Astrophysics at the University of Nottingham 2020-2023
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Physics & Astronomy
Abstract
The main focus of our research in Nottingham is to understand how galaxies form and how they evolve through time to produce the rich variety of structures we see today. We tackle these problems with a number of complementary approaches. One approach is to study relatively nearby galaxies, which we can observe in greater detail. In Nottingham we are involved in a large international project (MaNGA), designed to dissect thousands of local galaxies and extract far more information than was previously possible. At the other extreme, we also specialise in studying very distant galaxies, observing them in the act of formation and transformation many billions of years ago. Due to the finite speed of light, when we observe very distant galaxies we are also looking far back in time, allowing us to observe galaxy evolution at different stages throughout the history of the Universe. Another aim of our research is to understand the roles of "nature" versus "nurture" in shaping galaxy evolution, and in particular how they are influenced by the environments in which they reside. We tackle these varied and challenging problems using a combination of observational techniques, using some of the largest telescopes in the world and in space, combined with theoretical studies and computer simulations. With the latest supercomputers we can create models to simulate the formation of galaxies and the growth of cosmic structures. Many of the most interesting discoveries occur when we confront our models with the latest data, to directly test our understanding of the key processes shaping the Universe. We also use gravitational lensing, a novel technique that exploits the warping of space time by massive objects, which allows us to map the distribution of matter and structure in the Universe to great precision. Finally, we are also developing new "machine learning" tools to help the astronomical community analyse the vast amounts of data that are now routinely produced by astronomical observations and simulations.
Planned Impact
Impact is embedded in the culture and working of the Group, and we have a well-established track record in its delivery.
Our extensive outreach program includes all the activities traditionally associated with astronomy. We give talks at schools, astronomical societies and events, both locally and across the country. We write popular articles and books. We engage with the media both through regular contributions and one-off press releases presenting our work.
However, we are also committed to pushing boundaries in outreach by undertaking novel activities to reach new audiences in new ways. We have a track record of collaborating with artists to produce engagingly different events and installations. We are involved in the organisation of the citizen science movement to directly involve the public in our research. We have developed a programme of outreach to local schools that prioritises widening participation, which uses an inflatable planetarium (for which we obtained the funding) as the focus for the activity. We have established a very strong presence on YouTube through the Sixty Symbols and Deep Sky Videos channels, reaching a subscriber base of in excess of nearly a million people all across the World.
We also work across the breadth of knowledge exchange. We have developed our success in video presentation by producing YouTube series for external organisations (including STFC). We have spun out an outreach-related company that produces realistic renderings of astronomical objects in glass. We have assisted in the application of our research to other fields, such as applying machine-learning techniques to applications in quantum control and urbanisation.
It is in the nature of innovative research that one cannot predict the precise areas in which possible impact will arise, so it is important to maintain a flexible attitude to its exploitation (whilst insuring that it is not relegated to a minor role because of this uncertainty). The way in which impact is embedded in the culture of the Group ensures that we are in a position to capture and exploit these opportunities as they arise, and our clear strong track record in this area demonstrates that we actually do so in practice. We fully intend to continue with this committed flexible approach through the period of this Consolidated Grant.
Our extensive outreach program includes all the activities traditionally associated with astronomy. We give talks at schools, astronomical societies and events, both locally and across the country. We write popular articles and books. We engage with the media both through regular contributions and one-off press releases presenting our work.
However, we are also committed to pushing boundaries in outreach by undertaking novel activities to reach new audiences in new ways. We have a track record of collaborating with artists to produce engagingly different events and installations. We are involved in the organisation of the citizen science movement to directly involve the public in our research. We have developed a programme of outreach to local schools that prioritises widening participation, which uses an inflatable planetarium (for which we obtained the funding) as the focus for the activity. We have established a very strong presence on YouTube through the Sixty Symbols and Deep Sky Videos channels, reaching a subscriber base of in excess of nearly a million people all across the World.
We also work across the breadth of knowledge exchange. We have developed our success in video presentation by producing YouTube series for external organisations (including STFC). We have spun out an outreach-related company that produces realistic renderings of astronomical objects in glass. We have assisted in the application of our research to other fields, such as applying machine-learning techniques to applications in quantum control and urbanisation.
It is in the nature of innovative research that one cannot predict the precise areas in which possible impact will arise, so it is important to maintain a flexible attitude to its exploitation (whilst insuring that it is not relegated to a minor role because of this uncertainty). The way in which impact is embedded in the culture of the Group ensures that we are in a position to capture and exploit these opportunities as they arise, and our clear strong track record in this area demonstrates that we actually do so in practice. We fully intend to continue with this committed flexible approach through the period of this Consolidated Grant.
