Research in Theoretical Astronomy 2009-2014
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of Astronomy
Abstract
The Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, is one of the worlds leading research Institutes in Astronomy. It comprises 19 academic staff, 51 postdoctoral research assistants and 52 PhD students, about half of whom work on theoretical astronomy. This grant application is asking for a renewal of the main theoretical rolling grant at the IoA. Over the next five years we will pursue a broad range of theoretical research on the following problems: (i) The Planck satellite is a third generation space satellite dedicated to measuring the temperature and polarization anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. Planck is scheduled for launch at the end of 2008, some 15 years after it was first proposed to ESA. The years covered by the grant coincide with the peak period for the scientific exploitation of this satellite. PDRA support is requested to work with the Co-Investigators on core science projects. In particular, we are responsible for leading the key analysis of cosmological parameters from Planck and wish to investigate constraints on models of cosmic inflation. Cambridge has a leading role in the Clover polarization experiment and we wish to involve PDRAs in the scientific interpretation of that experiment. (ii) The cosmic microwave background radiation provides us with a picture of the Universe when it was 400,000 years old. At that time, the Universe was filled with a near uniform mixture of hydrogen , helium, dark matter and radiation. We will investigate how the first non-linear structures emerged from this stochastic background. Over the grant period the main emphasis of the research will be to perform hydrodynamic simulations including radiative transfer to model the thermal state of the intergalactic medium and spatially extended Lyalpha emission. We will also extend previous work on the matter power spectrum from the Ly alpha forest to constrain neutrino masses, in combination with data from Planck. (iii) The discovery of large numbers of extrasolar planets has led to enormous interest in theoretical work on the formation of planets. Over the grant period we will pursue a research programme building on expertise in protoplanetary and debris disk evolution. The work will be centred on linking the protoplanetary phase, when discs were gas rich and possible sites of ongoing gaseous planet formation, through to the debris disc phase, when discs were gas poor, dusty structures, with planetesimal bels as possible sites for terrestrial planet formation. (iv) Accretion discs are present in a wide variety of astronomical systems . In particular, accretion onto compact objects such as black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs produce observational signatures that provide the main scientific justification for X-ray satellites and gravitational wave detectors. Magnetic fields are central to understanding the evolution of accretion discs. We will perform state-of-the-art numerical simulations of magnetised accretion discs to understand their role in accretion disc dynamics and to compute observational signatures. (v) Understanding stellar evolution is essential for the interpretation of all astrophysical systems, from stars in our own Galaxy to the formation of the first non-linear structures in the Universe. Over the next five years we will develop improved models of massive stars as the progenitors of supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. We will also develop fully three-dimensional numerical models of stellar evolution in binary systems, in collaboration with colleagues at Livermore. (vi) Finally, we will pursue two research themes to understand feedback processes in the cores of clusters of galaxies. We will investigate the physics of `emission line filaments', which are still not understood and we will use large numerical simulations to assess the impact of baryonic physics on the use of clusters as cosmological probes (e.g. testing the nature of dark energy.
Organisations
Publications
{Planck Collaboration} And {Ade}, P.~A.~R. And {Aghanim}, N. And {Arnaud}, M. And {Ashdown}, M. And {Aumont}, J. And {Baccigalupi}, C. And {Balbi}, A. And {Banday}, A.~J. And {Barreiro}, R.~B. And {Bartlett}, J.~G. And {Battaner}, E. And {Benabed}, K. And {Beno{\^i}t}, A. And {Bernard}, J.-P. And {Bersanelli}, M. And {Bhatia}, R. And {Bock}, J.~J. And {Bonaldi}, A. And {Bond}, J.~R. And {Borrill}, J. And {Bouchet}, F.~R. And {Boulanger}, F. And {Bucher}, M. And {Burigana}, C. And {Cabella}, P.
