Astronomy Research at Queen Mary
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Astronomy Unit
Abstract
We propose to undertake the following research projects.
i) We will use supercomputer simulations to model the gas discs that orbit young stars,
which are believed to be the sites of planet formation.
The aim is to examine the behaviour of the gas as it orbits around the star, and to
examine how planets that form in these discs interact with them. This interaction
may explain the fact that many of the extrasolar planets that have been discovered
outside of our solar system orbit close to their host stars.
ii) We will use supercomputer simulations to model the atmospheres of extrasolar
planets. These atmospheres display interesting patterns of gas flow, and extrasolar planets
often orbit close to their stars and so are strongly heated on one side, causing strong winds
to arise. The simulations will help us better understand these atmospheres.
iii) Using mathematical representations of the laws of physics, we will produce new models
for the early evolution of the Universe, shortly after the big-bang, during which time it
underwent very rapid expansion known as "inflation". The models will be compared with
observations of the Universe to see which ones are compatible with the data.
iv) We will use Einstein's theory of gravity to make detailed predictions about the distribution
of matter in the Universe, and how this matter distribution appears to an observer on Earth.
These predictions will be compared with observational data to test Einstein's gravity on the
largest scales.
v) We will use the access that we have to the next generation of infrared spectrographs to
look for low mass planets around nearby low mass stars, using measurements of the star's
radial velocity as it orbits around the system centre of mass. Low mass stars are the optimal
targets for finding low mass planets in their habitable zone, so this may be an efficient method
of finding the first habitable earth-like planets. We will also use these spectrographs to look
for the signatures of molecules in planet atmospheres.
vi) We will use an observational survey of the Universe being undertaken by the VISTA
telescope to search for very distant quasars - galaxies that have supermassive black holes
at their centres, and which were born when the Universe was less than 10% of its
current age. We have already discovered the 2nd, 3rd and 4th most distant quasars that
are known, and the aim is to increase this number to about 10. We will then be able
to estimate of how many quasars there were when the Universe was very young,
and we will be able to examine the black holes and the structures of their galaxies.
i) We will use supercomputer simulations to model the gas discs that orbit young stars,
which are believed to be the sites of planet formation.
The aim is to examine the behaviour of the gas as it orbits around the star, and to
examine how planets that form in these discs interact with them. This interaction
may explain the fact that many of the extrasolar planets that have been discovered
outside of our solar system orbit close to their host stars.
ii) We will use supercomputer simulations to model the atmospheres of extrasolar
planets. These atmospheres display interesting patterns of gas flow, and extrasolar planets
often orbit close to their stars and so are strongly heated on one side, causing strong winds
to arise. The simulations will help us better understand these atmospheres.
iii) Using mathematical representations of the laws of physics, we will produce new models
for the early evolution of the Universe, shortly after the big-bang, during which time it
underwent very rapid expansion known as "inflation". The models will be compared with
observations of the Universe to see which ones are compatible with the data.
iv) We will use Einstein's theory of gravity to make detailed predictions about the distribution
of matter in the Universe, and how this matter distribution appears to an observer on Earth.
These predictions will be compared with observational data to test Einstein's gravity on the
largest scales.
v) We will use the access that we have to the next generation of infrared spectrographs to
look for low mass planets around nearby low mass stars, using measurements of the star's
radial velocity as it orbits around the system centre of mass. Low mass stars are the optimal
targets for finding low mass planets in their habitable zone, so this may be an efficient method
of finding the first habitable earth-like planets. We will also use these spectrographs to look
for the signatures of molecules in planet atmospheres.
vi) We will use an observational survey of the Universe being undertaken by the VISTA
telescope to search for very distant quasars - galaxies that have supermassive black holes
at their centres, and which were born when the Universe was less than 10% of its
current age. We have already discovered the 2nd, 3rd and 4th most distant quasars that
are known, and the aim is to increase this number to about 10. We will then be able
to estimate of how many quasars there were when the Universe was very young,
and we will be able to examine the black holes and the structures of their galaxies.
Planned Impact
The research proposed in this application is largely concerned with basic
scientific inquiry, and so in general it will not have high potential for
immediate economic or real world impact. The primary impact of the research
will be in the cultural sphere, as the research will increase the sum total of
human knowledge about the Universe and its constituents, and will therefore
enhance the sense of wonder about the world that we live in for the general public.
Our research in areas such as cosmology, extrasolar planets, quasars, black holes,
the Saturn system, space weather, and the origin of the Solar System all have
strong public appeal and interest.
