Lancaster University Observational Astrophysics 2018-2021

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，以及星系如何演化的仍未解决的关键问题。为了解决这些基本问题，我们使用补充方法，包括对最远和相对较近的系统进行观察和建模。我们将通过在背景类星体光谱中寻找气体吸收的痕迹来阐明附近的暗矮星系的性质。再往前看宇宙时间，我们将发现数以千计的“宇宙正午”星系的性质，也沿着视线到达遥远的类星体，以解释它们的恒星形成和为其提供燃料的气体之间的联系。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。最后，我们将使用Ia型超新星来研究宇宙本身的演化，对暗能量在时间上的不变性进行基本测试，并为空间变化测试做准备。我们的研究涉及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(甚大望远镜)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10年上线，这将给天体物理学的研究带来革命性的变化。这些望远镜包括4米多目标光谱望远镜(4MOST)、大型天文巡天望远镜(LSST)、欧洲超大型望远镜(E-ELT)以及空间方面的詹姆斯·韦伯空间望远镜(JWST)和欧洲航天局的欧几里德任务。

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 and the still unsolved key question of how galaxies evolve. In order to address such fundamental questions, we use complementary approaches involving observation and modeling of the most distant and relatively nearby systems. We will shed light on the properties of nearby, faint dwarf galaxies by searching for traces of gas absorption in background quasar spectra. Looking further back in cosmic time, we will uncover the properties of thousands of "cosmic noon" galaxies, also along the lines-of-sight to distant QSOs, in order to explain the link between their star formation and the gas that fuels it. 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. Finally, we will use Type Ia supernovae to study the evolution of the universe itself, making fundamental tests of the constancy of dark energy in time, and preparing for tests of spatial variation.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 10 years and that will revolutionise research in astrophysics. These include the 4-m Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST), 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 mission.