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
Towler I
(2024)
Inferring the dark matter splashback radius from cluster gas and observable profiles in the FLAMINGO simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cyr B
(2024)
Disentangling the primordial nature of stochastic gravitational wave backgrounds with CMB spectral distortions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kaczmarek Z
(2024)
Spatially resolved microlensing time-scale distributions across the Galactic bulge with the VVV survey
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
Tohill C
(2024)
A Robust Study of High-redshift Galaxies: Unsupervised Machine Learning for Characterizing Morphology with JWST up to z ~ 8
in The Astrophysical Journal
Aalto S
(2024)
OH megamaser emission in the outflow of the luminous infrared galaxy Zw049.057
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Cotton W
(2024)
The MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Basu A
(2024)
The Thousand-Pulsar-Array programme on MeerKAT - XII. Discovery of long-term pulse profile evolution in seven young pulsars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
López-Caraballo C
(2024)
QUIJOTE scientific results - XIII. Intensity and polarization study of the microwave spectra of supernova remnants in the QUIJOTE-MFI wide survey: CTB 80, Cygnus Loop, HB 21, CTA 1, Tycho, and HB 9
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jones G
(2024)
GA-NIFS: JWST/NIRSpec integral field unit observations of HFLS3 reveal a dense galaxy group at z ~ 6.3
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rigby A
(2024)
The dynamic centres of infrared-dark clouds and the formation of cores
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fijma S
(2024)
A new method for short-duration transient detection in radio images: searching for transient sources in MeerKAT data of NGC 5068
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Deane R
(2024)
The VLBA CANDELS GOODS-North Survey. I - Survey Design, Processing, Data Products, and Source Counts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society