Astronomy and Astrophysics at Edinburgh

该基金支持爱丁堡的天文学和天体物理学研究，研究范围从数十亿光年的宇宙尺度到恒星的形成，以及行星和行星系统的形成和演化。我们的研究涉及观察、理论和数值模拟，特别是将这些不同的方面结合在一起，以解决自文明诞生以来人类一直在问的一些最基本的问题：地球和我们晚上在天空中看到的物体的起源是什么？我们在宇宙中的位置是什么？在过去的几十年里，我们的理解取得了显著的进步。在最大的尺度上，宇宙学的标准模型已经出现，它可以解释宇宙的膨胀历史和宇宙中物质的分布。在这个模型中，只有5%的宇宙是由正常的“重子”物质组成的——我们所熟悉的物质，行星和恒星就是由这些物质构成的。其余部分由被称为“暗物质”的奇异物质和导致宇宙膨胀速度增加的“暗能量”场组成。然而，暗物质和暗能量的本质仍然是未知的。我们提出的研究解决了这个问题，通过研究它们对星系大规模分布的影响，它们对从遥远星系到达我们的光造成的扭曲（一个被称为引力透镜的过程），以及它们对我们自己和附近星系中恒星和星团的分布和轨道的更局部的影响。对跨越宇宙时间的大样本星系的详细观察，结合对银河系和附近星系的精确研究，已经增强了对星系如何形成和演化的理解。宇宙学模拟能够提供与观测结果相匹配的显著结果，并为推动星系演化的物理过程提供了相当大的见解。然而，对于星系中恒星形成的调控因素，以及黑洞（100万到10亿个太阳质量）和活动星系核（AGN）是如何在其中心形成的，我们仍然缺乏完整的理解。现代理论支持来自超新星和AGN的能量输入，以加热并排出星系中的气体，但细节尚未完全了解。我们的研究解决了这个问题，通过详细研究跨越宇宙时间的星系人口，其中的黑洞，以及星系和AGN对其气体环境的影响。在更小的尺度上，从我们太阳系外的第一颗行星被发现到现在只有20多年；目前已知的系外行星有4000多颗。与我们太阳系中的行星相比，探测到的系外行星数量的显著多样性正在彻底改变我们对行星系统形成方式的理解，但也带来了许多新问题。我们的研究主要集中在行星形成的模拟，以及系外行星的直接成像和光谱研究，以了解它们的大气和性质。我们在爱丁堡的研究是由观测设施和计算能力的技术突破驱动的，并通过新颖的统计分析技术和新的理论方法得到加强。在这项拨款期间，爱丁堡大学的研究人员将利用地面观测站和天基卫星，在从x射线到无线电波的电磁波谱波长上进行新的主要调查和高精度测量。我们先进的新模拟将提供详细的预测，与当前和正在进行的观测数据进行比较。我们期待在理解宇宙的完整历史和结构以及我们在其中的位置方面取得重大进展。

This grant supports research in astronomy and astrophysics in Edinburgh, which spans processes from cosmological scales of billions of light years, down to the creation of stars, and the formation and evolution of planets and planetary systems. Our research involves observation, theory and numerical simulation, and in particular brings these different aspects together to address some of the most fundamental questions that humans have asked since the dawn of civilisation: what are the origins of the Earth and the objects that we see in the sky at night, and what is our place in the Universe?Remarkable progress in our understanding has been made over the last few decades. On the largest scales, a standard model for cosmology has emerged, which can explain the expansion history of the Universe and the distribution of matter within it. In this model, only five percent of the Universe is composed of normal 'baryonic' matter - the matter we are familiar with, from which planets and stars are made. The rest is composed of exotic material known as 'dark matter', and a 'dark energy' field which is causing the rate of expansion of the Universe to increase. However, the nature of dark matter and dark energy remain unknown. Our proposed research addresses this, by studying their effects on the large-scale distribution of galaxies, the distortions that they cause to the light reaching us from distant galaxies (a process known as gravitational lensing), and more locally their effect on the distributions and orbits of stars and star clusters in our own and nearby galaxies.Detailed observations of large samples of galaxies across cosmic time, combined with precision studies of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, have led to an enhanced understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. Cosmological simulations are able to provide a remarkable match to observations and are providing considerable insight into the physical processes that must be driving galaxy evolution. Nevertheless, we still lack a complete understanding of what regulates star formation in galaxies, and how massive black holes (a million to a billion solar masses) and active galactic nuclei (AGN) form at their centres. Modern theory favours an input of energy from supernovae and AGN to heat and expel gas out of galaxies, but the details are not fully understood. Our research addresses this, through detailed studies of the galaxy population across cosmic time, the black holes within them, and the impact of galaxies and AGN on their gaseous surroundings.On much smaller scales, it is only just over two decades since the first planet outside our Solar System was detected; more than 4000 of these exoplanets are now known. The remarkable diversity of the population of detected exoplanets, compared to the planets in our own Solar System, is revolutionising our understanding of how planetary systems form, but also opening up many new questions. Our research focusses primarily on simulations of planet formation, and on direct imaging and spectroscopic studies of exoplanets to understand their atmospheres and nature.Our research in Edinburgh is driven by technological breakthroughs in observational facilities and computing power, and enhanced by novel statistical analysis techniques and new theoretical approaches. During the period of this grant, Edinburgh researchers will lead major new surveys and high-precision measurements at wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum from X-rays to radio waves, using ground-based observatories and space-based satellites. Our sophisticated new simulations will provide detailed predictions, to be compared to current and ongoing observational data. We anticipate major progress in our understanding of the full history and structure of our Universe and our place within it.