Extreme Astrophysics with next-generation radio telescopes

在这个项目中，学生将用射电望远镜研究极端的天体物理现象。探测到的射电辐射通常来自相对论喷流或由吸积或爆炸事件触发的更多各向同性激波。无线电研究独一无二地允许我们测量和跟踪来自事件的动力学反馈，这在其他波长是不可能的，并且还可以提供极高的角度分辨率，以实现源的精确定位和分辨率成像。这是我们团队多年来一直致力于的领域，在这个项目中，我们计划与Meerkat射电望远镜的多个升级阶段合作，因为它开始向平方公里阵列的中频分量过渡。其中第一个方面是使用新的S波段(2-3 GHz频段)接收器，这些接收器仍处于共担风险模式。我们已经有了一个很好的数据集，可以让学生开始工作，并通过开放时间电话确保来年的一些时间。我们还计划与波恩马克斯·普朗克射电天文学研究所的同事合作，在他们专有的银河面和银心探测中寻找瞬变。在使用S波段时，我们计划使用‘Meerkat+’，这是阵列的扩展，在更长的基线上有12-16个新天线，当它开始可用时，可能从2024年底开始。我们的团队可能是工作的领导者，将对这些现象的观察和深厚的专业知识与Meerkat数据相结合，我们在发表包含令人兴奋和原创研究的强有力的博士论文(DPhil)方面有着良好的记录。

In this project the student will be studying extreme astrophysical phenomena with radio telescopes. Detected radio emission usually arises from relavistic jets or more isotropic shocks triggered by accretion or explosive events. Radio studies uniquely allow us to measure and track the kinetic feedback from the events in ways which are impossible at other wavelengths, and can also offer extremely high angular resolutions for precise localisation and resolved imaging of sources. This is an area our group has worked on for many years, and in this project we plan to work with the multiple upgrade phases of the MeerKAT radio telescopes as it begins the process of transitioning to the mid-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array.The first aspect of this is the use of the new S-band receivers (2-3 GHz band), which are still in a shared-risks mode. We already have an excellent data set for the student to start working on, and have some guaranteed time secured via an open time call for the coming year. We are also planning to work with our colleagues in the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn to look for transients in their proprietary galactic plane and galactic centre survey.Beyond use of the S-band, we plan to use 'MeerKAT+', which is an extension of the array with 12-16 new antennas on longer baselines, when this begins to become available, likely from late 2024.Our group are probably the work leaders combining observations of these phenomena and deep expertise with MeerKAT data, and we have an excellent track record in delivering strong PhD (DPhil) theses containing exciting and original research.