Organisations
- University of Nottingham (Lead Research Organisation)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- University of Chicago (Collaboration)
- Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) (Collaboration)
- University of St Andrews (Collaboration)
- University of Western Australia (Collaboration)
- European Space Agency (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- Autonomous University of Madrid (Collaboration)
Publications
Hill L
(2022)
SDSS-IV MaStar: theoretical atmospheric parameters for the MaNGA stellar library
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Werner S
(2022)
Satellite quenching was not important for z ~ 1 clusters: most quenching occurred during infall
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maresca J
(2021)
Auto-identification of unphysical source reconstructions in strong gravitational lens modelling
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yepes G
(2020)
The Three Hundred project: the stellar and gas profiles
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aniyan S
(2021)
Resolving the Disc-Halo Degeneracy - II: NGC 6946
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coccato L
(2020)
Formation of S0s in extreme environments I: clues from kinematics and stellar populations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wild V
(2020)
The clustering of X-ray AGN at 0.5 < z < 4.5: host galaxies dictate dark matter halo mass
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Peterken T
(2021)
Size, shade, or shape? The contribution of galaxies of different types to the star formation history of the Universe from SDSS-IV MaNGA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhou S
(2022)
Semi-analytic spectral fitting: simultaneously modelling the mass accumulation and chemical evolution in MaNGA spiral galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Walmsley M
(2022)
Galaxy Zoo DECaLS: Detailed visual morphology measurements from volunteers and deep learning for 314 000 galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cooper J
(2022)
H a-based star formation rates in and around z ~ 0.5 EDisCS clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Metcalf R
(2020)
Identifying strong lenses with unsupervised machine learning using convolutional autoencoder
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cornwell D
(2023)
The probability of identifying the cosmic web environment of galaxies around clusters motivated by the Weave Wide Field Cluster Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cheng Ting-Yun
(2020)
Optimising Automatic Morphological Classification of Galaxies with Machine Learning and Deep Learning using Dark Energy Survey Imaging
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hough T
(2023)
The Three Hundred Project: Connection between star formation quenching and dynamical evolution in and around simulated galaxy clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cheng T
(2023)
Lessons learned from the two largest Galaxy morphological classification catalogues built by convolutional neural networks
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Contreras-Santos A
(2023)
Galaxy pairs in The Three Hundred simulations II: studying bound ones and identifying them via machine learning
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dye S
(2022)
A high-resolution investigation of the multiphase ISM in a galaxy during the first two billion years
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhou S
(2022)
The impact of environment on the lives of disc galaxies as revealed by SDSS-IV MaNGA
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Drory N
(2020)
SDSS-IV MaNGA: spatially resolved dust attenuation in spiral galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haggar R
(2020)
TheThreeHundred project: backsplash galaxies in simulations of clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hirst P
(2020)
Long-term NIR variability in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey: a new probe of AGN activity at high redshift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haggar R
(2023)
The Three Hundred project: galaxy groups do not survive cluster infall
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Puchwein E
(2023)
The Sherwood-Relics simulations: overview and impact of patchy reionization and pressure smoothing on the intergalactic medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mostoghiu R
(2020)
The Three Hundred project: shapes and radial alignment of satellite, infalling, and backsplash galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yepes G
(2020)
Mapping and characterization of cosmic filaments in galaxy cluster outskirts: strategies and forecasts for observations from simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haggar R
(2021)
The Three Hundred Project: Substructure in hydrodynamical and dark matter simulations of galaxy groups around clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cheng T
(2021)
Beyond the hubble sequence - exploring galaxy morphology with unsupervised machine learning
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cui W
(2022)
The Three Hundred project: The gizmo-simba run
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Becker G
(2021)
The mean free path of ionizing photons at 5 < z < 6: evidence for rapid evolution near reionization
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mostoghiu R
(2021)
The Three Hundred project: the gas disruption of infalling objects in cluster environments
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Šoltinský T
(2023)
Probing quasar lifetimes with proximate 21-centimetre absorption in the diffuse intergalactic medium at redshifts z = 6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kuchner U
(2021)
Cosmic filaments in galaxy cluster outskirts: quantifying finding filaments in redshift space
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Van der Werf P
(2020)
An ALMA survey of the SCUBA-2 CLS UDS field: physical properties of 707 sub-millimetre galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pérez-Martínez J
(2023)
Signs of environmental effects on star-forming galaxies in the Spiderweb protocluster at z = 2.16
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Urquhart S
(2022)
The bright extragalactic ALMA redshift survey (BEARS) I: redshifts of bright gravitationally lensed galaxies from the Herschel ATLAS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rost A
(2021)
the threehundred : the structure and properties of cosmic filaments in the outskirts of galaxy clusters
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cornwell D
(2024)
The localization of galaxy groups in close proximity to galaxy clusters using cosmic web nodes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yang M
(2021)
An analytical model to kinematically identify thin discs in MaNGA galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilkinson A
(2021)
From starburst to quiescence: post-starburst galaxies and their large-scale clustering over cosmic time
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Li N
(2021)
The impact of line-of-sight structures on measuring H 0 with strong lensing time delays
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stach S
(2021)
An ALMA survey of the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey UKIDSS/UDS field: halo masses for submillimetre galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Doherty M
(2022)
Ammonia in the interstellar medium of a starbursting disc at z = 2.6
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Elmer E
(2021)
Infrared lags in the light curves of AGNs measured using a deep survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
De Vos K
(2021)
Clusters' far-reaching influence on narrow-angle tail radio galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Iršic V
(2024)
Unveiling dark matter free streaming at the smallest scales with the high redshift Lyman-alpha forest
in Physical Review D
Bolton JS
(2022)
Comparison of Low-Redshift Lyman-a Forest Observations to Hydrodynamical Simulations with Dark Photon Dark Matter.
