New Dimensions in Radio Astronomy: Mining Sparse Datasets with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Radio astronomy is entering a new era, driven by technological advances that make rapid surveys of the sky possible. As leaders of three major surveys for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope, we will explore three new dimensions of astronomy: searching for transient sources, detecting faint galaxies and investigating cosmic magnetism. The project will pu ....New Dimensions in Radio Astronomy: Mining Sparse Datasets with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Radio astronomy is entering a new era, driven by technological advances that make rapid surveys of the sky possible. As leaders of three major surveys for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope, we will explore three new dimensions of astronomy: searching for transient sources, detecting faint galaxies and investigating cosmic magnetism. The project will put Australian astronomers at the forefront of international research. In addition to novel scientific results we will produce data resources and software that will be critical for future Square Kilometre Array projects. These will be available online to amateur astronomers and the general public. We will train the next generation of astronomers with the skills required to make breakthrough discoveries.Read moreRead less
Unveiling the haloes of Andromeda and the Milky Way. This project aims to understand galaxy formation and the astrophysical properties of dark matter. Continual merging with smaller systems powers the development of large galaxies. The ghostly remnants of these cannibalised satellites encode the build-up of mass in a galaxy and trace the underlying gravitational field. This project will use astronomical imaging technology to study ultra-faint stellar streams in the outskirts of our Milky Way and ....Unveiling the haloes of Andromeda and the Milky Way. This project aims to understand galaxy formation and the astrophysical properties of dark matter. Continual merging with smaller systems powers the development of large galaxies. The ghostly remnants of these cannibalised satellites encode the build-up of mass in a galaxy and trace the underlying gravitational field. This project will use astronomical imaging technology to study ultra-faint stellar streams in the outskirts of our Milky Way and its twin sister Andromeda, revealing their assembly histories and the precise properties of their dark matter haloes. These quantities are fundamental experimental benchmarks for testing modern cosmological models.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100618
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$354,000.00
Summary
Gas in the Cosmic Web: feeding and feedback of galaxies. This project aims to understand the complete cycle of gas in galaxies: from the process of feeding galaxies, going through star formation, to the process of outflowing gas from galaxies. This requires a full physical description of the inflow of gas from filaments going through the halo until reaching galaxies, the process of star formation in a multi-phase gas medium, and the effect energetic events have on the gas content of galaxies. Th ....Gas in the Cosmic Web: feeding and feedback of galaxies. This project aims to understand the complete cycle of gas in galaxies: from the process of feeding galaxies, going through star formation, to the process of outflowing gas from galaxies. This requires a full physical description of the inflow of gas from filaments going through the halo until reaching galaxies, the process of star formation in a multi-phase gas medium, and the effect energetic events have on the gas content of galaxies. This project in the field of extragalactic astrophysics is designed to complement major observational efforts in Australia, such as the Square Kilometre Array and its Pathfinder, as it will provide simulations with full physical descriptions of the neutral gas in the Universe.Read moreRead less
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.
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.
The Fundamental Physics of Galaxy Formation. The project plans to develop new insights into how galaxies form. Although galaxies appear to be complex systems, recent results have demonstrated the importance of fundamental physical quantities – angular momentum and gas fraction – in driving the appearance and basic properties of galaxies. The project plans to use a two-pronged theoretical and observational approach to incorporate these in cosmological models of galaxy formation and test key predi ....The Fundamental Physics of Galaxy Formation. The project plans to develop new insights into how galaxies form. Although galaxies appear to be complex systems, recent results have demonstrated the importance of fundamental physical quantities – angular momentum and gas fraction – in driving the appearance and basic properties of galaxies. The project plans to use a two-pronged theoretical and observational approach to incorporate these in cosmological models of galaxy formation and test key predictions against new generations of galaxy surveys. Australia has established a technological lead in the first large-scale systematic survey of galaxy angular momentum (the SAMI survey) and the project plans to test the evolutionary predictions by observing gas-rich high-redshift galaxies and local analogues using SAMI data.Read moreRead less
Neutral Hydrogen in the Universe. This proposal will improve our understanding of the origin and continuing evolution of galaxies like our own Milky Way. It will do so by using powerful new telescopes such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), being constructed by CSIRO in Western Australia, and new supercomputers to be provided by the new Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre for Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Science in Perth. Combined with expertise in areas of astroph ....Neutral Hydrogen in the Universe. This proposal will improve our understanding of the origin and continuing evolution of galaxies like our own Milky Way. It will do so by using powerful new telescopes such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), being constructed by CSIRO in Western Australia, and new supercomputers to be provided by the new Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre for Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Science in Perth. Combined with expertise in areas of astrophysics and information technology, the research outlined in this proposal will further advance the case for Australia's bid to host the SKA by establishing a strong community of scientists capable of developing the science and Information and Communication Technologies components for one of the SKA's most important goals.Read moreRead less
Monstrous Black Holes, Dead Stars and Accretion-Powered Feedback in Galaxy Formation. How do black holes wreak havoc on galaxies? A growing black hole is the most efficient source of power in the Universe, unlocking rest-mass energy bound in gas and stars it consumes by accretion and unleashing bursts of energetic radiation. The goal of the research programme is to understand how these outbursts impact on a black hole's environment and to quantify the impact of black holes on how galaxies form. ....Monstrous Black Holes, Dead Stars and Accretion-Powered Feedback in Galaxy Formation. How do black holes wreak havoc on galaxies? A growing black hole is the most efficient source of power in the Universe, unlocking rest-mass energy bound in gas and stars it consumes by accretion and unleashing bursts of energetic radiation. The goal of the research programme is to understand how these outbursts impact on a black hole's environment and to quantify the impact of black holes on how galaxies form. Using cutting edge supercomputer models, this project will study how outbursts of feedback from black holes, ranging from one to one billion times the mass of the Sun, impact on star formation and gas content in galaxies. The results of the research will provide crucial insights into accretion power as a source of feedback in galaxy formation.Read moreRead less
How do galaxies in groups run out of gas? The observed properties of galaxies are known to depend on their surrounding local environment. However, astronomers are still struggling to understand to what extent galaxy evolution is shaped by nurture, and which are the dominant physical processes involved. The key to resolving this outstanding issue is to study the cold gas component, and its relation to star formation, in galaxies across a range of environments. This project will combine an unrival ....How do galaxies in groups run out of gas? The observed properties of galaxies are known to depend on their surrounding local environment. However, astronomers are still struggling to understand to what extent galaxy evolution is shaped by nurture, and which are the dominant physical processes involved. The key to resolving this outstanding issue is to study the cold gas component, and its relation to star formation, in galaxies across a range of environments. This project will combine an unrivalled data set, which includes the most sensitive measurements of atomic and molecular hydrogen gas currently available, with state-of-the-art numerical simulations with the aim of revealing the physical mechanisms responsible for transforming galaxies in the group environment.Read moreRead less