Astrophysics and Cosmology Research at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics 2023-2026
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.
Pulsars and Time Domain Astrophysics: The focus of this group is astrophysical signatures that are changing with time - signals which go 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.
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.
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.
Pulsars and Time Domain Astrophysics: The focus of this group is astrophysical signatures that are changing with time - signals which go 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.
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.
Organisations
Publications
Acharya S
(2024)
Constraining broad photon spectrum injections from exotic and astrophysical sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Garrett M
(2023)
Constraints on extragalactic transmitters via Breakthrough Listen observations of background sources
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cyr B
(2023)
Constraints on the spectral signatures of superconducting cosmic strings
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Abbott T
(2023)
Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Constraints on extensions to ? CDM with weak lensing and galaxy clustering
in Physical Review D
Bom C
(2024)
Designing an Optimal Kilonova Search Using DECam for Gravitational-wave Events
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chen Z
(2023)
Detecting the H i power spectrum in the post-reionization Universe with SKA-Low
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Surnis M
(2023)
Discovery of an extremely intermittent periodic radio source
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Cyr B
(2024)
Disentangling the primordial nature of stochastic gravitational wave backgrounds with CMB spectral distortions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wethers C
(2024)
Double, double, toil, and trouble The tails, bubbles, and knots of the local compact obscured nucleus galaxy NGC 4418
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Trussler J
(2024)
EPOCHS IX. When cosmic dawn breaks: evidence for evolved stellar populations in 7 < z < 12 galaxies from PEARLS GTO and public NIRCam imaging
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ormerod K
(2024)
EPOCHS VI: the size and shape evolution of galaxies since z ~ 8 with JWST Observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JuodĹžbalis I
(2023)
EPOCHS VII: discovery of high-redshift (6.5 < z < 12) AGN candidates in JWST ERO and PEARLS data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Huang ? Q
(2023)
Estimation of the Flux at 1450 MHz of OB Stars for FAST and SKA
in The Astronomical Journal
Camarena D
(2023)
Euclid : Testing the Copernican principle with next-generation surveys
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Li Y
(2023)
FAST Drift Scan Survey for Hi Intensity Mapping: I. Preliminary Data Analysis
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ward-Thompson D
(2023)
First BISTRO Observations of the Dark Cloud Taurus L1495A-B10: The Role of the Magnetic Field in the Earliest Stages of Low-mass Star Formation
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wilkins S
(2024)
First Light and Reionization Epoch Simulations ( flares ) - XIV. The Balmer/4000 Å breaks of distant galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Seeyave L
(2023)
First light and reionization epoch simulations (FLARES) X iii : the lyman-continuum emission of high-redshift galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kumari S
(2024)
First Systematic Study Reporting the Changes in Eclipse Cutoff Frequency for Pulsar J1544+4937
in The Astrophysical Journal
Valdivia-Mena M
(2023)
Flow of gas detected from beyond the filaments to protostellar scales in Barnard 5
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rhodes L
(2023)
FRB 20121102A: images of the bursts and the varying radio counterpart
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Driessen L
(2024)
FRB 20210405I: a nearby Fast Radio Burst localized to sub-arcsecond precision with MeerKAT
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vacher L
(2023)
Frequency dependence of the thermal dust E / B ratio and EB correlation: Insights from the spin-moment expansion
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sormani M
(2023)
Fuelling the nuclear ring of NGC 1097
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society