in Physical review letters
Fraser-McKelvie A
(2020)
Properties of barred galaxies in the MaNGA galaxy survey
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Cortesi A
(2021)
The co-responsibility of mass and environment in the formation of lenticular galaxies
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Emonts BHC
(2023)
A cosmic stream of atomic carbon gas connected to a massive radio galaxy at redshift 3.8.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Description | Euclid survey |
Organisation | European Space Agency |
Country | France |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | I co-led the legacy science, and lead an analysis of how galaxy morphologies can be measured in the survey |
Collaborator Contribution | I co-led the legacy science, writing papers, carrying out research |
Impact | Paper on joint analysis with LSST science - Scientific Synergy between LSST and Euclid |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | SDSS Manga Survey |
Organisation | University of Chicago |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | x |
Collaborator Contribution | x |
Impact | x |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | SDSS-IV/MaNGA |
Organisation | Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) |
Department | Astrophysical Research Council |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Financial contribution. Scientific expertise. Research activity. |
Collaborator Contribution | Access to observing facilities. Access to new survey data. Scientific expertise. Research activity. |
Impact | This is a very recent activity. No outputs so far, but the main outputs will be scientific papers. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | The 300 Collaboration |
Organisation | Autonomous University of Madrid |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Pearce and Gray are members of the Scientific Organising Committee and active members of the collaboration. |
Collaborator Contribution | Ongoing science collaboration |
Impact | Outputs listed elsewhere. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | The 300 Collaboration |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Pearce and Gray are members of the Scientific Organising Committee and active members of the collaboration. |
Collaborator Contribution | Ongoing science collaboration |
Impact | Outputs listed elsewhere. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | The 300 Collaboration |
Organisation | University of Western Australia |
Country | Australia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Pearce and Gray are members of the Scientific Organising Committee and active members of the collaboration. |
Collaborator Contribution | Ongoing science collaboration |
Impact | Outputs listed elsewhere. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | The Sherwood simulation project |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (CFAS) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Project led by Bolton in Nottingham. |
Collaborator Contribution | Project led by Bolton in Nottingham. |
Impact | Outputs lsited elswhere. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | UKIRT Hemisphere Survey |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Scientific collaboration and expertise |
Collaborator Contribution | Scientific collaboration and expertise |
Impact | Scientific papers |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | VANDELS |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Almaini is an active member of this consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | Ongoing science collaboration. |
Impact | Outputs listed elsewhere. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | VANDELS |
Organisation | University of St Andrews |
Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Almaini is an active member of this consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | Ongoing science collaboration. |
Impact | Outputs listed elsewhere. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Inflativerse |
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 | Ongoing programme to take mobile planitarium to local Nottingham-area schools, targetting widening participation areas. During periods of the COVID pandemic where in-person visits were not possible, activities were undertaken online. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021,2022,2023 |
URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/astronomy/planetarium/Home.html |
Description | Public talks and lectures |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Multiple talks to school groups and astronomical societies, in person and online |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021,2022,2023 |
Description | Sixty Ideas |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Curated website for Sixty Symbols YouTube channel matched to A-level curriculum |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021,2022 |
URL | http://nottingham.ac.uk/physics/sixtyideas |
Description | YouTube videos |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Created videos for Deep Sky Videos Youtube channel 250k subscribers 14 million video views since 2011 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021,2022,2023 |
URL | http://deepskyvideos.com |
Description | YouTube videos |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Participation in creating videos for YouTube channel Sixty Symbols. 876k subscribers 100 million video views since 2009 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021,2022,2023 |
URL | http://sixtysymbols.com |