Astrophysics at the University of Bath 2023-2026

利用复杂的理论模型和世界上最强大的望远镜的开创性观测，巴斯天体物理学家研究了我们“动态宇宙”的内部运作。他们的探索揭示了支撑丰富的天体物理源现象学的物理学，这些天体物理源在天空中实时变化，从极端的相对论瞬变到固定宇宙距离阶梯的变星。他们的研究同样涵盖了数十亿年的演化路径和周期，包括星系的成长、气体储层的化学富集以及星系中心超大质量黑洞的出现。这项综合资助将使早期职业研究人员能够与巴斯大学的天体物理学工作人员共同推进这些研究领域，与全球天文学界分享科学发现和资源（重新）生产它们，并通过直接植根于拟议的前沿研究的公众参与活动来激励下一代科学家。拟议的项目是及时的，受到新一代观测设施的激励和利用，这些设施将改变天文学的许多方面。多信使天体物理学的第一次成功，包括巴斯的贡献，仍然很新鲜，但我们的理论家已经在展望未来，并开发模型和工具，这些模型和工具将使与引力波信号相关的新电磁对应物的解释得到改进，这将为即将到来的SKA观测做好准备。研究的现象包括合并中子星的破碎外壳产生的耀斑，以及在宇宙中最明亮的爆炸周围传播并与星周物质相互作用的相对论性喷流。这一理论的发展将揭示自然界中密度最大的物体和能量最大的事件。巴斯的天体物理学家也将成为新发射的詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜的首批观测者之一。JWST将为星系早期化学富集的发射提供一个敏感的视角，补充之前通过伽马射线爆发余辉穿透遥远星系的气藏的明亮背景光所看到的金属吸收特征的印记所收集的信息。这独特地使金属丰度诊断的长期校准成为可能，并将为星系模拟中的子网格配方提供信息。最后，巴斯天体物理学家将推动广域天文学的前沿，使用即将委托的高复用光谱仪（例如，4MOST， MOONS）和成像仪（例如，Rubin-LSST）来收集前所未有的尺寸样本和前所未有的星系环境探测器。这些设施将在数据驱动的科学中引入一场革命，通过巴斯大学的团队将描述暗物质晕群，星系演化的发光面展开，揭示星系生长如何受到原位物理和环境因素的不同影响。他们将利用这些资源来研究超大质量黑洞和它们的宿主星系之间的相互作用，解决星系-黑洞共同进化如何在不同的遮蔽水平上不同地运作。最后，将不同类型的造父变星作为标准烛光进行整体校准，不仅要考虑周期和亮度的限制，还要考虑颜色和金属丰度的限制，这将消除宇宙距离阶梯上的偏差，并解决其中一个最大的问题：我们的标准宇宙论是完整的吗？通过收获这一系列新的天文台和仪器所带来的新科学，拟议的计划将使英国对这些国际设施的重大投资立即产生回报。

Using sophisticated theoretical modelling and groundbreaking observations from the world's most powerful telescopes, Bath astrophysicists examine the inner workings of our 'dynamic Universe'. Their explorations serve to reveal the physics underpinning the rich phenomenology of astrophysical sources that vary real-time on the sky, from extreme relativistic transients to variable stars that anchor the cosmological distance ladder. Their studies equally encompass the evolutionary paths and cycles that play out over billions of years, giving rise to the growth of galaxies, the chemical enrichment of their gas reservoirs, and the emergence of supermassive black holes at their centres.This consolidated grant will enable early career researchers to work jointly with the astrophysics staff at the University of Bath to advance these areas of research, to share the scientific findings and the resources to (re)produce them with the global astronomical community, and to inspire the next generation of scientists via public engagement activities directly rooted in the proposed cutting edge research.The proposed projects are timely, motivated by and making use of a new generation of observational facilities that will transform many facets of astronomy. The first successes in multi-messenger astrophysics, including contributions from Bath, are still very fresh, but already our theorists are looking ahead and developing the models and tools that will enable an improved interpretation of new electromagnetic counterparts associated with gravitational wave signals, and that will prepare the community for upcoming SKA observations. Among phenomena studied are flares originating from the shattering crusts of merging neutron stars, and relativistic jets propagating through and interacting with the circumstellar material surrounding the most luminous explosions in the Universe. The theory developed will shed light on Nature's densest objects and most energetic events.Bath astrophysicists will also be among the first observers with the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope. JWST will provide a sensitive view in emission of the early chemical enrichment in galaxies, complementary to what was gathered previously by the imprint of metal absorption features seen against the bright background light of gamma-ray burst afterglows piercing through the gas reservoir of distant galaxies. This uniquely enables a long due calibration of metallicity diagnostics, and will inform subgrid recipes in galaxy simulations.Finally, Bath astrophysicists will push the frontiers of wide-area astronomy by using soon-to-be commissioned highly multiplexed spectrographs (e.g., 4MOST, MOONS) and imagers (e.g., Rubin-LSST) to collect samples of unprecedented size and probes of galaxy environments of unprecedented accuracy. These facilities will introduce a revolution in data-driven science, through which the team at Bath will characterize the group dark matter halos against which the luminous side of galaxy evolution unfolds, shedding light on how galaxy growth is affected differently by in-situ physics vs environmental factors. They will leverage these resources to study the interplay between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies, addressing how galaxy - black hole coevolution operates differently at distinct levels of obscuration. Finally, a holistic calibration of different types of Cepheid variable stars as standard candles, folding in constraints on not just period and luminosity, but also colour and metallicity, will remove biases in the cosmological distance ladder, and will address one of the biggest questions of them all: is our standard cosmology the full story?By harvesting the science newly enabled by this array of new observatories and instruments, the proposed programme will yield an immediate return on significant UK investments into these international facilities.