The Astronomy Unit has an active programme of public engagement and
schools outreach, both to inform and engage the general public about our
research, and to also inspire school pupils to become interested in science
and to take STEM subjects post-GCSE. These engagement programmes
include giving public talks, having open days and evenings at the university
(e.g. Stargazing Live! events etc), and a range of media work that includes
TV and radio interviews. Our schools outreach programmes include summer schools,
essay writing competitions, going into schools to give talks and provide hands-on activities.
A recent initiative is a summer school for school students to learn about computer
coding while undertaking hands-on analysis of astronomical data. In doing this we are explicitly
supporting the STEM agenda through our research, which is a key government policy for building
long term economic growth.
Other areas of our research that may have applications outside of the academic sphere
include high performance computing and the development of advanced computer codes
and algorithms, and in advanced techniques in data analysis. Again, we will be alert to any
opportunities that may arise in finding real world or commercial applications of this work.
Finally, the posdoctoral staff that we will employ on the grant will receive training and
experience in a variety of skills that will be of great benefit to the wider economy if
they at some stage leave academia and work in industry or the commercial sector.
These skills include advanced computing and data analysis, independent problem
solving, project management, report writing through authorship of scientific
publications, and presentation skills obtained from conference attendance etc.
scientific inquiry, and so in general it will not have high potential for
immediate economic or real world impact. The primary impact of the research
will be in the cultural sphere, as the research will increase the sum total of
human knowledge about the Universe and its constituents, and will therefore
enhance the sense of wonder about the world that we live in for the general public.
Our research in areas such as cosmology, extrasolar planets, quasars, black holes,
the Saturn system, space weather, and the origin of the Solar System all have
strong public appeal and interest.
The Astronomy Unit has an active programme of public engagement and
schools outreach, both to inform and engage the general public about our
research, and to also inspire school pupils to become interested in science
and to take STEM subjects post-GCSE. These engagement programmes
include giving public talks, having open days and evenings at the university
(e.g. Stargazing Live! events etc), and a range of media work that includes
TV and radio interviews. Our schools outreach programmes include summer schools,
essay writing competitions, going into schools to give talks and provide hands-on activities.
A recent initiative is a summer school for school students to learn about computer
coding while undertaking hands-on analysis of astronomical data. In doing this we are explicitly
supporting the STEM agenda through our research, which is a key government policy for building
long term economic growth.
Other areas of our research that may have applications outside of the academic sphere
include high performance computing and the development of advanced computer codes
and algorithms, and in advanced techniques in data analysis. Again, we will be alert to any
opportunities that may arise in finding real world or commercial applications of this work.
Finally, the posdoctoral staff that we will employ on the grant will receive training and
experience in a variety of skills that will be of great benefit to the wider economy if
they at some stage leave academia and work in industry or the commercial sector.
These skills include advanced computing and data analysis, independent problem
solving, project management, report writing through authorship of scientific
publications, and presentation skills obtained from conference attendance etc.
Publications
Poon Sanson
(2019)
Formation of compact system of super-Earth via dynamical instabilities and giant impacts
in AAS/Division for Extreme Solar Systems Abstracts
Ramsey J.
(2021)
Global Non-ideal MHD Simulations of Protoplanetary Disks with Irradiation, Thermochemistry, and Synthetic Observations
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
Rashid M
(2024)
CMB polarization signal demodulation with a rotating half-wave plate
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Reiners A
(2018)
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs HD147379 b: A nearby Neptune in the temperate zone of an early-M dwarf
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Reiners A
(2018)
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs High-resolution optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of 324 survey stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Reiners A.
(2018)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: 324 CARMENES M dwarfs velocities (Reiners+, 2018)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Ribas I
(2018)
A candidate super-Earth planet orbiting near the snow line of Barnard's star
in Nature
Ribas I.
(2019)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Barnard's star radial velocity curve (Ribas+, 2018)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog (other)
Riols A
(2017)
Gravitoturbulence and the excitation of small-scale parametric instability in astrophysical discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ronayne J
(2018)
Numerically evaluating the bispectrum in curved field-space- with PyTransport 2.0
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Sanghai V
(2017)
Parameterized post-Newtonian cosmology
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Sanghai V
(2017)
Ray tracing and Hubble diagrams in post-Newtonian cosmology
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Sarkis P
(2018)
The CARMENES Search for Exoplanets around M Dwarfs: A Low-mass Planet in the Temperate Zone of the Nearby K2-18
in The Astronomical Journal
Sarkis P.
