Lancaster University Astrophysics

这里提出的工作解决了天体物理学中一些最重要的悬而未决的问题，主要集中在理解星系的形成和演化以及宇宙本身的性质。它与STFC科学路线图的挑战密切相关，这些挑战涉及暗物质和暗能量的作用和性质、宇宙中第一批恒星和星系的形成、星系如何演化以及恒星和行星的发展等仍未解决的关键问题。为了解决这些基本问题，我们使用了互补的方法，包括对最远的星系和相对较近的恒星系统进行观测和建模。我们将通过测量球状星团中的化学丰度以及它们的运动来阐明我们银河系光环的形成，正如盖亚任务所揭示的那样。我们将搜索附近的超暗矮星系，寻找第一代恒星和第一次超新星爆炸的证据，以丰富早期星系的环境。我们将通过独特的广域勘测获得非常遥远的星系的新样本，这将为详细研究它们的物理性质提供所需的明亮目标。我们将使用目前可以观察到的最遥远的Ia型超新星来提高我们对暗能量和宇宙最终命运的理解。最后，我们将使用可能导致超新星爆炸的恒星模型，并首次通过将宇宙学与恒星演化和系外行星研究联系起来，改善其行星系统的宇宙学约束。我们的研究包括使用世界上最强大和最先进的望远镜，如哈勃太空望远镜和欧洲南方天文台运营的设施，包括ALMA(阿塔卡马大毫米阵列)和VLT(超大型望远镜)进行最先进的观测。与此同时，该小组还参与了几个新望远镜和仪器的科学规划，这些望远镜和仪器将在未来5-10年内上线，这将给天体物理学的研究带来革命性的变化。其中包括4MOST光谱仪、大型天文巡天望远镜(LSST)、欧洲超大型望远镜(E-ELT)和空间方面的詹姆斯·韦伯空间望远镜(JWST)以及欧洲航天局的欧几里得和耀斑任务。

The work proposed here tackles some of the most important open questions in astrophysics, broadly centred on understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies and the properties of the Universe itself. It is closely linked with the STFC Science Roadmap challenges pertaining to the roles and nature of dark matter and dark energy, the formation of the first stars and galaxies in the Universe, the still unsolved key question of how galaxies evolve and the development of stars and planets. In order to address such fundamental questions, we use complementary approaches involving observation and modelling of the most distant galaxies and relatively nearby systems of stars. We will shed light on the formation of the halo of our own Milky Way galaxy by measuring chemical abundances in globular clusters coupled with their motions as revealed by the Gaia mission. We will search nearby ultra-faint dwarf galaxies for evidence of the first generation of stars and the first supernova explosions to chemically enrich the environments of early galaxies. We will obtain a new sample of very distant galaxies using unique wide-area surveys, which provide the bright targets needed for detailed study of their physical properties. We will use the most distant Type Ia supernovae currently observable to improve our understanding of dark energy and the ultimate fate of the universe. Finally we will use modelling of stars that will potentially result in supernova explosions and, for the first time their planetary systems, to improve cosmological constraints by linking cosmology to stellar evolution and exo-planet research. Our research involves making state-of-the-art observations using the world's most powerful and advanced telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope and facilities run by the European Southern Observatory including ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimeter Array) and the VLT (Very Large Telescope). At the same time the group is involved in the scientific planning for several new telescopes and instruments that will come online in the next 5-10 years and that will revolutionise research in astrophysics. These include the 4MOST spectrograph, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) and in space the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the European Space Agency's Euclid and FLARE missions.