Feeding the faintest black holes: the nature of low-luminosity accretion. The overwhelming majority of black holes are found in an extremely faint quiescent state. This project aims to improve understandings of this large population of black holes, determining the geometry of the inflowing gas, the source of the faint X-ray emission, and the fraction of energy pumped outwards in fast-moving jets. Building on recent ground-breaking results, this project aims to conduct a survey to detect a new po ....Feeding the faintest black holes: the nature of low-luminosity accretion. The overwhelming majority of black holes are found in an extremely faint quiescent state. This project aims to improve understandings of this large population of black holes, determining the geometry of the inflowing gas, the source of the faint X-ray emission, and the fraction of energy pumped outwards in fast-moving jets. Building on recent ground-breaking results, this project aims to conduct a survey to detect a new population of black holes in dense star clusters, providing new laboratories to explore accretion physics. It aims to measure the distances of the black holes and their motion through space, test evidence for the existence of event horizons, and provide new insights into how black holes form and how they affect their surroundings.Read moreRead less
Caught in the act by PAndAS: An unparalleled view of galaxy evolution. How do galaxies, like our own Milky Way, form? Using a new survey of the nearby cosmos, we will search for the signatures of galactic cannibalism, the disrupted bodies of smaller galaxies, and use this archaeology to piece together the formation history. We will also reveal the presence of local dark matter, whose action has shaped our own galaxy's formation.
Supernovae as the origin of antimatter in our galaxy. This project aims to uncover the origin of the bulk of the antimatter in our Milky Way Galaxy. Astrophysicists have known for forty years that our Galaxy glows with gamma-rays emitted by the annihilation of huge numbers of positrons, the antimatter partners to electrons. Certain supernovae are the likely source of these positrons. To fully investigate this idea and its ramifications, this project will perform three-dimensional supercomputer s ....Supernovae as the origin of antimatter in our galaxy. This project aims to uncover the origin of the bulk of the antimatter in our Milky Way Galaxy. Astrophysicists have known for forty years that our Galaxy glows with gamma-rays emitted by the annihilation of huge numbers of positrons, the antimatter partners to electrons. Certain supernovae are the likely source of these positrons. To fully investigate this idea and its ramifications, this project will perform three-dimensional supercomputer simulations of thermonuclear supernova explosions. This project aspires to resolve a long-standing mystery in astrophysics and provide an exemplar for best usage of Australian investment in astronomy and supercomputing infrastructure.Read moreRead less
The radio transient sky in real time. This project plans to use three new Australian telescopes to conduct the most comprehensive search ever made for transient sources. Transient phenomena (astronomical objects that appear and disappear or change rapidly) are laboratories for exploring some of the most extreme processes in the Universe. Radio astronomy is on the verge of a revolution in the study of transients, made possible by new technology. The project aims to leverage the learnings from the ....The radio transient sky in real time. This project plans to use three new Australian telescopes to conduct the most comprehensive search ever made for transient sources. Transient phenomena (astronomical objects that appear and disappear or change rapidly) are laboratories for exploring some of the most extreme processes in the Universe. Radio astronomy is on the verge of a revolution in the study of transients, made possible by new technology. The project aims to leverage the learnings from the new technology by developing intelligent algorithms able to extract weak signals from massive datasets to find rare and exotic objects ranging from extra-solar planets to gamma-ray bursts, exploring the unknown in ways that have previously not been possible. These algorithms may have broad impact in astronomy.Read moreRead less
Formation and evolution of planetary systems. This project aims to develop computer simulation methods and mathematical modelling to help solve the mystery of how planets form. The project should also produce world-first algorithms for combining the effects of radiation and hydrodynamics, which will have a wide application in astronomy, atmospheric science and engineering and constraints on the processes of planet formation. The anticipated outcome of the project is to pinpoint the regions where ....Formation and evolution of planetary systems. This project aims to develop computer simulation methods and mathematical modelling to help solve the mystery of how planets form. The project should also produce world-first algorithms for combining the effects of radiation and hydrodynamics, which will have a wide application in astronomy, atmospheric science and engineering and constraints on the processes of planet formation. The anticipated outcome of the project is to pinpoint the regions where the dust grains grow to form the building blocks of planets.Read moreRead less
