z = 3.6 to 0: data, transmitted flux, and H i column density,,
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
An J
(2021)
Charting galactic accelerations: when and how to extract a unique potential from the distribution function
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hodgkin S
(2021)
Gaia Early Data Release 3: Gaia photometric science alerts
Jankovic M
(2021)
MRI-active inner regions of protoplanetary discs. I. A detailed model of disc structure
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Turner S
(2021)
Investigating the theory of propagating fluctuations with numerical models of stochastic accretion discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Šoltinskí T
(2021)
The detectability of strong 21 centimetre forest absorbers from the diffuse intergalactic medium in late reionisation models
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pawellek N
(2021)
A ~75 per cent occurrence rate of debris discs around F stars in the ß Pic moving group
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haworth T
(2021)
Proplyds in the flame nebula NGC 2024
Cronin-Coltsmann P
(2021)
ALMA imaging of the M-dwarf Fomalhaut C's debris disc
Zurlo A
(2021)
The effect of stellar multiplicity on protoplanetary discs: a near-infrared survey of the Lupus star-forming region
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Drake J
(2021)
Whistler-regulated Magnetohydrodynamics: Transport Equations for Electron Thermal Conduction in the High-ß Intracluster Medium of Galaxy Clusters
in The Astrophysical Journal