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
Wu J
(2020)
Simultaneous multi-telescope observations of FRB 121102
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coti Zelati F
(2021)
Simultaneous X-ray and radio observations of the transitional millisecond pulsar candidate CXOU J110926.4-650224 The discovery of a variable radio counterpart
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Szary A
(2020)
Single-pulse Modeling and the Bi-drifting Subpulses of Radio Pulsar B1839-04
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gordovskyy M
(2022)
Sizes and Shapes of Sources in Solar Metric Radio Bursts
in The Astrophysical Journal
Spinelli M
(2022)
SKAO H i intensity mapping: blind foreground subtraction challenge
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Amara A
(2021)
SkyPy: A package for modelling the Universe
in Journal of Open Source Software
Casadio C
(2021)
SMILE: Search for MIlli-LEnses
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Di Valentino E
(2021)
Snowmass2021 - Letter of interest cosmology intertwined I: Perspectives for the next decade
in Astroparticle Physics
Di Valentino E
(2021)
Snowmass2021 - Letter of interest cosmology intertwined II: The hubble constant tension
in Astroparticle Physics
Di Valentino E
(2021)
Snowmass2021 - Letter of interest cosmology intertwined IV: The age of the universe and its curvature
in Astroparticle Physics
Njeri A
(2023)
SPARCS-North Wide-field VLBI Survey: exploring the resolved µJy extragalactic radio source population with EVN + e-MERLIN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bolliet B
(2021)
Spectral distortion constraints on photon injection from low-mass decaying particles
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rajwade K
(2020)
Spectrotemporal Analysis of a Sample of Bursts from FRB 121102
in Research Notes of the AAS
McCallum N
(2021)
Spin characterization of systematics in CMB surveys - a comprehensive formalism
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McCallum N
(2021)
Spin-based removal of instrumental systematics in 21 cm intensity mapping surveys
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Deason A
(2021)
Stellar splashback: the edge of the intracluster light
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schmidt T
(2023)
STRIDES: automated uniform models for 30 quadruply imaged quasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kramer M
(2021)
Strong-Field Gravity Tests with the Double Pulsar
in Physical Review X
Parent E
(2022)
Study of 72 Pulsars Discovered in the PALFA Survey: Timing Analysis, Glitch Activity, Emission Variability, and a Pulsar in an Eccentric Binary
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kudale S
(2020)
Study of Eclipses for Redback Pulsar J1227-4853
in The Astrophysical Journal
Stappers B
(2020)
Study of spider pulsar binary eclipses and discovery of an eclipse mechanism transition
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Perrott Y
(2023)
Sub-kpc radio jets in the brightest central galaxy of the cool-core galaxy cluster RXJ1720.1+2638
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Upham R
(2021)
Sufficiency of a Gaussian power spectrum likelihood for accurate cosmology from upcoming weak lensing surveys
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Battye R
(2020)
SuperCLASS - I. The super cluster assisted shear survey: Project overview and data release 1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Manning S
(2020)
SuperCLASS - II. Photometric redshifts and characteristics of spatially resolved µ Jy radio sources
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
Whitney A
(2020)
Surface Brightness Evolution of Galaxies in the CANDELS GOODS Fields up to z ~ 6: High-z Galaxies Are Unique or Remain Undetected
in The Astrophysical Journal
Varga T
(2022)
Synthetic galaxy clusters and observations based on Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Data
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
Boshkayev K
(2021)
Testing generalized logotropic models with cosmic growth
in Physical Review D
Page K
(2022)
The 2021 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi observed in X-rays by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory : a comparative study
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
Massardi M
(2021)
The Additional Representative Images for Legacy (ARI-L) Project for the ALMA Science Archive
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Fudamoto Y
(2022)
The ALMA REBELS Survey: Average [C ii] 158 µm Sizes of Star-forming Galaxies from z ~ 7 to z ~ 4
in The Astrophysical Journal
Inami H
(2022)
The ALMA REBELS Survey: dust continuum detections at z > 6.5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Topping M
(2022)
The ALMA REBELS Survey: specific star formation rates in the reionization era
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hilton M
(2021)
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: A Catalog of >4000 Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Galaxy Clusters
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Abdalla E
(2022)
The BINGO project I. Baryon acoustic oscillations from integrated neutral gas observations
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wuensche C
(2022)
The BINGO project II. Instrument description
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Liccardo V
(2022)
The BINGO project IV. Simulations for mission performance assessment and preliminary component separation steps
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Costa A
(2022)
The BINGO project VII. Cosmological forecasts from 21 cm intensity mapping
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kong S
(2021)
The CARMA-NRO Orion Survey: Filament Formation via Collision-induced Magnetic Reconnection-the Stick in Orion A
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lawrence A
(2022)
The case for space environmentalism
in Nature Astronomy
Hajduk M
(2020)
The cooling-down central star of the planetary nebula SwSt 1: a late thermal pulse in a massive post-AGB star?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Irabor T
(2023)
The coordinated radio and infrared survey for high-mass star formation - V. The CORNISH-South survey and catalogue
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Westcott J
(2020)
The curious activity in the nucleus of NGC 4151: jet interaction causing variability?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society