Lancaster University Observational Astrophysics 2021-2024

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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. We will use new telescopes that are now coming on line to find and study Type Ia supernovae. These will be used as distance indicators across time to study the evolution of the universe itself and to better understand what is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. New telescope data will also be used to discover twinkling supermassive black holes hidden in the centres of thousands of galaxies. We will compare these black holes with data from their much more luminous siblings - quasars - which have grown rapidly in galaxies similar to our own. By studying the full population we will advance our understanding of how these black holes grow and influence the galaxies which host them. We will unveil the physical mechanisms behind the production and escape of high energy photons through galactic labyrinths, near and far, and unveil which sources caused the last major phase transition in the Universe. With artificial intelligence techniques, we will discover thousands of new clusters of galaxies, which will be used to understand how galaxies evolve in dense environments and the nature of dark matter itself. We will find new types of galaxies and use them to understand what controls the growth of galaxies in the distant Universe. 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). We will also begin to use new facilities including the 4-m Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST), the Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), and in space the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the European Space Agency's Euclid mission.We will bring our state-of-the art research to a wide audience by creating inspiring new shows for our portable inflatable planetarium, the LUniverse. These new shows will explain our group's current research projects to a general audience and will be shown at outreach events and in schools around the North-West.