The Great Escape: The Gaseous Outflow from the Centre of the Milky Way. This project aims to increase our understanding of the workings of the central regions of galaxies. The nuclei of galaxies are galactic-scale powerhouses driven by fast-moving winds launched by either the active bursts of star formation in the galaxy’s core or the accretion of gas onto a central black hole more than a million times the mass of the Sun. In 2010, the Fermi space telescope discovered enormous bubbles filled wit ....The Great Escape: The Gaseous Outflow from the Centre of the Milky Way. This project aims to increase our understanding of the workings of the central regions of galaxies. The nuclei of galaxies are galactic-scale powerhouses driven by fast-moving winds launched by either the active bursts of star formation in the galaxy’s core or the accretion of gas onto a central black hole more than a million times the mass of the Sun. In 2010, the Fermi space telescope discovered enormous bubbles filled with hot gas emanating from the centre of the Milky Way, proof of a Galactic wind. Our Galaxy's wind offers the best laboratory in the universe for understanding what drives the powerhouses at the nuclei of normal galaxies. This project aims to determine whether the Milky Way’s nuclear wind and the Fermi bubbles were formed from a starburst wind or gas accretion onto the central black hole.Read moreRead less
Disentangling the origin and evolution of the tangled magellanic stream. This project aims to reveal the process of gaseous accretion in interacting galaxies by elucidating the origin and evolution of the Magellanic Stream. The Magellanic Stream is an enormous tail of hydrogen gas extending from the Magellanic Clouds almost fully around the Milky Way. Through unravelling the Magellanic Stream and revealing how it will impact the Milky Way, this project will help understand how galaxies receive n ....Disentangling the origin and evolution of the tangled magellanic stream. This project aims to reveal the process of gaseous accretion in interacting galaxies by elucidating the origin and evolution of the Magellanic Stream. The Magellanic Stream is an enormous tail of hydrogen gas extending from the Magellanic Clouds almost fully around the Milky Way. Through unravelling the Magellanic Stream and revealing how it will impact the Milky Way, this project will help understand how galaxies receive new gas to continue their star formation and very existence. The project will use the newly constructed Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder to shed light on the question of how galaxies evolve, one of the highest priority questions in Australian Astrophysics as defined by the Australian Astronomy Decadal Plan.Read moreRead less
Exploiting SkyMapper for Galactic Astrophysics. The SkyMapper telescope will commence a digital imaging survey of the entire southern hemisphere sky in the second quarter of 2014. This project aims to exploit the SkyMapper survey data to discover and characterise the oldest and most metal-poor stars in our Galaxy, constraining both the origin of the chemical elements and the star formation processes that occurred during the initial stages of our Galaxy's formation. At the same time the project w ....Exploiting SkyMapper for Galactic Astrophysics. The SkyMapper telescope will commence a digital imaging survey of the entire southern hemisphere sky in the second quarter of 2014. This project aims to exploit the SkyMapper survey data to discover and characterise the oldest and most metal-poor stars in our Galaxy, constraining both the origin of the chemical elements and the star formation processes that occurred during the initial stages of our Galaxy's formation. At the same time the project will use SkyMapper and other imaging data to increase understanding of the formation of the Galactic halo and of our nearest galaxy neighbours, the Magellanic Clouds.Read moreRead less
Discovery and characterisation of Milky Way satellite galaxies. Cold dark matter simulations, known to accurately describe the large-scale cosmic web of the Universe, predict hundreds of dark matter subhalos orbiting the Milky Way. Our hemispheric survey aims at finding and systematically acquiring information about their optical counterparts, the ultra-faint galaxies, the most extreme class of stellar systems.
Caught in the act: an unparalleled view of galaxy evolution. How do galaxies, like our own Milky Way, form? Using a new survey of the nearby cosmos, this project will search for the signatures of galactic cannibalism, the disrupted bodies of smaller galaxies, and use this archaeology to piece together the formation history. This project will also reveal the presence of local dark matter, whose action has shaped our own formation.
