Astronomy at Queen Mary 2023-2026

--早期宇宙经历了一段加速膨胀的时期，产生了密度波动，这是星系分布的来源。我们将对暴胀进行数值模拟，以计算由于这些密度波动而产生的引力波背景，以及当这些小的密度波动完全崩溃时形成的黑洞数量。爱因斯坦的引力理论的测试正在一系列令人兴奋的新系统中成为可能，从宇宙中最大的尺度到遥远的天体物理系统。我们将创造新的观测与当地测试相结合的方法，以获得对重力的最佳约束，在广泛的空间和时间尺度上。大尺度结构调查将在足够大的尺度上绘制宇宙地图，以检测新的相对论效应。这些污染了暴胀的原始信号，但也为检验广义相对论提供了新的机会。我们将研究新的模拟，以了解这些星系的分布。- 我们将在具有高阶导数修正的引力理论中研究早期宇宙的引力动力学，并研究它们对暴胀时空的影响。这些修正一般来自量子引力理论，因此在早期宇宙中至关重要。--测量宽双星的速度可以区分修正的引力与暗物质。我们将进行新的观察和建模的关键高速系统在开发这个测试。早期的宇宙充满了中性氢气，通过绘制分布图，我们可以模拟第一批恒星。我们将开发新的方法，将来自中性氢的非常微弱的无线电发射与来自我们自己星系和其他星系的明亮得多的发射分开。行星的形成发生在年轻恒星周围的气体和尘埃盘中。我们将开发这些圆盘的模型，并研究嵌入的行星如何与它们相互作用，以了解行星的轨道如何变化，以及它们如何在生长过程中从周围圆盘中吸积质量。建造千米大小的微行星是一场与时间的赛跑。厘米-米大小的卵石以高速向星星漂移，因此将它们收集成星子需要迅速进行。我们将进行详细的模拟，以确定是否星子可以形成这种方式。--行星形成星团中的大质量恒星发出大量的紫外线辐射，加热和分散行星形成盘。我们将开发3D模拟这些光盘是如何被辐射和剥离的材料与行星诞生环境的突破性影响。年轻的凌日行星为了解行星系统的形成和早期演化提供了一个窗口。我们将测量年轻行星的质量，研究它们的大气层，解开它们的动力学历史，并确定它们的年龄，为它们的形成和早期演化提供新的见解。我们将使用完全广义相对论中的相对论粒子模拟来模拟黑洞周围强引力环境中形成的暗物质结构。我们将研究离心率，自旋和不相等的质量比对暗物质云的影响。我们将通过观察黑洞离对称态有多远来发展一种研究黑洞的新策略。这种方法将在最先进的黑洞数值模拟中进行测试，目的是从现有观测中提取新信息。理解中子星和其他非常致密的恒星及其碰撞需要在完全广义相对论中对流体进行复杂的建模。这是非常复杂的，特别是在这些物体的表面。我们将制定新的方案来解决这个问题，建立新的模拟来测试我们的方法。

-- The early universe underwent a period of accelerated inflation generating density fluctuations sourcing the distribution of galaxies. We will model inflation numerically to calculate the gravitational wave background due to these density fluctuations and the amount of black holes formed when these small density fluctuations collapse completely.-- Tests of Einstein's theory of gravity are becoming possible in a range of exciting new systems, from the largest scales in the Universe to distant astrophysical systems. We will create ways of combining new observations with local tests to gain the best constraints on gravity, over a vast range of spatial and temporal scales.-- Large-scale structure surveys will map the universe on scales large enough to detect new relativistic effects. These contaminate primordial signals of inflation, but also provide new opportunities for testing general relativity. We will investigate new simulations to understand these in the distribution of galaxies. -- We will investigate the gravitational dynamics of the early Universe in theories of gravity with higher derivative corrections and study their impact on inflationary spacetimes. These corrections generically arise from theories of quantum gravity so are critical in the early Universe. -- Measurements of velocities of wide binary stars can discriminate modified gravity vs dark matter. We will perform new observations and modeling of critical high-velocity systems in developing this test. -- The early Universe was filled with neutral hydrogen gas, and by mapping the distribution we can model the first stars. We will develop new ways to separate the very faint radio emission from neutral hydrogen from much brighter emission from our own galaxy and others.-- Planet formation occurs in the discs of gas and dust that are found around young stars. We will develop models of these discs and examine how embedded planets interact with them, in order to understand how the orbits of the planets change and how they accrete mass from the surrounding disc as they grow.-- Building km-sized planetesimals is a race against time. Pebbles of cm-m in size drift towards the star at high speed, so collecting them into planetesimals needs to proceed quickly. We will perform detailed simulations to determine if planetesimals can form this way. -- Massive stars in planet-forming clusters emit copious amounts of UV radiation that heat and disperse planet-forming discs. We will develop 3D simulations of how these discs are irradiated and stripped of material with ground-breaking implications for planetary birth environments. -- Young transiting planets offer a window onto the formation and early evolution of planetary systems. We will measure young planet masses, characterise their atmospheres, unravel their dynamical histories, and determine their ages to provide new insights into their formation and early evolution.-- We will characterise dark matter structures that form in strong gravity environments around black holes using simulations of relativistic particles in full general relativity. We will investigate the effects of eccentricity, spin, and unequal mass ratios on the dark matter cloud that is accreted.-- We will develop a new strategy for the study of black holes by looking at how far away they are from a symmetric state. This approach will be tested in state-of-the art numerical simulations of black holes with the aim of extracting new information from available observations.-- Understanding neutron stars and other very dense stars and their collisions requires intricate modeling of fluids in full general relativity. This is extremely complicated, especially at the surface of these bodies. We will formulate new schemes to solve this problem, building new simulations to test our approach.