(2011)
Planck early results. XIX. All-sky temperature and dust optical depth from Planck and IRAS. Constraints on the ''dark gas'' in our Galaxy
in \aap
Haehnelt M
(2010)
Probing dark matter, galaxies and the expansion history of the Universe with Ly a in absorption and emission
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Mennella A
(2011)
Planck early results. III. First assessment of the Low Frequency Instrument in-flight performance
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Engel H
(2010)
NGC 6240: merger-induced star formation and gas dynamics
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Larsen S
(2011)
Resolved photometry of extragalactic young massive star clusters
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Moerchen M
(2010)
Asymmetric heating of the HR 4796A dust ring due to pericenter glow
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Zacchei A
(2011)
Planck early results. V. The Low Frequency Instrument data processing
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lestrade J
(2009)
Search for cold debris disks around M-dwarfs. II
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Raymond S
(2011)
Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Claeys J
(2011)
Binary progenitor models of type IIb supernovae
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smith R
(2009)
Resolving the hot dust around HD69830 and ? Corvi with MIDI and VISIR
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lamarre J
(2010)
Planck pre-launch status: The HFI instrument, from specification to actual performance
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Matthews B
(2010)
Resolving debris discs in the far-infrared: Early highlights from the DEBRIS survey
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Smith R
(2010)
Warm dusty discs: exploring the A star 24 ยต m debris population
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Tauber J
(2010)
Planck pre-launch status: The Planck mission
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Clarke C
(2009)
The initial mass function in clusters: theoretical and observational perspectives
in Astrophysics and Space Science
Wyatt M
(2011)
Debris disk size distributions: steady state collisional evolution with Poynting-Robertson drag and other loss processes
in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy
Pontzen A
(2011)
Linearization of homogeneous, nearly-isotropic cosmological models
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Hanson D
(2010)
Weak lensing of the CMB
in General Relativity and Gravitation
Lewis A
(2011)
The shape of the CMB lensing bispectrum
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Viel M
(2010)
The effect of neutrinos on the matter distribution as probed by the intergalactic medium
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Efstathiou G
(2009)
B-mode detection with an extended planck mission
in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Wickramasinghe D
(2009)
Accretion induced collapse of white dwarfs in binary systems and their observational properties
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Booth M
(2009)
The history of the Solar system's debris disc: observable properties of the Kuiper belt
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mustill A
(2009)
Debris disc stirring by secular perturbations from giant planets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Martin R
(2009)
The shape of an accretion disc in a misaligned black hole binary
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Efstathiou G
(2010)
Large-angle correlations in the cosmic microwave background Large-angle correlations of the CMB
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bonsor A
(2011)
Dynamical effects of stellar mass-loss on a Kuiper-like belt Dynamical effects of stellar mass-loss
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hurley J
(2010)
Formation of binary millisecond pulsars by accretion-induced collapse of white dwarfs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kendall S
(2011)
Spiral structure in nearby galaxies - I. Sample, data analysis and overview of results Spiral structure in nearby galaxies - I
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lau H
(2009)
The evolution of low-metallicity asymptotic giant branch stars and the formation of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Church R
(2009)
Mass transfer in eccentric binaries: the new oil-on-water smoothed particle hydrodynamics technique
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes L
(2009)
A joint model for the emission and absorption properties of damped Lya absorption systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Becker G
(2011)
Detection of extended He ii reionization in the temperature evolution of the intergalactic medium? IGM temperatures over 2 < z < 5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wickramasinghe D
(2010)
Does GD 356 have a terrestrial planetary companion?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Beckwith K
(2011)
Turbulence in global simulations of magnetized thin accretion discs Turbulence in magnetized thin discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Moeckel N
(2012)
Circumbinary disc survival during binary-single scattering: towards a dynamical model of the Orion BN/KL complex Circumbinary disc survival during scattering
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ball W
(2011)
The structure and evolution of quasi-stars The structure and evolution of quasi-stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kruijssen J
(2012)
The dynamical state of stellar structure in star-forming regions Dynamical state of star-forming regions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Calverley A
(2011)
Measurements of the ultraviolet background at 4.6 < z < 6.4 using the quasar proximity effect? Proximity-effect measurements of the UVB at high redshift
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes L
(2011)
Galactic winds and extended Lya emission from the host galaxies of high column density quasi-stellar object absorption systems Galactic winds and extended Lya emission
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Owen J
(2010)
Radiation-hydrodynamic models of X-ray and EUV photoevaporating protoplanetary discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Greaves J
(2009)
Debris discs around nearby solar analogues
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sijacki D
(2011)
Gravitational recoils of supermassive black holes in hydrodynamical simulations of gas-rich galaxies Recoils of black holes in gas-rich galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bonsor A
(2012)
The scattering of small bodies in planetary systems: constraints on the possible orbits of cometary material Scattering in planetary systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wilkins D
(2012)
Testing the accuracy of radiative cooling approximations in smoothed particle hydrodynamical simulations Testing radiative cooling approximations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes L
(2010)
Faint extended Lya emission due to star formation at the centre of high column density QSO absorption systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barnes L
(2010)
Faint extended Lya emission due to star formation at the centre of high column density QSO absorption systems Extended Lya emission from DLAs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maschberger T
(2011)
Global mass segregation in hydrodynamical simulations of star formation Global mass segregation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dervisoglu A
(2010)
Spin angular momentum evolution of the long-period Algols Spin angular momentum evolution of Algols
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | Fundamental contributions to a wide range of problems in theoretical astronomy |
| Exploitation Route | Via publication in academic journals |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Other |