Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101325
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$364,092.00
Summary
Minding the gaps in our maps of the stars. This Project seeks to understand the formation of our Galaxy by studying the brightest billion stars. This Project will develop novel methods to account for the unseen hundreds of billions of fainter stars, and for the complexities of space telescopes. Anticipated outcomes include fundamental tests of stellar evolution theory; the discovery of stars flung from our Galaxy by massive black holes; a timeline of our Galaxy’s evolution; and a 3D map of its s ....Minding the gaps in our maps of the stars. This Project seeks to understand the formation of our Galaxy by studying the brightest billion stars. This Project will develop novel methods to account for the unseen hundreds of billions of fainter stars, and for the complexities of space telescopes. Anticipated outcomes include fundamental tests of stellar evolution theory; the discovery of stars flung from our Galaxy by massive black holes; a timeline of our Galaxy’s evolution; and a 3D map of its stars and interstellar dust. This is expected to drive a generational advancement in astrophysics, provide social benefits by engaging the public with discovering the cosmos, and generate economic benefits from a general method for hypothesis testing with biased and incomplete datasets.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101323
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$328,000.00
Summary
Disentangling the Complexity of Old Stellar Populations. Galaxy formation is an outstanding problem in modern astronomy. Star clusters are the basic building blocks in the Universe. The oldest stellar aggregates are the globular clusters whose stars show patterns in composition that are not found elsewhere. This project aims to bring new understanding to globular clusters by studying the composition of their constituent stars in many different environments. Patterns in this composition reveal th ....Disentangling the Complexity of Old Stellar Populations. Galaxy formation is an outstanding problem in modern astronomy. Star clusters are the basic building blocks in the Universe. The oldest stellar aggregates are the globular clusters whose stars show patterns in composition that are not found elsewhere. This project aims to bring new understanding to globular clusters by studying the composition of their constituent stars in many different environments. Patterns in this composition reveal the history of star formation and the formation of the globular clusters themselves. These are in turn involved in the formation of galaxies. The project aims to use these stars to probe the formation of globular clusters and the stellar components of the Galaxy, and hence link these old stars to larger cosmological questions.Read moreRead less
The origin and evolution of heavy elements in the early universe. Everything in our Solar System, including all life on Earth, was created long ago out of material forged inside fiery stellar furnaces. The latest theoretical simulations of element production in red giant stars reveals the processes that gave us our existence, as well as help us to understand the origin of the galaxy that we inhabit.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$359,026.00
Summary
Modelling superfluid neutron stars. This project aims to construct realistic neutron star models, that will be used to interpret radio and x-ray data, but also to aid gravitational wave detection. These models will allow the study of matter at extreme densities in the stellar interior, well above nuclear density, thus making use of the most exciting physics laboratory in the cosmos.
Modelling the chemical enrichment of the Milky Way. This project aims to understand the chemical and dynamical evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy from its birth to the present. Astrophysicists try to understand the production of the elements over cosmic time, using telescopes and satellites costing billions of dollars. This project will calculate the evolutionary history and detailed nuclear processes in stars of all masses and compositions. When coupled with dynamical models for stars in the Mil ....Modelling the chemical enrichment of the Milky Way. This project aims to understand the chemical and dynamical evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy from its birth to the present. Astrophysicists try to understand the production of the elements over cosmic time, using telescopes and satellites costing billions of dollars. This project will calculate the evolutionary history and detailed nuclear processes in stars of all masses and compositions. When coupled with dynamical models for stars in the Milky Way, this project will categorise how the composition changes with time, thus extracting the maximum understanding from the wealth of data to be delivered in the next few years.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100052
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,000.00
Summary
TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky. TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky: The TAIPAN spectroscopic survey of the southern sky aims to quadruple the number of nearby galaxies with measured redshifts, distances and velocities. Science goals include measuring the expansion rate of the universe to 1 per cent precision, and combining optical spectroscopy and radio data for each galaxy to measure the rate at which gas is being converted into stars in the local universe. T ....TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky. TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky: The TAIPAN spectroscopic survey of the southern sky aims to quadruple the number of nearby galaxies with measured redshifts, distances and velocities. Science goals include measuring the expansion rate of the universe to 1 per cent precision, and combining optical spectroscopy and radio data for each galaxy to measure the rate at which gas is being converted into stars in the local universe. This project supports construction of the TAIPAN high-performance spectrograph that will be used to carry out the survey on the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST). The results of the survey will be made freely available to all Australian astronomers.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100104
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$740,000.00
Summary
Mapping the universe with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS). This project plans to build a powerful new observatory, Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS-2), to be located in Hawaii. PanSTARRS-2 will have an enormous fish-eye-lens view of the northern stars, which we will combine with Australian telescopes to give a unique view of the entire sky. Australian scientists will use this data to solve fundamental problems in astrophysics an ....Mapping the universe with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS). This project plans to build a powerful new observatory, Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS-2), to be located in Hawaii. PanSTARRS-2 will have an enormous fish-eye-lens view of the northern stars, which we will combine with Australian telescopes to give a unique view of the entire sky. Australian scientists will use this data to solve fundamental problems in astrophysics and cosmology.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100024
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$760,000.00
Summary
Kunlun Infrared Sky Survey. Kunlun Infrared Sky Survey (KISS): KISS is the first exploration of the time varying Universe in the infrared. The location at Kunlun station offers the advantage of the whole sky being available for study for the duration of the Antarctic winter every year. The primary scientific targets are the physics of active galactic nuclei, supersupernovae (Gamma Ray Bursters), the terminal phases of red giants (Miras) and initial phases of protostars. The project also aims to ....Kunlun Infrared Sky Survey. Kunlun Infrared Sky Survey (KISS): KISS is the first exploration of the time varying Universe in the infrared. The location at Kunlun station offers the advantage of the whole sky being available for study for the duration of the Antarctic winter every year. The primary scientific targets are the physics of active galactic nuclei, supersupernovae (Gamma Ray Bursters), the terminal phases of red giants (Miras) and initial phases of protostars. The project also aims to find exoplanets and to measure the cosmic infrared background and its angular fluctuations using the low background advantage of the Antarctic. KISS is complementary to SkyMapper in that it is infrared, and complementary to 2MASS in that it is time sensitive.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100012
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$632,000.00
Summary
Exploring the Dynamic Universe with DREAMS. DREAMS is a revolutionary wide-field infrared surveyor designed to allow astronomers to unlock new science and foster international collaborations focused on important but elusive, infrared transient cosmic phenomena. Continually scanning the southern sky, DREAMS will provide “real time” data that will transform the depth and quality of astronomical observation. Combining off-the-shelf parts with scientific expertise from around the world, this telesco ....Exploring the Dynamic Universe with DREAMS. DREAMS is a revolutionary wide-field infrared surveyor designed to allow astronomers to unlock new science and foster international collaborations focused on important but elusive, infrared transient cosmic phenomena. Continually scanning the southern sky, DREAMS will provide “real time” data that will transform the depth and quality of astronomical observation. Combining off-the-shelf parts with scientific expertise from around the world, this telescope will help answer questions that are both practical and profound. DREAMS is an important component of a longer-term international strategy that will reinforce Australia’s global leadership in the realm of Infrared Transient Astronomy.Read moreRead less
Advancing and applying stellar nucleosynthesis: using stars to probe galaxies. The project will determine how the lives of stars produce the elements that make up our world, and use this knowledge to look into how our galaxy formed. The project will use the latest results from super-computer studies as well as new instruments being built for Australia's largest optical telescope.