“Beacons in the Night” unveiling how galaxies light up dark matter. How dark matter influences the formation and evolution of galaxies is to this day an outstanding question in astrophysics. To answer it, world-class facilities and a unique combination of observations and theory are required. This DP team, a world-class team of observers and theorists, will tackle this question by leveraging on two multi-million dollar projects: the MAGPI galaxy survey and the hydrodynamical simulations suite EA ....“Beacons in the Night” unveiling how galaxies light up dark matter. How dark matter influences the formation and evolution of galaxies is to this day an outstanding question in astrophysics. To answer it, world-class facilities and a unique combination of observations and theory are required. This DP team, a world-class team of observers and theorists, will tackle this question by leveraging on two multi-million dollar projects: the MAGPI galaxy survey and the hydrodynamical simulations suite EAGLE-XL. MAGPI will deliver exquisite kinematics for hundreds of galaxies in the middle ages of the Universe, providing a view to the effect of dark matter on galaxies at this critical time, while EAGLE-XL represents the technological frontier in simulations and provides the best interpretative framework for MAGPI.Read moreRead less
Weighing the Giants: Using Galaxy Clusters to understand Dark Energy. This project seeks to reveal the nature of dark energy and thereby explain what is causing expansion of the Universe to accelerate. The project will develop new deep machine learning techniques to weigh galaxy clusters, and apply them to data from the SPT-3G experiment at the South Pole. By comparing theoretical predictions to the observed numbers and masses of galaxy clusters, the project will help determine whether the accel ....Weighing the Giants: Using Galaxy Clusters to understand Dark Energy. This project seeks to reveal the nature of dark energy and thereby explain what is causing expansion of the Universe to accelerate. The project will develop new deep machine learning techniques to weigh galaxy clusters, and apply them to data from the SPT-3G experiment at the South Pole. By comparing theoretical predictions to the observed numbers and masses of galaxy clusters, the project will help determine whether the acceleration is due to dark energy or a breakdown in general relativity. The data science training received by students and researchers on the project will also contribute to a highly skilled STEM workforce for Australia.
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Fundamental physics in distant galaxies. The fundamental constants of Nature are assumed to characterise physics in our entire Universe, but are they really the same everywhere and throughout its entire 14 billion year history? This project will answer this question with the first large-scale, purpose-built observational programme on one of the world's biggest and best telescopes.
The evolution of mass and energy over the past 13 billion years. The universe has slowly transformed atomic material into a range of structures from planets, stars, galaxies, clusters and filaments. In the process the universe has generated energy at almost all wavelengths. This project will build a model to explain the evolution of mass, energy and structure in the universe and will test the model using the latest data.
The Great Escape: The Gaseous Outflow from the Centre of the Milky Way. This project aims to increase our understanding of the workings of the central regions of galaxies. The nuclei of galaxies are galactic-scale powerhouses driven by fast-moving winds launched by either the active bursts of star formation in the galaxy’s core or the accretion of gas onto a central black hole more than a million times the mass of the Sun. In 2010, the Fermi space telescope discovered enormous bubbles filled wit ....The Great Escape: The Gaseous Outflow from the Centre of the Milky Way. This project aims to increase our understanding of the workings of the central regions of galaxies. The nuclei of galaxies are galactic-scale powerhouses driven by fast-moving winds launched by either the active bursts of star formation in the galaxy’s core or the accretion of gas onto a central black hole more than a million times the mass of the Sun. In 2010, the Fermi space telescope discovered enormous bubbles filled with hot gas emanating from the centre of the Milky Way, proof of a Galactic wind. Our Galaxy's wind offers the best laboratory in the universe for understanding what drives the powerhouses at the nuclei of normal galaxies. This project aims to determine whether the Milky Way’s nuclear wind and the Fermi bubbles were formed from a starburst wind or gas accretion onto the central black hole.Read moreRead less
How typical is our Local Galaxy Group? This project will uncover how unusual the Local Group is by comparing the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy (known as M31) halos to similar mass systems in the local Universe. By using well understood galaxy groups created as part of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly project (GAMA), the study will be able to uncover the mass distribution of galaxies found in different mass groups. It will go further than any previous work by combining these robust groups with faint ....How typical is our Local Galaxy Group? This project will uncover how unusual the Local Group is by comparing the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy (known as M31) halos to similar mass systems in the local Universe. By using well understood galaxy groups created as part of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly project (GAMA), the study will be able to uncover the mass distribution of galaxies found in different mass groups. It will go further than any previous work by combining these robust groups with fainter imaging data. The combination of both datasets will allow the determination of whether the Local Group is typical or unusual. Putting the Local Group into a cosmological context is vital since many future Galactic archaeology surveys assume that it is typical, and can meaningfully inform us about the wider universe.Read moreRead less
The influence of the dark-matter halo on galaxy evolution. This project aims to map the growth of the integrated stellar mass within galaxy structures over all time, and to explore the link between component growth and the mass of the dark matter halo. The project expects to provide a clear empirical record of galaxy growth, and a statement as to whether the changes seen are consistent with the predictions of numerical simulations.
