Directly Imaging Exoplanet Birth. Exoplanet research has now entered a new era. Radial velocity and transit techniques have shown that planetary systems are extremely varied and complex, with the secrets to their taxonomy buried at the earliest epochs of planetary system evolution. This project will directly image these earliest stages of planetary formation through innovative algorithms that make best use of the largest infrared telescopes in the world, utilising their full diffraction limit. R ....Directly Imaging Exoplanet Birth. Exoplanet research has now entered a new era. Radial velocity and transit techniques have shown that planetary systems are extremely varied and complex, with the secrets to their taxonomy buried at the earliest epochs of planetary system evolution. This project will directly image these earliest stages of planetary formation through innovative algorithms that make best use of the largest infrared telescopes in the world, utilising their full diffraction limit. Resulting images will be combined with advanced collaborative modelling and the use of the latest Australian spectroscopic surveys and instrumentation, in order to unravel the secrets of planetary birth.Read moreRead less
Gravitational wave detection with current and future radio telescopes. This project will aim to detect gravitational waves using precision pulsar timing observations. Direct detection of these waves is of huge international importance and will keep Australia at the forefront of the new research field of gravitational wave astronomy that will continue to grow with the planned radio telescopes of the future.
Growing galaxies: a consistent view of star formation across cosmic time. The project aims to contribute to the answer to a fundamental question: how galaxies, including our own, evolved over the Universe's history. The project plans to develop sophisticated spectral models and use them to extract crucial information on star formation, stellar populations, interstellar gas and dust properties from modern galaxy surveys at different cosmic epochs using a consistent framework. These imaging and sp ....Growing galaxies: a consistent view of star formation across cosmic time. The project aims to contribute to the answer to a fundamental question: how galaxies, including our own, evolved over the Universe's history. The project plans to develop sophisticated spectral models and use them to extract crucial information on star formation, stellar populations, interstellar gas and dust properties from modern galaxy surveys at different cosmic epochs using a consistent framework. These imaging and spectroscopic surveys would be complemented with measurements of the total gas reservoir of galaxies, obtaining a full census of the baryons in galaxies. Together, these may deliver significant insights into how the growth of galaxies, driven by the fuelling, efficiency and outputs of star formation, depends on galaxy properties in the local and distant Universe.Read moreRead less
The growth of galaxies: connecting stars, gas and dark matter. Did galaxies, like our Milky Way, grow by forming new stars or did they acquire them by merging with other galaxies? Using major astronomical facilities, including the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, the project will measure how galaxies grow over the eons within extended structures of dark matter.
Seeing the Feeding of Galaxies. Over the last 10 billion years the star formation rate in galaxies has been decreasing. Yet it is not known whether this is driven by a decline in the accretion of the gas that forms stars or stronger stellar feedback-driven gas outflows. The gradient in elemental abundances with galactic radius can constrain these two processes. The project aims to calibrate the measurement of this quantity using nearby galaxies, and measure the gradients in a low redshift sample ....Seeing the Feeding of Galaxies. Over the last 10 billion years the star formation rate in galaxies has been decreasing. Yet it is not known whether this is driven by a decline in the accretion of the gas that forms stars or stronger stellar feedback-driven gas outflows. The gradient in elemental abundances with galactic radius can constrain these two processes. The project aims to calibrate the measurement of this quantity using nearby galaxies, and measure the gradients in a low redshift sample of galaxies using Australian telescopes. These will be compared with theoretical models to determine the process that is driving the Universe to be more quiescent over cosmic time.Read moreRead less
Unraveling the evolution of galaxies and black holes with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. The Australian Pathfinder for the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope will provide an unprecedented view of the Universe at radio wavelengths. The project will use this telescope to measure star formation and black hole activity in the distant Universe in order to understand the growth and evolution of galaxies.
The formation and evolution of galaxies: breaking ground with new Australian technology. This project will combine the latest Australian optical and infrared telescope technology with galaxy clusters to form nature's largest magnifying glass to gain an unparalleled understanding of how galaxies like our Milky Way formed from clumps of gas shortly after the Big Bang and evolved into the dynamic galaxies that we see today.
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
Think Global, Act Local: Insights into the Evolution of Galaxies. The project aims to answer some of the most important questions in astrophysics about galaxy evolution. The evolution of galaxies is controlled by the competing effects of star formation and feedback. The rate at which a galaxy forms stars appears to be largely controlled by how quickly gas converts from diffuse atomic state to molecular, which is affected by the amount of metals in the gas and the strength of interstellar radiati ....Think Global, Act Local: Insights into the Evolution of Galaxies. The project aims to answer some of the most important questions in astrophysics about galaxy evolution. The evolution of galaxies is controlled by the competing effects of star formation and feedback. The rate at which a galaxy forms stars appears to be largely controlled by how quickly gas converts from diffuse atomic state to molecular, which is affected by the amount of metals in the gas and the strength of interstellar radiation fields. This project plans to probe the conversion of atomic to molecular gas within disparate environments. The project will use three local laboratories: our Milky Way, and the nearby Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, to understand the gas processes that lead to star formation and how these affect galaxy evolution throughout the Universe.Read moreRead less
The cosmic distribution of metals. This project aims to understand how the elements forged in stars flow through space and find their way into new stars and planets, using a combination of high-resolution numerical simulations and novel methods in machine learning. The history of these elements, and how they came to be in planets like ours, is one of the most basic questions remaining in astrophysics. The expected outcome is to provide a model for the history of the elements that can both stand ....The cosmic distribution of metals. This project aims to understand how the elements forged in stars flow through space and find their way into new stars and planets, using a combination of high-resolution numerical simulations and novel methods in machine learning. The history of these elements, and how they came to be in planets like ours, is one of the most basic questions remaining in astrophysics. The expected outcome is to provide a model for the history of the elements that can both stand on its own and provide a theoretical basis and a set of statistical tools to interpret the flood of data that will arrive from Australian and international telescopes over the next five years. The project will provide deeper insight into the history of the chemical elements that make up stars and our planet. It will also leverage Australia’s significant investment in observational excellence and hardware and enhance Australia’s leadership in astronomy.Read moreRead less