Queen's University Belfast Astronomy Observation and Theory Consolidated Grant 2020-2023
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Mathematics and Physics
Abstract
Supernovae create the heavy chemical elements we see in our solar system, the Galaxy and entire visible Universe. While stars evolve over millions or billions of years, a supernova explosion happens in seconds and the glowing remnant lasts for years. We aim to understand how these explosions happen and how they create the neutron stars, pulsars and black holes in our galaxy. In 2017 a breakthrough discovery was made when the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source was found. This was termed a kilonova because it was 1000 times brighter than a nova. The gravitational waves and the kilonova were from a pair of merging neutron stars. The optical and infrared light arose from the radioactive decay of heavy elements, which we call r-process elements. These are heavier than iron in the periodic table and such neutron star mergers may be responsible for all these heavy elements. Or projects will find more of these in the coming years and the combination of gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals opens up a new window on the Universe.
The thermonuclear supernovae that are used as cosmic yardsticks and led to the Nobel Prize winning discovery of dark energy come from white dwarf stars. But exactly how they explode and what the progenitor systems are still eludes us. A white dwarf is a star greater than the mass of the sun, but the size of the earth. They are incredibly dense, one teaspoon of WD material weighs about 10 thousand tonnes. To understand how they explode, we will model their spectra with the most sophisticated 3 dimensional computer models that currently exist.
The elements created in supernovae form planetary systems in our galaxy - iron, silicon, oxygen, magnesium are all critical to forming planetary systems. The diversity in the known planetary systems around other stars in our galaxy (called exoplanets) is astounding. We know of thousands of exoplanets. Hot Jupiters, multiple planetary systems and super-earths are now commonly found in surveys to discover new planets. We can see planet formation in the disks of young stars during their first few million years of life. The latest large facility built in the southern hemisphere (ALMA), has provided spectacular data on proto-planetary disks and our work on the chemistry of the disk aims to understand their origins. Our top priority in this area is to find another earth like planet - the right size, age and distance from its parent star to support an atmosphere and liquid water. This search requires careful tests of the methods to extract the tiny signals we expect and we propose to develop this with an eye on the future prize of detecting an earth twin. We will soon have extraordinarily precise spectrometers on the biggest telescopes to measure the velocity of stars down to metres per second. At this level, it is no longer the instrument measuring precision that hinders our planet searching, but the real activity on the surface of Sun like stars. Our project will aim to understand and mitigate this effect.
A critical part of astrophysics is pulling together our detailed knowledge of physics that we can measure on earth to what we can only see (through electromagnetic radiation) in the distant Universe. This will be done through computer calculations of model atoms. These codes calculate how electrons are excited in atoms and ensures that astrophysical models identify the elements that cause the spectral lines in supernovae, supermassive black holes, galaxy spectra and stars. Now that we have detected a kilonova we must do the same calculations for the heaviest elements.
We will also run novel experiments to use powerful lasers (e.g. the VULCAN laser) to mimic the physics of gas that causes x-ray emission in accreting sources such as black hole binaries. We will use these novel laboratory data to test the world's leading computer code that is used to model the central regions of galaxies close to their black holes.
The thermonuclear supernovae that are used as cosmic yardsticks and led to the Nobel Prize winning discovery of dark energy come from white dwarf stars. But exactly how they explode and what the progenitor systems are still eludes us. A white dwarf is a star greater than the mass of the sun, but the size of the earth. They are incredibly dense, one teaspoon of WD material weighs about 10 thousand tonnes. To understand how they explode, we will model their spectra with the most sophisticated 3 dimensional computer models that currently exist.