The birth of stars and planets. How are stars and planets formed? The question is critical to understanding the evolution of the Universe. This project will address four questions: Does turbulence determine the mass of stars? How do magnetic fields in the star formation process change the mass distribution of stars? Can we model the formation of stars on the scale of observed stellar nurseries in the Milky Way? What are the starting ingredients for planet formation? The project will achieve this ....The birth of stars and planets. How are stars and planets formed? The question is critical to understanding the evolution of the Universe. This project will address four questions: Does turbulence determine the mass of stars? How do magnetic fields in the star formation process change the mass distribution of stars? Can we model the formation of stars on the scale of observed stellar nurseries in the Milky Way? What are the starting ingredients for planet formation? The project will achieve this by performing the world's largest and most detailed supercomputer simulations of star cluster formation, while developing new algorithms and simulation methods for fluid dynamics, building collaborations across six countries and publicly releasing a major simulation code.Read moreRead less
Using the sounds of stars to reveal the Milky Way's evolution. This project aims to use a completely new approach to investigate how our Galaxy formed and evolved, by merging two fields within astrophysics – galactic archaeology and the study of stellar oscillations. This will dramatically improve understandings of the fundamental physics that governs the evolution of all cool stars, such as the Sun. This project aims to go beyond classical astronomy, which examines only the surface of stars. Fo ....Using the sounds of stars to reveal the Milky Way's evolution. This project aims to use a completely new approach to investigate how our Galaxy formed and evolved, by merging two fields within astrophysics – galactic archaeology and the study of stellar oscillations. This will dramatically improve understandings of the fundamental physics that governs the evolution of all cool stars, such as the Sun. This project aims to go beyond classical astronomy, which examines only the surface of stars. For the first time, the interior structure of thousands of stars across the Galaxy will be probed to reveal intricate details of its evolution from the imprint of each star's oscillations. This will be possible through access to data of extremely high precision from one European and two National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space telescopes.Read moreRead less
Unveiling the Galaxy: Dense Gas and Star Formation in the Milky Way. This project aims to address one of the most fundamental problems in astrophysics - understanding how high-mass stars form - by utilising a new, innovative, purpose-designed astronomical survey. This project will generate new knowledge about the star formation process by interfacing theoretical predictions with novel observations, aided by the most accurate distances yet derived. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive unders ....Unveiling the Galaxy: Dense Gas and Star Formation in the Milky Way. This project aims to address one of the most fundamental problems in astrophysics - understanding how high-mass stars form - by utilising a new, innovative, purpose-designed astronomical survey. This project will generate new knowledge about the star formation process by interfacing theoretical predictions with novel observations, aided by the most accurate distances yet derived. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive understanding of star formation, and an unparalleled map of the dense gas structure of our Galaxy. This should provide significant benefits, such as the crucial insight needed to interpret future sensitive, high-resolution surveys with next generation, globe-spanning telescopes in which Australia is a key partner.Read moreRead less
The hearts of galaxies. The centres of galaxies harbour fascinating astrophysical objects, such as black holes one thousand million times more massive than our Sun. This project will measure the damage that they have caused, searching for binary black holes, and helping to determine the extent to which galaxies have collided.
Ancient stars: the origin of elements. The story of the origin of the elements fascinates mankind and touches many branches of science. This project combines new stellar population models of the oldest stars with new data from the Australian million-star GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey to address basic astrophysical problems: mixing in stars, mass transfer in binary stars and measurement of the masses of the first stars. Knowing how these ancient stars behave is crucial to unders ....Ancient stars: the origin of elements. The story of the origin of the elements fascinates mankind and touches many branches of science. This project combines new stellar population models of the oldest stars with new data from the Australian million-star GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey to address basic astrophysical problems: mixing in stars, mass transfer in binary stars and measurement of the masses of the first stars. Knowing how these ancient stars behave is crucial to understanding element production in the early Universe, both in our Milky Way and distant galaxies. By statistically comparing new models to the GALAH data, this project aims to measure the masses of the oldest galactic stars directly impacting branches of astrophysics from planets to galaxies.Read moreRead less