Disentangling the origin and evolution of the tangled magellanic stream. This project aims to reveal the process of gaseous accretion in interacting galaxies by elucidating the origin and evolution of the Magellanic Stream. The Magellanic Stream is an enormous tail of hydrogen gas extending from the Magellanic Clouds almost fully around the Milky Way. Through unravelling the Magellanic Stream and revealing how it will impact the Milky Way, this project will help understand how galaxies receive n ....Disentangling the origin and evolution of the tangled magellanic stream. This project aims to reveal the process of gaseous accretion in interacting galaxies by elucidating the origin and evolution of the Magellanic Stream. The Magellanic Stream is an enormous tail of hydrogen gas extending from the Magellanic Clouds almost fully around the Milky Way. Through unravelling the Magellanic Stream and revealing how it will impact the Milky Way, this project will help understand how galaxies receive new gas to continue their star formation and very existence. The project will use the newly constructed Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder to shed light on the question of how galaxies evolve, one of the highest priority questions in Australian Astrophysics as defined by the Australian Astronomy Decadal Plan.Read moreRead less
Unraveling the Mystery of Dark Energy with Galaxy Clusters. The abundance of galaxy clusters, the most massive collapsed objects in the Universe, is exponentially sensitive to how structure forms. This project aims to discover massive galaxy clusters out to their redshift of formation in 2500 square degrees of sky using the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. Galaxy clusters will be weighed using multi-frequency observations and the observed abundance of galaxy clusters will be used as a function of mass ....Unraveling the Mystery of Dark Energy with Galaxy Clusters. The abundance of galaxy clusters, the most massive collapsed objects in the Universe, is exponentially sensitive to how structure forms. This project aims to discover massive galaxy clusters out to their redshift of formation in 2500 square degrees of sky using the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. Galaxy clusters will be weighed using multi-frequency observations and the observed abundance of galaxy clusters will be used as a function of mass to address two fundamental questions in cosmology: what are the neutrino masses? and what is the nature of the dark energy that is driving the accelerating expansion of the Universe? The project will train young researchers in big data methods at the cutting edge of modern cosmology.Read moreRead less
Utilising artificial intelligence to elucidate the physics of galaxies. For decades astronomers have puzzled over the connection between the structure and evolution of galaxies and the role played by host environments. This project aims to resolve this problem by combining multi-wavelength observations, multi-component simulations, and pioneering data analysis using artificial intelligence. In particular, we target the nearby Fornax galaxy cluster as a laboratory for studying galaxy formation in ....Utilising artificial intelligence to elucidate the physics of galaxies. For decades astronomers have puzzled over the connection between the structure and evolution of galaxies and the role played by host environments. This project aims to resolve this problem by combining multi-wavelength observations, multi-component simulations, and pioneering data analysis using artificial intelligence. In particular, we target the nearby Fornax galaxy cluster as a laboratory for studying galaxy formation in dense environments. Using our novel machine learning techniques, we will elucidate the physical mechanisms that drive the rapid evolution of star formation, galactic nuclei, and gas and dust content within Fornax. Our predictions will benefit ongoing and future surveys at the national and international level. Read moreRead less