The elements created in supernovae form planetary systems in our galaxy - iron, silicon, oxygen, magnesium are all critical to forming planetary systems. The diversity in the known planetary systems around other stars in our galaxy (called exoplanets) is astounding. We know of thousands of exoplanets. Hot Jupiters, multiple planetary systems and super-earths are now commonly found in surveys to discover new planets. We can see planet formation in the disks of young stars during their first few million years of life. The latest large facility built in the southern hemisphere (ALMA), has provided spectacular data on proto-planetary disks and our work on the chemistry of the disk aims to understand their origins. Our top priority in this area is to find another earth like planet - the right size, age and distance from its parent star to support an atmosphere and liquid water. This search requires careful tests of the methods to extract the tiny signals we expect and we propose to develop this with an eye on the future prize of detecting an earth twin. We will soon have extraordinarily precise spectrometers on the biggest telescopes to measure the velocity of stars down to metres per second. At this level, it is no longer the instrument measuring precision that hinders our planet searching, but the real activity on the surface of Sun like stars. Our project will aim to understand and mitigate this effect.
A critical part of astrophysics is pulling together our detailed knowledge of physics that we can measure on earth to what we can only see (through electromagnetic radiation) in the distant Universe. This will be done through computer calculations of model atoms. These codes calculate how electrons are excited in atoms and ensures that astrophysical models identify the elements that cause the spectral lines in supernovae, supermassive black holes, galaxy spectra and stars. Now that we have detected a kilonova we must do the same calculations for the heaviest elements.
We will also run novel experiments to use powerful lasers (e.g. the VULCAN laser) to mimic the physics of gas that causes x-ray emission in accreting sources such as black hole binaries. We will use these novel laboratory data to test the world's leading computer code that is used to model the central regions of galaxies close to their black holes.
Planned Impact
We have an active and energetic outreach and engagement programme to target audiences locally in Northern Ireland and nationally in the UK. We have had major success in publicising our research in the media, from local radio and newspapers through to national TV appearances. Highlights of our UK national media presence are appearances on BBC, Channel 4, RTE (Republic of Ireland National broadcaster), as part of the world-wide press on the electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source. We were invited to make the public announcement of the discovery at the world-wide ESO press conference in Munich in October 2017.
We have been invited to talk at the British Science Festival (2018) and the Northern Ireland Science Festival (2017). To increase the public awareness of science in Northern Ireland we have made a focused effort to engage with the local media (BBC and independent broadcasters) to showcase our research highlights and related public events. Over the last 4-5 years, astronomers from Astrophysics Research Centre have had over 40 appearances on BBC Northern Ireland (radio and TV), RTE, or other regional broadcasts or in mainstream UK newspapers. These include the premier local radio shows - BBC Radio Ulster "Good Morning Ulster" and "Evening Extra" and the BBC NI Newsline (the main 6:30pm TV news show). These are the primary BBC news and magazine shows in the weekday morning and evenings, with typical listening figures of 295,000 for the morning and evening radio shows and 140,000 for TV.
We host, support and sponsor bi-monthly meetings of the Irish Astronomical Association (IAA) at Queen's which brings in around 80 people each meeting. ARC staff regularly give lectures and use our influence to bring in speakers from Britain and Europe
We regularly support initiatives by local astronomy societies. This has included opening exhibitions of astronomical photographs (in the Carnegie Library in County Down) and running a selection of the best astronomical image in the "Heaven's Above" exhibition. The winner is currently being made into a large scale artwork to be displayed in the Main Physics Building at Queen's.
We regularly deliver astronomy lectures and presentations at the following annual events: (i) QUB Horizons in Physics (which attracts around 400 Year 11-12 students per annum), (ii) Physics Open Days (around 200 Y13 students), (iii) Physics Teachers Conference (about 50 Physics teachers from schools in Ireland).
We have frequent and regular requests to talk at Science Cafés - with one of the most popular being the "Science of Science Fiction talks" delivered by Keenan.
Between 2010-2017 (covering the previous consolidated grant period) the application rate to physics based courses in QUB increased by 80%, and we have maintained that application rate in the last two years. This coincided with our focused and energetic outreach efforts in Schools, museums, and public outreach events.
We worked with the Zooniverse project to add Pan-STARRS data to the Supernova Hunters project : this had huge take up, with the citizen scientists being able to find real supernovae and turn around 1000s of candidate images per day. This also led to a comparison between our Machine Learning and human classifiers (Wright et al. 2017, MNRAS, 472, 1315). For 2019, we are in discussions with an Ireland-wide Physics consortium to bring the IAU "Above and Beyond" exhibition on a tour of the island. This exhibition has been commissioned to coincide with the IAU 100th Anniversary celebrations.
