Astronomy and Astrophysics at Edinburgh: New Applicants Request

现代天体物理学研究的一个惊人特征是，我们原则上有了一系列的解释，从数十亿光年的宇宙尺度上的过程，一直延伸到恒星、恒星周围的行星和行星上的生命的形成。从某种意义上说，这个过程几乎是一个闭环：早期的宇宙曾经是亚核尺度的，因此量子力学的不确定性必然会导致密度的波动，这些波动最终在重力作用下坍缩，形成天文结构。这与控制构成我们所有人的原子形成的非常小的物理原理是一样的。但在这一过程的各个阶段，仍有许多悬而未决的问题。我们关于早期宇宙的理论，以及对当前宇宙膨胀的解释，都建立在这样一个概念之上：真空可以有重量：即所谓的“暗能量”。我们需要研究它的性质，了解它的起源。在这样做的过程中，我们通常假设爱因斯坦的相对论正确地描述了引力，但我们能验证这一点吗？如果标准理论是正确的，暗物质是必须存在的，我们必须遵循它聚集的过程，以及这些团块中的气体进化的过程，最终形成恒星。地面上新的大型望远镜，加上哈勃太空望远镜，使我们能够看到这个过程的实际情况。在离家更近的地方，我们可以把银河系这样的星系分解成单个的恒星，以最详细地了解它们是如何形成的。最后，我们可以对结构形成的过程进行详细的计算机模拟，从而在平等的基础上对真实宇宙和虚拟宇宙进行比较。爱丁堡的天文学研究攻击了所有这些相关的问题。进步是迅速的，我们的理解也在迅速发展。即使不是最终答案，也有望在几年内取得重大进展。对于我们理解宇宙以及我们在宇宙中的位置来说，这是一个激动人心的时刻。

An astonishing feature of modern astrophysical research is that we have in principle a chain of explanation that stretches from processes on cosmological scales of billions of light years, down to the creation of stars, planets around the stars and life on the planets. In a sense, this process is almost a closed loop: the early universe was once of subnuclear scale, so that quantum mechanical uncertainty is bound to seed fluctuations in density, which eventually collapse under gravity to make astronomical structures. This is the same physics of the very small that governs the formation of the atoms out of which we are all made. But unanswered questions abound at all stages of this process. Our theories of the early universe and explanations of its current expansion rest on the concept that empty space can have weight: the so-called "dark energy". We need to study its properties and understand its origin. In so doing, we often assume that Einstein's relativity describes gravity correctly, but can we test this? If the standard theory is correct, dark matter is required, and we are driven to follow the processes by which it clumps, and by which the gas within these clumps evolves, eventally forming stars. New large telescopes on the ground, together with the Hubble Space Telescope, allow us to see this process in action. Nearer to home, we can dissect galaxies such as our own Milky Way into individual stars, for the most detailed view of how they were assembled. And finally we can carry out detailed computer simulations of how structure formation may have progressed, allowing a comparison of real and virtual universes on an equal footing. Research in astronomy in Edinburgh attacks all these connected questions. Progress is rapid, and our understanding evolves rapidly. Major progress, even if not final answers, can be expected within a few years. This is an exciting time for our understanding of the universe and our place within it.