UCL Astrophysics Consolidated Grant 2021-2024

我们在UCL天体物理组进行的研究涵盖了现代天体物理学的所有重大问题，从系外行星到整个宇宙。我们在大型国际项目中发挥主导作用，这些项目正在收集数百万颗恒星和星系的数据。我们的总体目标是（1）分析这些数据以回答有关宇宙的基本问题，（2）开发能够解释这些数据的理论和模型，以及（3）开发技术，使这些最先进的设施成为现实。我们提出了一个由十个科学项目组成的计划，分为五个主题，涵盖了我们小组研究的所有主题：系外行星，银河天体物理学，河外天体物理学，宇宙学和仪器。根据我们小组的性质，大部分工作都是观察性的;我们成功的关键之一是我们的仪器和科学小组之间的密切互动，使我们能够直接参与大型国际项目。我们的观测项目利用了eMERLIN、詹姆斯·克拉克麦克斯韦望远镜（JCMT）、暗能量光谱仪（DESI）和欧几里得等设施。有了这些设备，我们将研究白色矮星周围的碎片盘，我们银河系中最大质量的恒星以及早期宇宙中一些最大质量的星系，调查星系和它们的暗物质晕之间的联系，并回答我们宇宙学模型中的基本问题。我们还提出了两个理论和数值性质的项目，都与构成系外行星大气层和恒星诞生云的分子有关。此外，我们提出了一个外展案例，旨在使我们能够向公众传播由这笔赠款资助的研究的具体成果。

The research we conduct in the UCL Astrophysics Group encompasses all the big questions of modern Astrophysics and on all scales, from exoplanets to the entire Universe. We have leading roles in large, international projects which are gathering data for millions of stars and galaxies. Our overall goals are to (1) analyse these data to answer fundamental questions about the Universe, (2) develop the theory and models that enable the interpretation for these data, and (3) produce the technologies making these state-of-the-art facilities a reality. We propose a programme of ten science projects, divided in five themes covering the full range of topics studied within our group: Exoplanets, Galactic Astrophysics, Extragalactic Astrophysics, Cosmology and Instrumentation. By the nature of our group, most of this work is observational; one of our keys to success is the close interaction between our instrumentation and science groups, allowing us direct access to large international projects. Our observational projects make use of facilities such as eMERLIN, the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), and Euclid. With these facilities, we will study debris disks around white dwarf stars, the most massive stars in our Galaxy as well as some of the most massive galaxies in the early Universe, investigate the connection between galaxies and their dark matter halos, and answer fundamental questions in our cosmological model. We also propose two projects that are theoretical and numerical in nature, both concerned with the molecules that make up the atmospheres of exoplanets and the birth clouds of stars. In addition, we present an outreach case, designed to enable us to disseminate to the public the specific outputs of the research to be funded by this grant.