Astrophysics and Cosmology Research at the JBCA 2020-2023
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
This grant supports the research of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. Our research is a divided into 3 groups. There are too many specific proposals to describe in detail, do below we have given a brief layman's explanation of the work being carried out by the three groups.
Cosmology: This is the study of the Universe as a whole. The main aim is to understand the processes by which the large scale feature of the Universe formed and to constrain the various different kinds of matter that existed within it. These include dark matter and dark energy which are thought to constitute more than 95% of the total. We do this by comparison to observations of weak and strong gravitational lensing which is the distortion of light predicted to be caused by massive objects in Einstein' Theory of General Relativity, the cosmic microwave background which is the faint emission of radiation created at the time when protons and electrons come together to form hydrogen and the emission given off by neutral hydrogen atoms in galaxies. The research we propose here involves both theory and observation as well as the development of the technology necessary to make the observations possible.
Sun, Stars and Galaxies: The researchers in this group study a wide range of astrophysical processes that are reasonable for the formation and evolution of the objects in the name of the group. Specific key areas that the group is interested in are the formation of stars much larger than the Sun and the subsequent evolution, the properties of the so-called interstellar medium (ISM) which comprises molecules not bound to stars and the magnetic fields that permeate space.
Pulsars and Time Domain Astrophysics: The focus of this group is astrophysical signatures that are changing with time- things which come on and off, often with some kind of regularity. These include Pulsars which are a non-standard star type, known as a neutron star, which is a dead star supported by the quantum pressure of neutrons. The radio emission from these objects pulses on an off with extraordinary regularity allowing them to acts cosmic clocks. The constantly measuring these clocks as the neutron stars spin and move through space, often impacted on by a companion star, allows the most precise constraints on the nature of gravity outside the solar system. Other phenomena studied by this group include Nova explosions, other variable stars, and variability induced by the lensing effects of one star passing in front of another, called microlensing.
Cosmology: This is the study of the Universe as a whole. The main aim is to understand the processes by which the large scale feature of the Universe formed and to constrain the various different kinds of matter that existed within it. These include dark matter and dark energy which are thought to constitute more than 95% of the total. We do this by comparison to observations of weak and strong gravitational lensing which is the distortion of light predicted to be caused by massive objects in Einstein' Theory of General Relativity, the cosmic microwave background which is the faint emission of radiation created at the time when protons and electrons come together to form hydrogen and the emission given off by neutral hydrogen atoms in galaxies. The research we propose here involves both theory and observation as well as the development of the technology necessary to make the observations possible.
Sun, Stars and Galaxies: The researchers in this group study a wide range of astrophysical processes that are reasonable for the formation and evolution of the objects in the name of the group. Specific key areas that the group is interested in are the formation of stars much larger than the Sun and the subsequent evolution, the properties of the so-called interstellar medium (ISM) which comprises molecules not bound to stars and the magnetic fields that permeate space.
Pulsars and Time Domain Astrophysics: The focus of this group is astrophysical signatures that are changing with time- things which come on and off, often with some kind of regularity. These include Pulsars which are a non-standard star type, known as a neutron star, which is a dead star supported by the quantum pressure of neutrons. The radio emission from these objects pulses on an off with extraordinary regularity allowing them to acts cosmic clocks. The constantly measuring these clocks as the neutron stars spin and move through space, often impacted on by a companion star, allows the most precise constraints on the nature of gravity outside the solar system. Other phenomena studied by this group include Nova explosions, other variable stars, and variability induced by the lensing effects of one star passing in front of another, called microlensing.
Planned Impact
The range of research we undertake and the world-class facilities within and in close association with JBCA (the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, e-MERLIN, the Lovell Telescope, the ALMA ARC and the SKA HQ) will provide key pathways to increasing our already strong impact on UK and global industry, the next generation of scientists and engineers, and the general public. The University's investment in the Jodrell Bank site combined with significant external funding (e.g. from Heritage Lottery Fund) will enable us to expand its use as an iconic venue for public and industrial engagement. The programme described here formed a key part of the School's submission for REF2014, helping it to be ranked highest in the REF for physics impact with 83% at 4* and 17% at 3*. Our outreach \& public engagement programme is extremely strong and continues to grow, particularly through its work with the University's award-winning Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre and the BBC. With the recent decision on SKA HQ location and our strong research work in this area, there is also growing impact in both outreach and industrial engagement in this area.
Our "Pathways to Impact" statement in the case for support outlines things that we have done in recent times under the headings of "Outreach and Public Engagement" and "Industrial and economic impact". We list some highlights below.
- Jodcast: Podcast run by students with 7000 regular listeners.
- 215000 Twitter and 18000 Facebook followers
- Stargazing live, Pulsar Hunters, Science Programmes presented by Danielle George
- JB Discovery centre with 190000 visitors per year
- Award winning Bluedot Festivals
- Industry contracts for SKA work including CISCO, AASL, NPL, AEON, Critical Software, MMI, GEANT
- Newton programme for Radio Astronomy in Africa.
Our "Pathways to Impact" statement in the case for support outlines things that we have done in recent times under the headings of "Outreach and Public Engagement" and "Industrial and economic impact". We list some highlights below.
- Jodcast: Podcast run by students with 7000 regular listeners.
- 215000 Twitter and 18000 Facebook followers
- Stargazing live, Pulsar Hunters, Science Programmes presented by Danielle George
- JB Discovery centre with 190000 visitors per year
- Award winning Bluedot Festivals
- Industry contracts for SKA work including CISCO, AASL, NPL, AEON, Critical Software, MMI, GEANT
- Newton programme for Radio Astronomy in Africa.
