Extreme Astrophysics with next-generation radio telescopes

在这个项目中，学生将用射电望远镜研究极端的天体物理现象。探测到的射电发射通常是由相对喷流或由吸积或爆炸事件引发的更各向同性的冲击引起的。无线电研究独特地使我们能够以其他波长不可能的方式测量和跟踪事件的动力学反馈，并且还可以为精确定位和源的分辨率成像提供极高的角度分辨率。这是我们团队多年来一直致力于的领域，在这个项目中，我们计划与MeerKAT射电望远镜的多个升级阶段合作，因为它开始过渡到平方公里阵列的中频组件。第一个方面是使用新的s波段接收器（2-3 GHz频段），它仍然处于风险共担模式。我们已经有了一个优秀的数据集，让学生开始工作，并有一些保证时间通过开放时间电话为来年的安全。我们还计划与位于波恩的马克斯普朗克射电天文学研究所的同事们合作，在他们专有的星系平面和星系中心调查中寻找瞬变现象。除了使用s波段，我们计划使用“MeerKAT+”，这是一种阵列的扩展，有12-16个新天线在更长的基线上，可能从2024年底开始可用。我们的团队可能是将这些现象的观察结果与MeerKAT数据的深厚专业知识相结合的工作领导者，并且我们在提供包含令人兴奋和原创研究的强大博士论文方面拥有出色的记录。

In this project the student will be studying extreme astrophysical phenomena with radio telescopes. Detected radio emission usually arises from relavistic jets or more isotropic shocks triggered by accretion or explosive events. Radio studies uniquely allow us to measure and track the kinetic feedback from the events in ways which are impossible at other wavelengths, and can also offer extremely high angular resolutions for precise localisation and resolved imaging of sources. This is an area our group has worked on for many years, and in this project we plan to work with the multiple upgrade phases of the MeerKAT radio telescopes as it begins the process of transitioning to the mid-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array.The first aspect of this is the use of the new S-band receivers (2-3 GHz band), which are still in a shared-risks mode. We already have an excellent data set for the student to start working on, and have some guaranteed time secured via an open time call for the coming year. We are also planning to work with our colleagues in the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn to look for transients in their proprietary galactic plane and galactic centre survey.Beyond use of the S-band, we plan to use 'MeerKAT+', which is an extension of the array with 12-16 new antennas on longer baselines, when this begins to become available, likely from late 2024.Our group are probably the work leaders combining observations of these phenomena and deep expertise with MeerKAT data, and we have an excellent track record in delivering strong PhD (DPhil) theses containing exciting and original research.