We have engaged with 2 UK companies (Andor and E2V/Teledyne) to purchase detectors and cameras for the SOXS system and also have acted as advisors to Andor on the application and commercialisation of InGaAS arrays in astronomy.
We have been invited to talk at the British Science Festival (2018) and the Northern Ireland Science Festival (2017). To increase the public awareness of science in Northern Ireland we have made a focused effort to engage with the local media (BBC and independent broadcasters) to showcase our research highlights and related public events. Over the last 4-5 years, astronomers from Astrophysics Research Centre have had over 40 appearances on BBC Northern Ireland (radio and TV), RTE, or other regional broadcasts or in mainstream UK newspapers. These include the premier local radio shows - BBC Radio Ulster "Good Morning Ulster" and "Evening Extra" and the BBC NI Newsline (the main 6:30pm TV news show). These are the primary BBC news and magazine shows in the weekday morning and evenings, with typical listening figures of 295,000 for the morning and evening radio shows and 140,000 for TV.
We host, support and sponsor bi-monthly meetings of the Irish Astronomical Association (IAA) at Queen's which brings in around 80 people each meeting. ARC staff regularly give lectures and use our influence to bring in speakers from Britain and Europe
We regularly support initiatives by local astronomy societies. This has included opening exhibitions of astronomical photographs (in the Carnegie Library in County Down) and running a selection of the best astronomical image in the "Heaven's Above" exhibition. The winner is currently being made into a large scale artwork to be displayed in the Main Physics Building at Queen's.
We regularly deliver astronomy lectures and presentations at the following annual events: (i) QUB Horizons in Physics (which attracts around 400 Year 11-12 students per annum), (ii) Physics Open Days (around 200 Y13 students), (iii) Physics Teachers Conference (about 50 Physics teachers from schools in Ireland).
We have frequent and regular requests to talk at Science Cafés - with one of the most popular being the "Science of Science Fiction talks" delivered by Keenan.
Between 2010-2017 (covering the previous consolidated grant period) the application rate to physics based courses in QUB increased by 80%, and we have maintained that application rate in the last two years. This coincided with our focused and energetic outreach efforts in Schools, museums, and public outreach events.
We worked with the Zooniverse project to add Pan-STARRS data to the Supernova Hunters project : this had huge take up, with the citizen scientists being able to find real supernovae and turn around 1000s of candidate images per day. This also led to a comparison between our Machine Learning and human classifiers (Wright et al. 2017, MNRAS, 472, 1315). For 2019, we are in discussions with an Ireland-wide Physics consortium to bring the IAU "Above and Beyond" exhibition on a tour of the island. This exhibition has been commissioned to coincide with the IAU 100th Anniversary celebrations.
We have engaged with 2 UK companies (Andor and E2V/Teledyne) to purchase detectors and cameras for the SOXS system and also have acted as advisors to Andor on the application and commercialisation of InGaAS arrays in astronomy.
