Support of the astronomical research of the Cavendish Astrophysics Group

卡文迪什天体物理学小组提出的研究计划解决了当代天体物理学中的许多关键科学问题。观测、仪器、数据分析和理论工作都在新的巴特科克实验天体物理中心的屋顶下进行，该中心毗邻天文研究所和卡夫利宇宙学研究所。最近，通过任命新的高级人员，引入了重要的新研究领域。Roberto Maiolino、Didier Queloz和Chris Carilli，他们正在与现有工作人员一起并与其合作开发他们的研究领域。作为新的太阳系外行星科学中心的一部分，正在探索不断扩大的系外行星探测和表征领域：这项工作包括利用其径向速度多普勒频移技术探测新的系外行星，测量系外行星的大气层属性，并测量原行星盘的结构，以了解系外行星系统的形成和演化机制。这项工作将涉及ALMA对新形成恒星周围原行星盘中尘埃结构的观测。这项工作自然引出了恒星本身是如何在其原恒星盘中形成的问题：利用他们在亚毫米干涉测量方面的丰富专业知识，这项工作将使用ALMA来成像原恒星潜在井中气体的化学和动力学状态，在那里，预计会发生活跃的吸积到星/盘系统和喷流产生。在这笔赠款的过程中，ALMA的长基线调试将首次使这些高分辨率研究成为可能。此外，最近投入使用的e-Merlin将允许高分辨率测量原恒星的热射电波发射，揭示靠近原恒星的电离吸积和流出成分。总之，我们希望这些研究能帮助我们理解恒星形成的详细物理过程，以及在小物理尺度上的反馈。在银河系之外，科学的重点是通过研究星系的金属丰度演化来研究它们在宇宙中的演化；特别是我们将为使用詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜(JWST)的保证时间做好准备，该望远镜将于本授权期发射。我们还将继续研究星系团的物理和它们是如何演化的，并开始积极参与一项旨在探测再电离时代的实验，这是宇宙从中性形式迅速转变为电离形式的时代。在这些天体物理研究的同时，研究人员将进行蓝天技术研究，旨在提供光学、红外和无线电波长的新探测能力。

The Cavendish Astrophysics group's proposed research programme addresses many of the key science questions in contemporary astrophysics. Observational, instrumental, data analysis and theoretical work are all being pursued under the roof of the new Battcock Centre for Experimental Astrophysics, adjacent to the Institute of Astronomy and the Kavli Institute for Cosmology. Significant new areas of research have recently been brought in by the appointments of new senior staff, Profs. Roberto Maiolino, Didier Queloz and Chris Carilli, who are developing their research areas alongside and in collaboration with existing staff members. The growing area of exoplanet detection and characterisation is being pursued as part of the new Centre for Extra-Solar Planetary Science: this work includes the detection of new exo-planets using their radial velocity Doppler shift technique, measuring exoplanet atmosphere properties, and measuring the structure of protoplanetary discs to understand the formation and evolution mechanisms of exo-planet systems. This work will involve ALMA observations of the dust structures in protoplanetary discs around newly-formed stars. This work leads naturally into the problem of how stars themselves form in their protostellar discs: using their extensive expertise in submillimetre interferometry, the work will use ALMA to image the chemical and dynamical state of the gas deep in the potential wells of protostars where active accretion on to the star/disc system and jet generation is expected to occur. These high-resolution studies will be made possible for the first time by the commissioning on long baselines in ALMA during the course of this grant. In addition, the recent commissioning of e-MERLIN will allow the high-resolution measurement of the thermal radio emission from protostars, revealing the ionised accretion and outflow components close to the protostars. Together we expect these studies to help us understand the detailed physics of star formation and feedback on small physical scales. Beyond the Galaxy, the scientific focus is on the evolution of galaxies in the Universe through studies of their metallicity evolution; in particular we will prepare the ground for the use of guaranteed time on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which is due for launch in this grant period. We will also continue work on the physics of galaxy clusters and how they evolve, and start an active involvement in an experiment aimed to detect the epoch of reionisation, the epoch when the Universe rapidly transitioned from neutral to ionised form. In parallel with these astrophysical studies, researchers will be pursuing blue-sky technical studies aimed at delivering new detection capabilities at optical, infrared and radio wavelengths.