Astrophysics at Jodrell Bank: the Radio Universe

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The Universe is a state of continuous evolution. This started with the Big Bang, and the small irregularities which later grew into clusters, galaxies, and stars. Large black holes formed at the centre of the galaxies. Infall of gas into the central black holes leads to highly energetic jets. Stars interact with their surroundings through winds, and for massive stars, through explosions at the end of their lives. The ejecta enrich the galaxies with new elements, molecules and dust. The Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics studies the various phases of evolution especially through radio emission. Radio emission traces ionized plasmas which are found in high energy environments, The irregularities of the Big Bang are studied through the cosmic microwave radio emission. Galaxies emit radio emission and these are used to trace their evolution, from formation to star bursts. The cores of massive stars, left after their supernova explosions, emit radio pulses. The radio emissions are detected using a variety of telescopes. The Planck Space Telescope observes the cosmic microwave background. The Lovell Telescope detects the emission from pulsars. The e-Merlin array resolves the emission from individual galaxies. The research is supported by an active technology program. We develop cyogenically cooled amplifiers, and low noise detectors at high and low frequencies, both for space telescopes and ground-based. Much of our research is based on wide area surveys. In addition to radio surveys, we also make use of high resolution optical surveys. Gravity is an important focus for our research. The bending of light and radio waves can be used to detect material otherwise invisible. We use this to detect planets in the outer regions of the stellar systems. Gravitational waves can be detected through the long-term monitoring of pulsars. The research in this grant covers cosmology, from the origin of large-scale structure in the Universe to the formation of cluster of galaxies, Pulsars, both as objects in their own right and as tracers of gravity, Dust and molecules in the interstellar medium, and finally a vigorous program of development of radio technology.The future of radio astronomy is the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), in which the UK has a leading role. The research of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics is directed towards the SKA. Over the next three years, we will continue our study of the radio Universe at all scales. The SKA will bring this to fruition, and provide a unique tracer of the continuing evolution of the Universe.