Organisations
Publications
Collins C
(2023)
3D radiative transfer kilonova modelling for binary neutron star merger simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dunleavy N
(2022)
A Dirac R-matrix calculation for the electron-impact excitation of W +
in Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Rajpaul V
(2021)
A HARPS-N mass for the elusive Kepler-37d: a case study in disentangling stellar activity and planetary signals
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moran S
(2023)
A long life of excess: The interacting transient SN 2017hcc
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Deibert E
(2021)
A Near-infrared Chemical Inventory of the Atmosphere of 55 Cancri e
in The Astronomical Journal
Matzeu G
(2022)
A new emulated Monte Carlo radiative transfer disc-wind model: X-Ray Accretion Disc-wind Emulator - xrade
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Betzler A
(2023)
A photometric study of centaurs 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann and (2060) Chiron
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tsukagoshi T
(2022)
ALMA High-resolution Multiband Analysis for the Protoplanetary Disk around TW Hya
in The Astrophysical Journal
Abdalla S
(2021)
Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress
in Advances in Space Research
Magee M
(2022)
An analysis of the spectroscopic signatures of layering in the ejecta of Type Iax supernovae
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Merritt S
(2021)
An inventory of atomic species in the atmosphere of WASP-121b using UVES high-resolution spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
BAILIE D
(2020)
An investigation of the L-shell x-ray conversion efficiency for laser-irradiated tin foils
in Plasma Science and Technology
Lacedelli G
(2021)
An unusually low density ultra-short period super-Earth and three mini-Neptunes around the old star TOI-561
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nicholl M
(2023)
AT 2022aedm and a New Class of Luminous, Fast-cooling Transients in Elliptical Galaxies
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Gillanders J
(2020)
AT2018kzr: the merger of an oxygen-neon white dwarf and a neutron star or black hole
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McCann M
(2022)
Atomic data calculations for Au i -Au iii and exploration in the application of collisional-radiative theory to laboratory and neutron star merger plasmas
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gottlieb C
(2022)
ATOMIUM: ALMA tracing the origins of molecules in dust forming oxygen rich M-type stars Motivation, sample, calibration, and initial results
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Danilovich T
(2021)
ATOMIUM: halide molecules around the S-type AGB star W Aquilae
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Homan W
(2021)
ATOMIUM: The astounding complexity of the near circumstellar environment of the M-type AGB star R Hydrae I. Morpho-kinematical interpretation of CO and SiO emission
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Goettl SJ
(2021)
Chemical dynamics study on the gas-phase reaction of the D1-silylidyne radical (SiD; X2?) with deuterium sulfide (D2S) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S).
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Van de Sande M
(2021)
Chemical modelling of dust-gas chemistry within AGB outflows - III. Photoprocessing of the ice and return to the ISM
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aggarwal K
(2020)
Comment on "Energy levels, oscillator strengths, and transition probabilities for sulfur-like scandium, Sc VI" by El-Maaref et al. [Indian J. Phys. 91 1029 (2017)]
in Indian Journal of Physics
Gillanders J
(2021)
Constraints on the presence of platinum and gold in the spectra of the kilonova AT2017gfo
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smith K
(2021)
Corrigendum: "Design and operation of the ATLAS Transient Science Server" (2020, PASP, 132, 085002)
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Snellen I
(2021)
Detecting life outside our solar system with a large high-contrast-imaging mission
in Experimental Astronomy
Langellier N
(2021)
Detection Limits of Low-mass, Long-period Exoplanets Using Gaussian Processes Applied to HARPS-N Solar Radial Velocities
in The Astronomical Journal
Deibert E
(2021)
Detection of Ionized Calcium in the Atmosphere of the Ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76b
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Magee M
(2020)
Determining the 56 Ni distribution of type Ia supernovae from observations within days of explosion
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dias N
(2023)
Direct D-atom Incorporation in Radicals: An Overlooked Pathway for Deuterium Fractionation
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dias N
(2023)
Direct D-atom Incorporation in Radicals: An Overlooked Pathway for Deuterium Fractionation
in The Astrophysical Journal
Van De Sande M
(2023)
Disentangling physics and chemistry in AGB outflows: revealing degeneracies when adding complexity.
in Faraday discussions
Gronow S
(2021)
Double detonations of sub-M Ch CO white dwarfs: variations in Type Ia supernovae due to different core and He shell masses
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Collins C
(2022)
Double detonations: variations in Type Ia supernovae due to different core and He shell masses - II. Synthetic observables
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Collins C
(2022)
Double detonations: variations in Type Ia supernovae due to different core and He shell masses - II. Synthetic observables
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gorczyca T
(2021)
Double photoionization of atomic oxygen: Feshbach resonances in the two-electron continuum
in Physica Scripta
Dunleavy N
(2021)
Electron-Impact Excitation of Ge iii and Photoionisation of Ge ii
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dunleavy N
(2021)
Electron-impact excitation of Ni II
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Milbourne T
(2021)
Estimating Magnetic Filling Factors from Simultaneous Spectroscopy and Photometry: Disentangling Spots, Plage, and Network
in The Astrophysical Journal
West NA
(2023)
Experimental and theoretical study of the low-temperature kinetics of the reaction of CN with CH2O and implications for interstellar environments.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Magee M
(2021)
Exploring the diversity of double-detonation explosions for Type Ia supernovae: effects of the post-explosion helium shell composition
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Andreoni I
(2021)
Fast-transient Searches in Real Time with ZTFReST: Identification of Three Optically Discovered Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows and New Constraints on the Kilonova Rate
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kulterer B
(2022)
Fevering Interstellar Ices Have More CH 3 OD
in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
Cheriton R
(2021)
Fiber Fabry-Perot astrophotonic correlation spectroscopy for remote gas identification and radial velocity measurements.
