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
Decin L
(2020)
(Sub)stellar companions shape the winds of evolved stars
Decin L
(2020)
(Sub)stellar companions shape the winds of evolved stars.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Driessen L
(2022)
21 new long-term variables in the GX 339-4 field: two years of MeerKAT monitoring
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Perrott Y
(2021)
A 15.5 GHz detection of the galaxy cluster minihalo in RXJ1720.1+2638
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mata Sánchez D
(2023)
A black widow population dissection through HiPERCAM multiband light-curve modelling
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Agar C
(2021)
A broad-band radio study of PSR J0250+5854: the slowest spinning radio pulsar known
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tan S
(2024)
A catalogue of planetary nebulae chemical abundances in the Galactic bulge
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bondonneau L
(2020)
A census of the pulsar population observed with the international LOFAR station FR606 at low frequencies (25-80 MHz)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Goldman S
(2022)
A Census of Thermally Pulsing AGB Stars in the Andromeda Galaxy and a First Estimate of Their Contribution to the Global Dust Budget
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Yang J
(2021)
A compact core-jet structure in the changing-look Seyfert NGC 2617
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wang J
(2022)
A comparative analysis of pulse time-of-arrival creation methods
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Conselice C
(2022)
A Direct Measurement of Galaxy Major and Minor Merger Rates and Stellar Mass Accretion Histories at Z < 3 Using Galaxy Pairs in the REFINE Survey
in The Astrophysical Journal
Marshall A
(2022)
A fresh look at AGN spectral energy distribution fitting with the XMM-SERVS AGN sample
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nitu I
(2024)
A Gaussian-processes approach to fitting for time-variable spherical solar wind in pulsar timing data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Skipper C
(2022)
A GPU-based Imager with Polarised Primary-beam Correction
Skipper C
(2022)
A GPU-based Imager with Polarised Primary-beam Correction
Bilous A
(2020)
A LOFAR census of non-recycled pulsars: extending to frequencies below 80 MHz
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mucesh S
(2021)
A machine learning approach to galaxy properties: joint redshift-stellar mass probability distributions with Random Forest
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Abbate F
(2023)
A MeerKAT look at the polarization of 47 Tucanae pulsars: magnetic field implications
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hewitt D
(2020)
A MeerKAT survey of nearby nova-like cataclysmic variables
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chibueze J
(2022)
A MeerKAT, e-MERLIN, H.E.S.S., and Swift search for persistent and transient emission associated with three localized FRBs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lee E
(2022)
A multisimulation study of relativistic SZ temperature scalings in galaxy clusters and groups
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lykou F
(2023)
A New Study on a Type Iax Stellar Remnant and its Probable Association with SN 1181
in The Astrophysical Journal
Sobey C
(2021)
A polarization census of bright pulsars using the ultrawideband receiver on the Parkes radio telescope
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McKee J
(2020)
A precise mass measurement of PSR J2045 + 3633
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Shahbaz T
(2023)
A rapid optical and X-ray timing study of the neutron star X-ray binary Swift J1858.6-0814
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Singha J
(2021)
A real-time automated glitch detection pipeline at Ooty Radio Telescope
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Nitu I
(2022)
A search for planetary companions around 800 pulsars from the Jodrell Bank pulsar timing programme
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aad G
(2021)
A search for the dimuon decay of the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Aad G
(2020)
A search for the Z? decay mode of the Higgs boson in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
in Physics Letters B
Bernardinelli P
(2022)
A Search of the Full Six Years of the Dark Energy Survey for Outer Solar System Objects
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Ferreira L
(2022)
A Simulation-driven Deep Learning Approach for Separating Mergers and Star-forming Galaxies: The Formation Histories of Clumpy Galaxies in All of the CANDELS Fields
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pineda J
(2020)
A SOFIA Survey of [C ii] in the Galaxy M51. II. [C ii] and CO Kinematics across the Spiral Arms
in The Astrophysical Journal
Basu K
(2021)
A space mission to map the entire observable universe using the CMB as a backlight Voyage 2050 science white paper
in Experimental Astronomy
McCulloch M
(2024)
A tunable resonator enabled by a soft impedance surface
in Microwave and Optical Technology Letters
Bernstein L
(2020)
A Two Carrier Families Spectral Profile Model for Anomalous Microwave Emission
in The Astrophysical Journal
Basu A
(2021)
Absolute time calibration of LAXPC aboard AstroSat
in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy
Martín S
(2021)
ALCHEMI, an ALMA Comprehensive High-resolution Extragalactic Molecular Inventory Survey presentation and first results from the ACA array
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Aad G
(2020)
Alignment of the ATLAS Inner Detector in Run 2
in The European Physical Journal C
Tatematsu K
(2020)
ALMA ACA and Nobeyama Observations of Two Orion Cores in Deuterated Molecular Lines
in The Astrophysical Journal
Sabin L
(2020)
ALMA reveals the coherence of the magnetic field geometry in OH 231.8+4.2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Anderson M
(2021)
An ALMA study of hub-filament systems - I. On the clump mass concentration within the most massive cores
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
Koprowski M
(2020)
An ALMA survey of the SCUBA-2 cosmology legacy survey UKIDSS/UDS field: Dust attenuation in high-redshift Lyman-break galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Platts E
(2021)
An analysis of the time-frequency structure of several bursts from FRB 121102 detected with MeerKAT
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bright J
(2020)
An extremely powerful long-lived superluminal ejection from the black hole MAXI J1820+070
in Nature Astronomy
Sahu K
(2022)
An Isolated Stellar-mass Black Hole Detected through Astrometric Microlensing*
in The Astrophysical Journal
Van Cappellen W
(2022)
Apertif: Phased array feeds for the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope System overview and performance characteristics
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lemos P
(2021)
Assessing tension metrics with dark energy survey and Planck data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society