Astronomy and Astrophysics at Edinburgh

这笔赠款支持爱丁堡的天文学和天体物理学研究，这些研究跨越了从数十亿光年的宇宙尺度到恒星的产生，以及行星和行星系统的形成和演化的过程。我们的研究涉及观察、理论和数值模拟，尤其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提出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，我们对地球的理解取得了显著的进步。在最大尺度上，一个标准的宇宙学模型已经出现，它可以解释宇宙的膨胀历史和其中的物质分布。在这个模型中，只有5%的宇宙由正常的重子物质组成--我们熟悉的物质，行星和恒星就是由它组成的。剩下的部分是由被称为“暗物质”的奇异物质和一个“暗能量”场组成的，暗能量场导致宇宙的膨胀速度加快。然而，暗物质和暗能量的性质仍然未知。我们拟议的研究通过研究它们对星系大范围分布的影响，它们对从遥远星系到达我们的光线造成的扭曲(一个称为引力透镜的过程)，以及更局部的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影响来解决这个问题。对跨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，使人们对星系的形成和演化有了更好的理解。宇宙学模拟能够提供与观测结果惊人的匹配，并为推动星系演化的物理过程提供了相当大的洞察力。然而，我们仍然缺乏对星系中恒星形成的完全了解，以及大质量黑洞(100万到10亿太阳质量)和活动星系核(AGN)是如何在其中心形成的。现代理论倾向于从超新星和活动星系核输入能量来加热和排出星系的气体，但细节还没有完全理解。我们的研究通过详细研究宇宙时间内的星系数量、其中的黑洞以及星系和活动星系核对其气体环境的影响来解决这一问题。在小得多的尺度上，从太阳系外的第一颗行星被探测到以来，只有20多年的时间；现在已知了4000多颗这样的系外行星。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如何形成的理解，但也带来了许多新的问题。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，以了解它们的大气层和性质。我们在爱丁堡的研究是由观测设施和计算能力方面的技术突破推动的，并通过新的统计分析技术和新的理论方法得到加强。在这笔赠款期间，爱丁堡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频谱范围内领导重大的新调查和高精度测量。我们复杂的新模拟将提供详细的预测，并与当前和正在进行的观测数据进行比较。我们期待着在我们对宇宙的完整历史和结构以及我们在其中的位置的理解方面取得重大进展。

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.