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The Science of Exoplanets - Finding & Understanding our Planetary Neighbours. There can be few questions more fundamental to humanity, and more capable of engaging young Australians in science and technology, than to ask "Are we alone in the Universe?". The discovery of planetary systems orbiting other stars now enables us to realistically address this fundamental question in the years ahead. A critical component of this global endeavour will be determining 'How common are Earth-like planets orb ....The Science of Exoplanets - Finding & Understanding our Planetary Neighbours. There can be few questions more fundamental to humanity, and more capable of engaging young Australians in science and technology, than to ask "Are we alone in the Universe?". The discovery of planetary systems orbiting other stars now enables us to realistically address this fundamental question in the years ahead. A critical component of this global endeavour will be determining 'How common are Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars?'. This project will establish the nation's leading research group in this field and employ the world's leading astronomical facilities to place Australia at the forefront of the international race to answer these fundamental questions. Read moreRead less
Astrophotonics: exploiting a new technological frontier to probe back to the Dark Ages. Photonics, a key research strength in Australia, emerged from the telecommunications industry. But this exciting field has now begun to foster new scientific disciplines. One of the most recent is astrophotonics, a field at the interface of photonics and another Australian research strength, astronomy. Astrophotonics will deliver cutting-edge technologies to ensure Australia's astronomical lead in the next de ....Astrophotonics: exploiting a new technological frontier to probe back to the Dark Ages. Photonics, a key research strength in Australia, emerged from the telecommunications industry. But this exciting field has now begun to foster new scientific disciplines. One of the most recent is astrophotonics, a field at the interface of photonics and another Australian research strength, astronomy. Astrophotonics will deliver cutting-edge technologies to ensure Australia's astronomical lead in the next decade. These new facilities will serve as a vital stepping stone to the Giant Magellan Telescope, a $500M project promising enormous economic, engineering and scientific opportunities for Australia. Astrophotonics will also lead to innovative technology transfer to fields such as medical science, optical computing and sensor technology.Read moreRead less
Physics of extreme brightness temperatures in radioastronomical sources. Pulsars and some quasars are so very bright that the conventional explanation for radioastronomical emission from other sources either does not apply to them, or presents unsolved problems. We see (in radio waves) these sources through the interstellar medium which acts like a wrinkled pane of glass in distorting the image. New scientific ideas and methodologies are proposed here and will be explored in the project, with th ....Physics of extreme brightness temperatures in radioastronomical sources. Pulsars and some quasars are so very bright that the conventional explanation for radioastronomical emission from other sources either does not apply to them, or presents unsolved problems. We see (in radio waves) these sources through the interstellar medium which acts like a wrinkled pane of glass in distorting the image. New scientific ideas and methodologies are proposed here and will be explored in the project, with the objective to understand these sources and to extract information on their propreties and those of the interstellar medium. Read moreRead less
Interstellar Gas Dynamics. The conversion of interstellar gas into stars is a key process in the life-history of galaxies and the formation of planetary systems. Star formation takes place within a heterogeneous, dynamic cloud, and entails a million-fold contraction controlled by a complex interplay between gravity, magnetic forces, ionisation balance, chemical reactions and particles of interstellar dust. Previous modelling has adopted inappropriate approximations for the evolution of the mag ....Interstellar Gas Dynamics. The conversion of interstellar gas into stars is a key process in the life-history of galaxies and the formation of planetary systems. Star formation takes place within a heterogeneous, dynamic cloud, and entails a million-fold contraction controlled by a complex interplay between gravity, magnetic forces, ionisation balance, chemical reactions and particles of interstellar dust. Previous modelling has adopted inappropriate approximations for the evolution of the magnetic field. This research will bring a rigorous treatment of magnetic diffusion to bear on the theory of cloud evolution, shock waves, star formation and protoplanetary discs.