Organisations
Publications
Colín-Beltrán E
(2020)
CHARM: a room-temperature 345GHz receiver for the Large Millimeter Telescope
McKee J
(2020)
A precise mass measurement of PSR J2045 + 3633
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Decin L
(2020)
(Sub)stellar companions shape the winds of evolved stars
Homan W
(2020)
ATOMIUM: A high-resolution view on the highly asymmetric wind of the AGB star p 1 Gruis I. First detection of a new companion and its effect on the inner wind
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Stappers B
(2020)
Study of spider pulsar binary eclipses and discovery of an eclipse mechanism transition
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gompertz B
(2020)
Searching for electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational-wave merger events with the prototype Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO-4)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Shimajiri Y
(2020)
The accretion history of high-mass stars: an ArTéMiS pilot study of infrared dark clouds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Harrison I
(2020)
SuperCLASS - III. Weak lensing from radio and optical observations in Data Release 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chen H
(2020)
Searching for obscured AGN in z ~ 2 submillimetre galaxies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Szary A
(2020)
Single-pulse Modeling and the Bi-drifting Subpulses of Radio Pulsar B1839-04
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aad G
(2020)
Evidence for $$t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$$ production in the multilepton final state in proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ $$\text {TeV}$$ with the ATLAS detector
in The European Physical Journal C
Beuther H
(2020)
Gravity and Rotation Drag the Magnetic Field in High-mass Star Formation
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bak Nielsen A
(2020)
Timing stability of three black widow pulsars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Reale F
(2020)
Predicting the time variation of radio emission from MHD simulations of a flaring T-Tauri star
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zucca P
(2020)
LOFAR 144-MHz follow-up observations of GW170817
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Xu ?? X
(2020)
Rotation of Two Micron All Sky Survey Clumps in Molecular Clouds
in The Astrophysical Journal
Vives-Arias H
(2020)
VLA and ALMA observations of the lensed radio-quiet quasar SDSS J0924+0219: a molecular structure in a 3 µJy radio source
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kim G
(2020)
Molecular Cloud Cores with a High Deuterium Fraction: Nobeyama Single-pointing Survey
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Tremblay C
(2020)
Nitric Oxide and Other Molecules: Molecular Modeling and Low-frequency Exploration Using the Murchison Widefield Array
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aad G
(2020)
Measurement of the transverse momentum distribution of Drell-Yan lepton pairs in proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13\,$$TeV with the ATLAS detector
in The European Physical Journal C
Dharmawardena T
(2020)
Betelgeuse Fainter in the Submillimeter Too: An Analysis of JCMT and APEX Monitoring during the Recent Optical Minimum
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Wang L
(2020)
Discovery and Timing of Pulsars in the Globular Cluster M13 with FAST
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wuensche C
(2020)
Baryon acoustic oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations: Broadband corrugated horn construction and testing
in Experimental Astronomy
Kerins E
(2020)
Mutual Detectability: A Targeted SETI Strategy That Avoids the SETI Paradox
in The Astronomical Journal
Battye R
(2020)
Domain wall constraints on two-Higgs-doublet models with Z 2 symmetry
in Physical Review D
Tatematsu K
(2020)
ALMA ACA and Nobeyama Observations of Two Orion Cores in Deuterated Molecular Lines
in The Astrophysical Journal
Specht D
(2020)
MaBµlS-2: high-precision microlensing modelling for the large-scale survey era
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rajwade K
(2020)
Possible periodic activity in the repeating FRB 121102
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Venkatraman Krishnan V
(2020)
The SUrvey for pulsars and extragalactic radio bursts V: recent discoveries and full timing solutions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lamagna L
(2020)
Progress Report on the Large-Scale Polarization Explorer
in Journal of Low Temperature Physics
Parent E
(2020)
First Discovery of a Fast Radio Burst at 350 MHz by the GBNCC Survey
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aad G
(2020)
Search for a scalar partner of the top quark in the all-hadronic $$t{\bar{t}}$$ plus missing transverse momentum final state at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ TeV with the ATLAS detector
in The European Physical Journal C
Westcott J
(2020)
The curious activity in the nucleus of NGC 4151: jet interaction causing variability?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Abbott B
(2020)
Erratum: "Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars at Two Harmonics in 2015-2017 LIGO Data" (2019, ApJ, 879, 10)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aad G
(2020)
Search for Heavy Resonances Decaying into a Photon and a Hadronically Decaying Higgs Boson in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.
in Physical review letters
Saremi E
(2020)
The Isaac Newton Telescope Monitoring Survey of Local Group Dwarf Galaxies. I. Survey Overview and First Results for Andromeda I
in The Astrophysical Journal
De Gasperin F
(2020)
Cassiopeia A, Cygnus A, Taurus A, and Virgo A at ultra-low radio frequencies
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Stankowiak G
(2020)
Detection chain and electronic readout of the QUBIC instrument
Bilous A
(2020)
A LOFAR census of non-recycled pulsars: extending to frequencies below 80 MHz
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Aad G
(2020)
Performance of the ATLAS muon triggers in Run 2
in Journal of Instrumentation
Grylls P
(2020)
The significant effects of stellar mass estimation on galaxy pair fractions.
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tress R
(2020)
Simulations of the Milky Way's central molecular zone - I. Gas dynamics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Reissl S
(2020)
Synthetic observations of spiral arm tracers of a simulated Milky Way analog
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Aad G
(2020)
Performance of the upgraded PreProcessor of the ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger
in Journal of Instrumentation
Darwish M
(2020)
OH maser towards IRAS 06056+2131: polarization parameters and evolution status
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aad G
(2020)
Measurement of the Lund Jet Plane Using Charged Particles in 13 TeV Proton-Proton Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.
in Physical review letters