in Applied optics
Campana S
(2022)
Finding high-redshift gamma-ray bursts in tandem near-infrared and optical surveys
in Nature Astronomy
Nugroho S
(2021)
First Detection of Hydroxyl Radical Emission from an Exoplanet Atmosphere: High-dispersion Characterization of WASP-33b Using Subaru/IRD
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Pastorello A
(2021)
Forbidden hugs in pandemic times I. Luminous red nova AT 2019zhd, a new merger in M 31
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pastorello A
(2021)
Forbidden hugs in pandemic times II. The luminous red nova variety: AT 2020hat and AT 2020kog
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Cai Y
(2022)
Forbidden hugs in pandemic times III. Observations of the luminous red nova AT 2021biy in the nearby galaxy NGC 4631
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Hodgkin S
(2021)
Gaia Early Data Release 3 Gaia photometric science alerts
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
He C
(2022)
Gas-phase formation of silicon monoxide via non-adiabatic reaction dynamics and its role as a building block of interstellar silicates.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Title | The science of superheroes |
Description | A presentation on the science of superheroes, which contains clips of TV shows and films with superheroes in them (Superman, Avengers etc), along with slides discussing the accuracy or otherwise of the 'science' in the clips. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Impact | None to date as the presentation has just been completed, and delivery of the presentation is still on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However once it can be given to audiences (ranging from schoolchildren to the general public, teachers, university students etc), it is envisaged that it will be very popular, similar to the previous presentations on the science of science-fiction films and TV shows. |
Description | Chemistry as a tool to study star death |
Amount | £13,152 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EM-2021-069/4 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 03/2023 |
Description | Leverhulme Interdisciplinary Network on Algorithmic Solutions (LINAS) |
Amount | £1,350,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 95191 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2021 |
End | 08/2025 |
Description | New generation sky surveys, exotic transients and gravitational wave sources |
Amount | £130,337 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/X006506/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2023 |
End | 03/2024 |
Description | Queen's University Belfast Astronomy Observation and Theory Consolidated Grant 2023-2026 |
Amount | £1,134,350 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/X00094X/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2023 |
End | 03/2026 |
Description | STFC Belfast 2021 DTP |
Amount | £159,496 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/W507751/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 09/2025 |
Description | STFC Belfast 2022 DTP |
Amount | £81,631 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/X508706/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2022 |
End | 09/2026 |
Description | Astronomy Open Day for Northern Ireland 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 | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | An Open Day where members of the public visited the astrophysicists at Queen's University to learn about the latest discoveries and also gain some general knowledge of astronomy. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Our Place in Space |
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 | Centered around an epic (and accurate) scale model of the solar system designed by the artist Oliver Jeffers with scientist Professor Stephen Smartt and a creative team led by Nerve Centre, Our Place in Space is a sculpture trail of our solar system, interactive AR app and exciting learning and events programme. In 2022, the Our Place in Space sculpture trail landed on the banks of the River Foyle in Derry (22 April - 22 May) before moving to Divis and the Black Mountain in Belfast (11 June - 10 July). We then travelled across the Irish Sea to Cambridge (30 July - 28 August) followed by Liverpool (14 October - 6 November). The trail returned Northern Ireland at the Ulster Transport Museum and North Down Coastal Path on 24 February - 26 March 2023. Following this, The Sun to Mars will remain on the grounds of the Ulster Transport Museum as a temporary exhibit. We have reached audiences in the few hundred thousands - schools, families, general public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
URL | https://ourplaceinspace.earth |