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
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
Uncovering the First Stars and Galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope. This project aims to find "First Light": the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang. Understanding the astrophysics of the first galaxies, their explosive growth, and how they set ablaze the remaining gas in the Universe have long been among the most important unsolved mysteries of astronomy. Decades in the making, the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in December 2021 marks a watershed moment. T ....Uncovering the First Stars and Galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope. This project aims to find "First Light": the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang. Understanding the astrophysics of the first galaxies, their explosive growth, and how they set ablaze the remaining gas in the Universe have long been among the most important unsolved mysteries of astronomy. Decades in the making, the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in December 2021 marks a watershed moment. This project uses privileged access to the revolutionary space telescope to find "First Light" and contribute to rewriting the first chapter of our cosmic history. 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
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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101069
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$433,219.00
Summary
Awakening giants in galaxies: Using stars to probe supermassive black holes. This project aims to understand the unexplored population of non-active or quiescent supermassive black holes (SMBHs) using tidal disruption events - the multi-wavelength outburst resulting from a star being ripped apart by the tidal forces of the SMBH. This project will increase our understanding of the transient and accretion properties of SMBHs in a broad range of galaxies, while the expected outcomes include novel t ....Awakening giants in galaxies: Using stars to probe supermassive black holes. This project aims to understand the unexplored population of non-active or quiescent supermassive black holes (SMBHs) using tidal disruption events - the multi-wavelength outburst resulting from a star being ripped apart by the tidal forces of the SMBH. This project will increase our understanding of the transient and accretion properties of SMBHs in a broad range of galaxies, while the expected outcomes include novel techniques for distinguishing different types of extreme SMBH emission and characterisation of the environments where these extreme transient events occur. These outcomes will facilitate the identification of transient SMBH events and enhance the scientific return of the next generation of international optical surveys.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