(2019)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Photometry & RV follow-up observations of K2-18 (Sarkis+, 2018)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Sch
(2019)
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Activity indicators at visible and near-infrared wavelengths
in arXiv e-prints
Schweitzer A
(2019)
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs Different roads to radii and masses of the target stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Schweitzer A.
(2019)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Radii and masses of the CARMENES targets (Schweitzer+, 2019)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Schöfer P
(2019)
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs Activity indicators at visible and near-infrared wavelengths
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Shulyak D
(2019)
Magnetic fields in M dwarfs from the CARMENES survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smoker J
(2018)
Very accurate cryogenic mechanisms for CRIRES+
Snellen I
(2017)
Detecting Proxima b's Atmosphere with JWST Targeting CO 2 at 15 µm Using a High-pass Spectral Filtering Technique
in The Astronomical Journal
Soto M
(2021)
Mass and density of the transiting hot and rocky super-Earth LHS 1478 b (TOI-1640 b)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Spinelli M
(2022)
SKAO H i intensity mapping: blind foreground subtraction challenge
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Spinelli M
(2021)
SKAO HI Intensity Mapping: Blind Foreground Subtraction Challenge
Staab D
(2019)
A compact multi-planet system around a bright nearby star from the Dispersed Matter Planet Project
in Nature Astronomy
Staab D.
(2019)
A compact multi-planet system around a bright nearby star from the Dispersed Matter Planet Project
in arXiv e-prints
Storer D
(2022)
Automated Detection of Antenna Malfunctions in Large- N Interferometers: A Case Study With the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array
in Radio Science
Strachan J
(2017)
A differential least-squares deconvolution method for high precision spectroscopy of stars and exoplanets - I. Application to obliquity measurements of HARPS observations of HD189733b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sudarshan P
(2022)
How cooling influences circumbinary discs
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sudarshan P
(2022)
How cooling influences circumbinary discs
Sánchez-López A
(2019)
Water vapor detection in the transmission spectra of HD 209458 b with the CARMENES NIR channel
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tal-Or L
(2019)
Prospects for detecting the astrometric signature of Barnard's Star b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tan J
(2021)
Methods of Error Estimation for Delay Power Spectra in 21 cm Cosmology
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
The HERA Collaboration
(2022)
Improved Constraints on the 21 cm EoR Power Spectrum and the X-Ray Heating of the IGM with HERA Phase I Observations
Toledo-Padr
(2018)
Stellar activity analysis of Barnard's Star: Very slow rotation and evidence for long-term activity cycle
in arXiv e-prints
Toledo-Padrón B
(2019)
Stellar activity analysis of Barnard's Star: Very slow rotation and evidence for long-term activity cycle
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Triaud A
(2022)
BEBOP III. Observations and an independent mass measurement of Kepler-16 (AB) b - the first circumbinary planet detected with radial velocities
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Trifonov T
(2018)
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs First visual-channel radial-velocity measurements and orbital parameter updates of seven M-dwarf planetary systems
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Tuomi M
(2018)
AD Leonis: Radial Velocity Signal of Stellar Rotation or Spin-Orbit Resonance?
in The Astronomical Journal
Tuomi M.
(2018)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: Radial velocities & photometry of AD Leonis & GJ 674 (Tuomi+, 2018)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Turner Neal
(2021)
Assembling Planetary Systems in Starlight-Heated Disks of Gas and Dust
in 43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 28 January - 4 February
Turpin G
(2024)
Orbital evolution of close binary systems: comparing viscous and wind-driven circumbinary disc models
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | Astronomy Research at Queen Mary 2020 - 2023 |
| Amount | £1,868,598 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ST/T000341/1 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2020 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Title | 25 hot-Jupiter properties from HST & Spitzer |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'Five key exoplanet questions answered via the analysis of 25 hot-Jupiter atmospheres in eclipse.' (bibcode: 2022ApJS..260....3C) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJS/260/3 |
| Title | GJ 4276 radial velocity curve |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. The enigmatic planetary system of GJ 4276: one eccentric planet or two planets in a 2:1 resonance?' (bibcode: 2019A&A...622A.153N) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/622/A153 |
| Title | LP714-47 (TOI 442) radial velocity curve |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs: LP714-47b (TOI442.01): Populating the Neptune desert.' (bibcode: 2020A&A...644A.127D) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/644/A127 |
| Title | Teegarden's Star RV and H{alpha} curves |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Two temperate Earth-mass planet candidates around Teegarden's Star.' (bibcode: 2019A&A...627A..49Z) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/627/A49 |