Exploiting James Webb Space Telescope Observations of the First Galaxies. This Discovery Project aims exploit the next generation spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope, combined with Australian supercomputing expertise to make fundamental new measurements of the formation of stars in the first galaxies. The results will be used to make predictions for key experiments that will be conducted with the Square Kilometer Array. The research outcomes aim to benefit astronomy by generating ne ....Exploiting James Webb Space Telescope Observations of the First Galaxies. This Discovery Project aims exploit the next generation spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope, combined with Australian supercomputing expertise to make fundamental new measurements of the formation of stars in the first galaxies. The results will be used to make predictions for key experiments that will be conducted with the Square Kilometer Array. The research outcomes aim to benefit astronomy by generating new knowledge of high redshift galaxies and provide new spectral star-formation diagnostics which will be made available to the general astronomical community. The project also aims to provide cultural benefit through effective public and education as well training of future leaders for astronomy and industry research.Read moreRead less
Binary stars and Planets. Aims: This project aims to study stellar and planetary systems in which the objects' spins are tilted with respect to their orbits, e.g., responsible for the seasons on earth. Significance: Observations show that many exoplanets and binary star systems are usually tilted, affecting their evolution.
Expected outcomes include understanding the final spin states of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, and misaligned hot Jupiter systems.
Benefits: This project sh ....Binary stars and Planets. Aims: This project aims to study stellar and planetary systems in which the objects' spins are tilted with respect to their orbits, e.g., responsible for the seasons on earth. Significance: Observations show that many exoplanets and binary star systems are usually tilted, affecting their evolution.
Expected outcomes include understanding the final spin states of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, and misaligned hot Jupiter systems.
Benefits: This project should bring together expertise in stellar modelling, the theory of tidal interactions, and binary dynamics to make first inroads on this problem by allowing for both differential rotation and varying spin direction inside the star, advancing our knowledge on stars and planets.Read moreRead less
Cosmic powerhouses: The birth, death, and legacy of black hole jets. This project targets relativistic jets powered by supermassive black holes - the most powerful systems in the Universe. Theoretically, the enormous energies released have a profound influence on how galaxies evolve; empirically, observations reveal signatures of their impact across cosmic time. However, fundamental questions remain about how these jets are triggered and what impact they have on galaxies. The project will addres ....Cosmic powerhouses: The birth, death, and legacy of black hole jets. This project targets relativistic jets powered by supermassive black holes - the most powerful systems in the Universe. Theoretically, the enormous energies released have a profound influence on how galaxies evolve; empirically, observations reveal signatures of their impact across cosmic time. However, fundamental questions remain about how these jets are triggered and what impact they have on galaxies. The project will address these questions using novel supercomputer models of black hole jets in realistic cosmological environments, then confront these predictions with new data from Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinding radio telescopes. This will substantially enhance Australia’s leadership capacity in a strategically important area.Read moreRead less
Planet Formation at Solar System Scales with the James Webb Space Telescope. Planetary systems like our own form within vast disks of primordial gas and dust around newborn stars. This project will observe such disks spanning a range of ages with the James Webb Space Telescope to reveal the detailed in-situ physics of planet-forming disks themselves. We will deliver the sharpest-ever infrared images in astronomy, exploiting the only Australian-designed instrument on the spacecraft: the Aperture ....Planet Formation at Solar System Scales with the James Webb Space Telescope. Planetary systems like our own form within vast disks of primordial gas and dust around newborn stars. This project will observe such disks spanning a range of ages with the James Webb Space Telescope to reveal the detailed in-situ physics of planet-forming disks themselves. We will deliver the sharpest-ever infrared images in astronomy, exploiting the only Australian-designed instrument on the spacecraft: the Aperture Masking Interferometer. This yields new physics for actively growing protoplanets, carved rings and gaps in disks, and gravitationally sculpted patterns of leftover cometary debris. Confronting state-of-the-art models with these data will immediately yield profound insights into planetary system formation, including our own.Read moreRead less
Lifting the Veil on Cold Planets in the Inner Galaxy. The project aims to explore a unique aspect of exoplanet detection: searches for cold planets of Earth mass and larger in the densest stellar fields of the inner Milky Way. Infrared cameras will be used to detect small planets in this extreme galactic environment. The proposed project will open a new era of infrared microlensing observations from the ground and supply critical data in preparation for the next generation of microlensing from s ....Lifting the Veil on Cold Planets in the Inner Galaxy. The project aims to explore a unique aspect of exoplanet detection: searches for cold planets of Earth mass and larger in the densest stellar fields of the inner Milky Way. Infrared cameras will be used to detect small planets in this extreme galactic environment. The proposed project will open a new era of infrared microlensing observations from the ground and supply critical data in preparation for the next generation of microlensing from space. This work directly links to the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope (2026 launch) Galactic Exoplanet Survey. Expected outcomes are a greatly improved understanding of planet formation down to terrestrial-mass planets, and improved techniques for cold planet detection with gravitational microlensing. Read moreRead less
