Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100150
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$459,000.00
Summary
How galactic mergers and their stellar survivors shaped our Milky Way. This project aims to investigate the role of mergers with smaller galaxies in shaping the Milky Way by developing tools to identify stellar survivors of mergers. This project expects to produce an all-sky map of stellar survivors based on the largest search within Australian and international survey data and perform innovative comparisons with simulations to constrain the role of mergers. Expected outcomes are aligned with th ....How galactic mergers and their stellar survivors shaped our Milky Way. This project aims to investigate the role of mergers with smaller galaxies in shaping the Milky Way by developing tools to identify stellar survivors of mergers. This project expects to produce an all-sky map of stellar survivors based on the largest search within Australian and international survey data and perform innovative comparisons with simulations to constrain the role of mergers. Expected outcomes are aligned with the decadal plan for Australian astronomy and can open new avenues for global astronomy and contracts for upcoming billion-dollar surveys. The project should cement Australia’s role as a leader in a new era of galactic exploration and provide benefits beyond astronomy by training Australians to assess complex big data.Read moreRead less
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
ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. The mission of our Centre is to use gravitational waves to investigate the fundamental nature of relativistic gravity, ultra-dense matter, and cosmology. This will generate critical discoveries that cement Australia's leadership role in the gravitational wave mega-science instruments of the 2030s and 2040s. By bringing together a world-class team with broad and complementary expe ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. The mission of our Centre is to use gravitational waves to investigate the fundamental nature of relativistic gravity, ultra-dense matter, and cosmology. This will generate critical discoveries that cement Australia's leadership role in the gravitational wave mega-science instruments of the 2030s and 2040s. By bringing together a world-class team with broad and complementary expertise we will develop core technologies for future detectors, discover new sources of gravitational waves, probe fundamental physics, and lay the foundations for an Australian gravitational wave observatory. Our discoveries will inspire Australia's youth to pursue high tech careers and position our staff and students to become leaders in both industry and academia.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
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL220100191
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,609,122.00
Summary
Unveiling the mass of the Universe: stars, gas, plasma and dark matter. Using unique Australian-built fibre-positioning technologies, the Fellowship will measure the distances to 2 million galaxies, transforming our understanding of dark matter on the scales of galaxies, galaxy groups, and filaments – the largest structures that exist. There are two specific goals: (i) to test precise predictions of the leading cold dark matter model by constructing dark-matter halo catalogues based on the motio ....Unveiling the mass of the Universe: stars, gas, plasma and dark matter. Using unique Australian-built fibre-positioning technologies, the Fellowship will measure the distances to 2 million galaxies, transforming our understanding of dark matter on the scales of galaxies, galaxy groups, and filaments – the largest structures that exist. There are two specific goals: (i) to test precise predictions of the leading cold dark matter model by constructing dark-matter halo catalogues based on the motions of galaxies measured to unprecedented accuracy; and (ii) to solve the long-standing "missing mass" problem by measuring the extent of the plasma, neutral gas, and stellar contents within these halos. Both programs will capitalise on our strategic engagement with the European Southern Observatory.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
Watching planets grow in real time. This project will conduct the first in-depth examination of the atmospheres of newly born small planets around other stars, yielding a better understanding of how planets evolve early in their lives. The atmosphere of our Earth is its most distinguishing feature. Key outcomes of this project include unveiling the mechanisms that drive the erosion of early planetary atmospheres, leading to a better understanding of the processes that sculpt all planets, includi ....Watching planets grow in real time. This project will conduct the first in-depth examination of the atmospheres of newly born small planets around other stars, yielding a better understanding of how planets evolve early in their lives. The atmosphere of our Earth is its most distinguishing feature. Key outcomes of this project include unveiling the mechanisms that drive the erosion of early planetary atmospheres, leading to a better understanding of the processes that sculpt all planets, including those in our own Solar System. The project leverages Australian and international expertise across exoplanetary, stellar, and Solar System astrophysics, with key outcomes in developing techniques for Australian utilisation of world-class multi-wavelength space facilities. Read moreRead less
Designing a spectrometer to search for life on extrasolar planets. Finding indicators of life on extrasolar planets is one of the greatest science questions of our time. Astronomers have found rocky, earth-like exoplanets; now we need powerful spectrometers to search for biomarkers in their atmospheres, detecting the faint imprints from molecules associated with life in the colour spectrum of stars. This project will develop the instruments and technologies required to enable spectroscopy with m ....Designing a spectrometer to search for life on extrasolar planets. Finding indicators of life on extrasolar planets is one of the greatest science questions of our time. Astronomers have found rocky, earth-like exoplanets; now we need powerful spectrometers to search for biomarkers in their atmospheres, detecting the faint imprints from molecules associated with life in the colour spectrum of stars. This project will develop the instruments and technologies required to enable spectroscopy with massively multiplexed telescopes. A spectrometer design with large spectral bandwidth and high resolution, optimised for a facility consisting of thousands of small telescopes, and novel optical fibres to link them, will open the door for breakthrough science requiring an entirely new class of telescope.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