Astronomy Observation and Theory Consolidated Grant 2016-2019

这项提案是一个单一的统一补助金，以支持在剑桥天文研究所（IOA）的理论和观测天文学和天体物理学的大部分研究。理论研究概况包括了解宇宙本身起源的工作。IoA的成员在欧洲航天局普朗克使命中发挥着主导作用，并将领导对定义宇宙几何形状和量化年龄，大小，暗物质，暗能量和重子含量的参数的最终确定。这项研究与天体物理学的一个关键目标有关：限制宇宙中暗物质和暗能量的性质。今天的宇宙充满了星系，我们自己的银河系就是一个典型的例子。要全面了解星系的形成和演化，需要多方面的研究。对银河系和它的本星系群伴星的观测提供了详细的化石记录，记录了星系的动力学组装、恒星的形成以及在广泛的质量尺度和初始条件下重元素的积累。在尺度的另一端，对遥远星系的观测跨越了高达12 Gyr的回望时间，提供了对星系种群演化以及恒星和金属随宇宙时间的积累的直接测量。最后，对附近星系的大规模星星形成和丰度特性的测量在附近解析恒星群的研究和遥远的高红移研究之间形成了一座重要的天体物理桥梁，通过让我们能够解释哈勃序列的进化特性和复杂的“胃物理学”星系的演化与超星系的起源和性质之间有着密切的联系，大质量黑洞，它们位于银河系和其他星系的中心。接近黑洞的区域允许在极端情况下探索物理学。超大质量黑洞的形成和性质及其与所在星系的关系是一个研究主题，涉及理论，X射线天体物理学和观测计划。在星系内，该基金的重点是星星的形成，从产生恒星的巨大分子云，到对这些分子云内恒星和星星团形成过程的更详细调查。调查将结合联合收割机国家的最先进的数值模拟与分析理论。探索研究恒星周围的行星系统及其形成是另一个关键目标。该基金的研究活动包括理论工作，集中在系外行星大气层，碎片盘，小行星盘，彗星物体和恒星周围尘埃的特性。

This proposal is for a single Consolidated Grant to support the majority of research in Theoretical and Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Institute of Astronomy (IoA) in Cambridge. The theoretical research profile includes work to understand the origin of the Universe itself. Members of the IoA play a leading role in the European Space Agency Planck mission, and will lead a definitive determination of the parameters that both define the geometry of the Universe and quantify the age, size, dark matter, dark energy and baryonic content. The research links to one of the key goals in astrophysics: constraining the properties of the dark matter and dark energy content of the Universe.The Universe today is filled with galaxies, of which our own Milky Way is a not atypical example. A full understanding of galaxy formation and evolution requires multiple lines of attack. Observations of the resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and its Local Group companions provide a detailed fossil record of the dynamical assemblies of the galaxies, the formation of stars, and the buildup of heavy elements over a wide range of mass scales and initial conditions. At the other end of the scale, observations of distant galaxies spanning lookback times of up to 12 Gyr provide direct measurements of the evolution of galaxy populations and the buildup of stars and metals with cosmic time. Finally, measurements of the large-scale star formation and abundance properties of nearby galaxies form a vital astrophysical bridge between the studies of nearby resolved stellar populations and the distant high-redshift investigations, by allowing us to characterise the evolutionary properties of the Hubble sequence and the complex "gastrophysical" processes that regulate the accretion of gas and the formation of stars in galaxies.It is now recognised that there is an intimate link between the evolution of galaxies and the origin and properties of super-massive black holes, which reside at the centre of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The regions close to black holes allow the exploration of physics at the extremes. The formation and properties of super-massive black holes and their relation to the galaxies in which they reside is a research theme that involves theory, X-ray astrophysics and observational programmes in the grant. Within galaxies, the grant focuses on star formation, from the giant molecular clouds which give birth to stars, down to the more detailed investigations of the processes that lead to the formation of stars and star clusters within these molecular clouds. The investigations will combine state-of-the-art numerical simulations with analytical theories. The quest to study planetary systems around stars and their formation is another key goal. Research activity in the grant covers theoretical work that concentrates on the properties of exoplanets atmospheres, debris discs, discs of asteroids, cometary objects, and dust surrounding stars.