Star Formation Through Cosmic Time. This project aims to determine how turbulence and magnetic fields control the formation of stars. This is crucial to understand the formation of galaxies, planets and ultimately life. The expected outcomes are the most detailed simulations of star formation in the early Universe and in galaxies today. This project has the potential to transform our understanding of cosmic structure formation, providing crucial input for Australian and international facilities ....Star Formation Through Cosmic Time. This project aims to determine how turbulence and magnetic fields control the formation of stars. This is crucial to understand the formation of galaxies, planets and ultimately life. The expected outcomes are the most detailed simulations of star formation in the early Universe and in galaxies today. This project has the potential to transform our understanding of cosmic structure formation, providing crucial input for Australian and international facilities and surveys, and models of galaxy, star and planet formation. Training Australia's future generation of Big Data analysts, as well as the development of interdisciplinary tools involving Chemical Modelling, Plasma Physics, Statistics and High Performance Computing are key benefits.Read moreRead less
Revealing the Unseen Universe with Gravitational Lensing. This project will analyse new Australian led observations from the Hubble Space Telescope of light being bent around massive galaxies by gravity. To analyse these images we must develop advanced physical models and statistical techniques. This analysis will give us highly magnified views of early galaxy evolution revealing physical details otherwise impossible to see. It will also allow us to put constraints on the nature of invisible dar ....Revealing the Unseen Universe with Gravitational Lensing. This project will analyse new Australian led observations from the Hubble Space Telescope of light being bent around massive galaxies by gravity. To analyse these images we must develop advanced physical models and statistical techniques. This analysis will give us highly magnified views of early galaxy evolution revealing physical details otherwise impossible to see. It will also allow us to put constraints on the nature of invisible dark matter with the possibility of detecting warm dark matter signatures and enable us to probe the expansion of the Universe, testing whether the unseen dark energy is evolving in time. The Hubble sample is much larger and a major advance on previous work, and enables breakthrough science in these areas.Read moreRead less
Unveiling the dead and dusty Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope. This project aims to find the earliest dead and dust obscured galaxies in the Universe. Understanding their astrophysics, explosive growth, and demise have long been among the most important unsolved mysteries of astronomy. Decades in the making, the imminent availability of the James Webb Space Telescope mid-2022 marks a watershed moment. This project uses guaranteed access to the revolutionary space telescope to discove ....Unveiling the dead and dusty Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope. This project aims to find the earliest dead and dust obscured galaxies in the Universe. Understanding their astrophysics, explosive growth, and demise have long been among the most important unsolved mysteries of astronomy. Decades in the making, the imminent availability of the James Webb Space Telescope mid-2022 marks a watershed moment. This project uses guaranteed access to the revolutionary space telescope to discover the first dead galaxies and unveil the previously hidden "dusty" galaxies and shed light on their suspected evolutionary link. The project is expected to significantly enhance Australia's international standing through leadership in use of the world's flagship scientific facility.Read moreRead less
Galaxy evolution in high definition with the world's largest telescopes. This project aims to determine where, when, and how galaxies formed their stars in the key epoch spanning the first four billion years of the Universe’s history. Astronomy has entered a new era with the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the most powerful telescopes ever built. Together, they provide the sharpest and most complete view of distant, young galaxies ever achieved. This ....Galaxy evolution in high definition with the world's largest telescopes. This project aims to determine where, when, and how galaxies formed their stars in the key epoch spanning the first four billion years of the Universe’s history. Astronomy has entered a new era with the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the most powerful telescopes ever built. Together, they provide the sharpest and most complete view of distant, young galaxies ever achieved. This project will use cutting-edge ALMA and JWST observations to produce high-definition maps of the physical parameters of young galaxies through innovative analysis techniques. The project will enhance Australia's standing in astrophysical research, while inspiring the next generation of STEM students and workers.Read moreRead less
Expanding the Foundation of Planetary Science. Our understanding of the Solar System is based on a foundation of meteorite analyses. Knowing their orbital origin provides a critical spatial context, but we have this data for <0.1% of samples. This project aims to address this issue. There are 66 meteorite falls across Australia with orbits determined by the Desert Fireball Network that await recovery - more than the current global dataset. This project expects to generate new knowledge by applyi ....Expanding the Foundation of Planetary Science. Our understanding of the Solar System is based on a foundation of meteorite analyses. Knowing their orbital origin provides a critical spatial context, but we have this data for <0.1% of samples. This project aims to address this issue. There are 66 meteorite falls across Australia with orbits determined by the Desert Fireball Network that await recovery - more than the current global dataset. This project expects to generate new knowledge by applying an innovative search methodology using drones and machine learning. Expected outcomes include dramatically increasing the number of orbital meteorites. This should provide significant benefits. By linking meteorites to their parent asteroids every rock becomes a small sample-return mission.Read moreRead less