Astrophysics and Planetary Science at Oxford 2013-16

宇宙微波背景辐射（CMB）是宇宙学的基石，它的精确测量是最重要的，但它受到银河系辐射的严重污染。我们提出了一个新的测量前景辐射在低频，这将导致更精确的解释数据从普朗克卫星。将这项工作的见解与其他CMB望远镜的结果相结合，将有助于更好地理解暴胀时代和暗宇宙。为了探测暗物质的分布，我们开发了最先进的技术，用于测量和解释遥远星系图像的微小扭曲，这些扭曲是由物质沿着视线产生的。这项工作利用了目前的调查，但正在考虑今后参与欧空局的欧几里得卫星。我们正在积极寻求补充方法来测量宇宙的结构和描述它的参数。通过时域调查，我们将发现遥远的超新星，并努力更好地了解超新星物理学。大尺度结构的印记是通过星系的分布揭示的，我们正在一系列的时代测量这一点，以跟踪结构如何演变。超新星和活动星系核调节星星的形成，并将巨大的能量存款到星际气体中。我们将直接观察大爆炸后不到10亿年的星系，看看它们何时形成第一颗恒星，以及它们对周围环境的影响。我们甚至可以探测早期星系内部和周围的CO气体。我们将使用先进的高性能计算技术在宇宙学环境中模拟这些复杂的过程。我们将使用同样的技术来研究磁场的起源和超新星遗迹中宇宙射线的加速。我们建议利用我们的公民科学基础设施，从HST坎德尔调查中寻找星系，并寻找星系活动的原因。新的仪器将使我们能够将我们为本地星系开发的诊断应用于宇宙一半年龄时看到的星系。通过研究致密星系团中的星系和恒星形成速度最快的尘埃星系，我们将探索星系演化对质量和局部邻域的依赖。我们的银河系应该对宇宙学有一些最强的约束，但所有对它的观测都受到我们在其中的位置的强烈偏见。我们将绘制银河系中灭绝的三维分布图，并开发我们银河系的新动力学模型。目前，我们的模型受到地面调查数据的限制，但我们的工作将用于解释欧空局盖亚卫星的数据。一种技术是寻找亮度极小但有规律的下降，这表明存在一颗行星遮挡来自星星的光。通过发展先进的分析技术，我们建议不仅利用这些“凌日"发现新的行星-包括类似地球的行星-而且研究其大气层的结构和组成。通过仔细模拟辐射通过行星大气层的过程，我们将严格检验这些结论的有效性，并协助设计未来的实验。太阳系中的巨行星的大气层表现出表面特征，带状和未知来源的气旋斑点，此外，气体巨星和冰巨星之间的差异仍有待了解。我们打算将高性能计算应用于行星任务的结果建模，以研究支撑这些现象的物理机制。最后，我们试图通过比较光谱学和建模来了解最近的天文物体月球的表面组成。

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is a cornerstone of cosmology and its precise measurement is of the highest importance but it is heavily polluted by emission from our Galaxy. We propose a new measurement of that foreground radiation at low frequencies which will lead to a more precise interpretation of the data from the Planck satellite. Combining insights from this work with results from other CMB telescopes will lead to a better understanding of the inflationary epoch and dark Universe. To probe the distribution of dark matter we have developed state of the art techniques for the measurement and interpretation of the minute distortions of the images of distant galaxies that arise from matter along the line of sight. This work exploits current surveys but is looking towards future involvement in ESAs EUCLID satellite. We are actively pursuing complementary approaches to measuring the structure of the Universe and the parameters that describe it. From time-domain surveys we will discover distant supernovae and strive for a better understanding supernova physics. The imprint of the large scale structure is revealed through the distribution of galaxies, and we are measuring this over a range of epochs to track how the structure evolves.Supernovae and active galactic nuclei regulate star formation and deposit huge amounts of energy into interstellar gas. We will observe directly galaxies less than one billion years after the Big Bang to see when they formed their first stars and the effect they have on their surroundings. We can even probe the CO gas in and around galaxies at these early epochs. We will model these complex processes in a cosmological setting using advanced techniques of high performance computing. We will use the same techniques to study the origin of magnetic fields and the acceleration of cosmic rays in supernova remnants. We are proposing to utilise our citizen science infrastructure to characterise galaxies from the HST CANDELS survey and search for the causes of activity in galaxies. New instruments will enable us to apply the diagnostics we developed for local galaxies to galaxies seen when the Universe was half its present age. By studying galaxies in both the densest clusters and in the most rapidly star-forming dusty galaxies we will explore the dependence of galaxy evolution on mass and the local neighbourhood. Our Galaxy should place some of the strongest constraints on cosmology, but all observations of it are strongly biased by our position within it. We will map the three-dimensional distribution of extinction in the Galaxy and develop new dynamical models of our Galaxy. Presently our models are constrained by data from ground-based surveys but our work will be used to interpret data from ESA's Gaia satellite.Astronomers have discovered several hundred planetary systems. One technique searches for extremely small but regular dips in brightness that indicate the presence of a planet occulting light from a star. By developing advanced analysis techniques we propose to use these `transits' not only to discover new planets - including ones resembling the Earth - but also to study the structure and composition of their atmospheres. By undertaking careful modelling of the passage of radiation through planetary atmospheres we will rigorously test the validity of such conclusions and assist in the design of future experiments. The atmospheres of the giant planets in the Solar System exhibit surface features, banding and cyclonic spots of unknown origin, furthermore the difference between the gas giants and the ice giants remains to be understood. We intend to apply modelling using high performance computing to the results from planetary missions to investigate the physical mechanisms that underpin these phenomena. Finally we seek to understand the surface composition of the closest astronomical object, the Moon, through comparative spectroscopy and modelling.