Magnetic fields and atomic gas flows in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. This project aims to understand how gas and magnetic fields interact to set the fate of galaxies. Magnetism, alongside gravity, is one of the most influential forces in determining the structure and evolution of the Universe, and yet one of the least understood. Using Australia's newest astronomy investment, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, this project hopes to reveal the linkage of magnetism and atomi ....Magnetic fields and atomic gas flows in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. This project aims to understand how gas and magnetic fields interact to set the fate of galaxies. Magnetism, alongside gravity, is one of the most influential forces in determining the structure and evolution of the Universe, and yet one of the least understood. Using Australia's newest astronomy investment, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, this project hopes to reveal the linkage of magnetism and atomic gas flows in our own Milky Way and between its galactic neighbours, the Magellanic Clouds. The expected outcomes of this project include the delivery of one of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder key science projects, improved understanding of how galaxies evolve and training students in scientific skills.Read moreRead less
Dark matter in the smallest galaxies. The gravity from invisible dark matter controls the formation of large objects like galaxies in the Universe, but we don't know how smaller objects form. This project will make an advanced computer simulation of the formation of the smallest galaxies and compare it with new observations of these objects to determine how they form.
The cosmic distribution of metals. This project aims to understand how the elements forged in stars flow through space and find their way into new stars and planets. The history of these elements, and how they came to be in planets like ours, is one of the most basic questions remaining in astrophysics. The expected outcome is to provide a model for the history of the elements that can provide a theoretical basis and a vital set of statistical tools to interpret the flood of data that will arriv ....The cosmic distribution of metals. This project aims to understand how the elements forged in stars flow through space and find their way into new stars and planets. The history of these elements, and how they came to be in planets like ours, is one of the most basic questions remaining in astrophysics. The expected outcome is to provide a model for the history of the elements that can provide a theoretical basis and a vital set of statistical tools to interpret the flood of data that will arrive from Australian and international telescopes over the next five years. The results will significantly benefit astronomical fields from cosmology to chemical evolution, and the machine learning methods developed will have applications well beyond astronomy. The end result will be a new and deeper insight into our cosmic origins.Read moreRead less
Satellite galaxies as probe of structure formation in our cosmic backyard. This project proposes a multi-wavelength study of optically elusive, dark matter dominated satellite galaxies around the Milky Way. These ultra-faint stellar systems, the first to be discovered in the Southern Hemisphere are the building blocks of our Milky Way and are prime laboratories to assess the stellar and dark matter properties of the most extreme galaxies known. The results are expected to provide crucial insight ....Satellite galaxies as probe of structure formation in our cosmic backyard. This project proposes a multi-wavelength study of optically elusive, dark matter dominated satellite galaxies around the Milky Way. These ultra-faint stellar systems, the first to be discovered in the Southern Hemisphere are the building blocks of our Milky Way and are prime laboratories to assess the stellar and dark matter properties of the most extreme galaxies known. The results are expected to provide crucial insights into the nature of dark matter and the cosmic formation of chemical elements, thereby strengthening Australia's research capacity in one of the most exciting frontiers of astrophysics research.Read moreRead less
Modeling the Distribution of Metals in the Universe. This project aims to develop a better understanding of the transport of heavy elements. Almost all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are made in stars and then expelled into the interstellar medium. However, we understand very little about the subsequent processes by which these elements are transported through and out of galaxies. This project plans to use high-resolution simulations of interstellar gas to understand the flows respons ....Modeling the Distribution of Metals in the Universe. This project aims to develop a better understanding of the transport of heavy elements. Almost all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are made in stars and then expelled into the interstellar medium. However, we understand very little about the subsequent processes by which these elements are transported through and out of galaxies. This project plans to use high-resolution simulations of interstellar gas to understand the flows responsible for element transport. It also plans to provide quantitative calculations of the rate of element diffusion through the interstellar medium, the rate at which elements are expelled from galaxies in galactic winds, and similar poorly-known quantities. Ultimately, this work may yield a much deeper understanding of how the present-day distribution of elements in the universe came to be.Read moreRead less