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Feedback Processes in Galaxy Formation. We have an opportunity to combine the best Australian theory with the best local and international telescopes, to probe the murky story of how galaxies form and why they look they way they do today. By looking back to a time when the Universe was only 1 billion years old, and comparing what we see with cutting edge supercomputer simulations plus pure theory, we will gain insight into the birth of entire galaxies. The results will form part of the study o ....Feedback Processes in Galaxy Formation. We have an opportunity to combine the best Australian theory with the best local and international telescopes, to probe the murky story of how galaxies form and why they look they way they do today. By looking back to a time when the Universe was only 1 billion years old, and comparing what we see with cutting edge supercomputer simulations plus pure theory, we will gain insight into the birth of entire galaxies. The results will form part of the study of how the universe works - that is driving astrophysics today, and represents pure research for the sake of advancing knowledge and showing us where we fit into the Universe. In doing so we will also advance Australia's base of theoretical and computational expertise.Read moreRead less
Collaboration with The NANTEN2 International Star Formation Consortium. Through this collaboration Australia, for a very modest sum, will gain its first direct access to the astronomical facilities of the Atacama plateau, one of the best sites for investigating star formation on the Earth. The project fosters international collaboration, and raises the profile of Australian science and facilities by bringing together astronomers from Australia, Japan, Germany, Korea, Chile and Switzerland.The co ....Collaboration with The NANTEN2 International Star Formation Consortium. Through this collaboration Australia, for a very modest sum, will gain its first direct access to the astronomical facilities of the Atacama plateau, one of the best sites for investigating star formation on the Earth. The project fosters international collaboration, and raises the profile of Australian science and facilities by bringing together astronomers from Australia, Japan, Germany, Korea, Chile and Switzerland.The collaborations formed during this project will enable Australian scientists future access to new front-line telescopes such as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), due to commence operations in 2010. Read moreRead less
Before Planets: The Mineralogy and Chemistry of Pre-Planetary Disks. Planets form within the circumstellar disks around young stars. Samples of the solid material composing our own primitive disk are found in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles. Using the powerful technique of astronomical mid-infrared spectropolarimetry, we will ascertain the composition of the material existing within the disks around young stars. By studying a range of disk ages we will determine how the composition ....Before Planets: The Mineralogy and Chemistry of Pre-Planetary Disks. Planets form within the circumstellar disks around young stars. Samples of the solid material composing our own primitive disk are found in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles. Using the powerful technique of astronomical mid-infrared spectropolarimetry, we will ascertain the composition of the material existing within the disks around young stars. By studying a range of disk ages we will determine how the composition evolves with time, and what physical processes affect it, in order to better understand how our own solar system formed. Further, we will image these disks in mm-wave molecular emission and constrain their chemistry and rotational properties.Read moreRead less
Habitable planets and stellar oscillations with the NASA Kepler mission. This project will ensure Australia's participation in a large space mission, which will detect habitable planets, like our own, around stars. We will build strong links to leading international institutions, supply high-level training for students in information processing skills, and develop new techniques for data analysis that are directly relevant to future space missions. This will position Australia in space explorati ....Habitable planets and stellar oscillations with the NASA Kepler mission. This project will ensure Australia's participation in a large space mission, which will detect habitable planets, like our own, around stars. We will build strong links to leading international institutions, supply high-level training for students in information processing skills, and develop new techniques for data analysis that are directly relevant to future space missions. This will position Australia in space exploration, with potential spin-offs for Australian industry. The science of this project will lead to a breakthrough in our understanding of the structure and evolution of stars and their planets, which will enhance Australia's reputation in these two fields of research.Read moreRead less
How many bright stars of the night sky harbour planets? The search for planets around stars is one of the grand endeavours that defines the modern era of astronomy. This project will develop two innovative technologies that will lead this field into new observational terrain: high-contrast aperture masking interferometry at large telescopes, and very narrow angle astrometry at the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer. These new instruments will enable the search for planets around the bright ....How many bright stars of the night sky harbour planets? The search for planets around stars is one of the grand endeavours that defines the modern era of astronomy. This project will develop two innovative technologies that will lead this field into new observational terrain: high-contrast aperture masking interferometry at large telescopes, and very narrow angle astrometry at the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer. These new instruments will enable the search for planets around the bright intermediate-mass stars of our southern sky, and will target the critical orbital scales of planets at solar-system scale separations. This encompasses the habitable zone where conditions could support life, and the sample will have immediate impact on fundamental questions of planetary formation.Read moreRead less
The First Deep Infrared Study of the Nearby Galaxy Population. We will conduct two major near-infrared (IR) surveys: The Southern Galactic Cap near-IR survey, and the Local Sphere of Influence survey. These surveys will capitalise on the innovative and award winning Australian IRIS2 facility. The two surveys push the observational frontier by orders of magnitude. They will be used to explore the close connection between the near-IR global properties of a galaxy and its underlying physics and pro ....The First Deep Infrared Study of the Nearby Galaxy Population. We will conduct two major near-infrared (IR) surveys: The Southern Galactic Cap near-IR survey, and the Local Sphere of Influence survey. These surveys will capitalise on the innovative and award winning Australian IRIS2 facility. The two surveys push the observational frontier by orders of magnitude. They will be used to explore the close connection between the near-IR global properties of a galaxy and its underlying physics and provide a generic local reference for the upcoming next generation infrared space-telescope missions.
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