Extreme events: mining the radio sky for gamma-ray bursts with intelligent algorithms. Gamma-ray bursts and supernova explosions are some of the most extreme events in the Universe, and working out what causes them, and other transient phenomena, will give us new physical insights. The project will search, using next generation telescopes and intelligent algorithms, to find these 'needles in a haystack'.
The growth of giant black holes in the early universe. This project aims to discover the largest black holes in the early universe and their origin, and weigh them using infrared spectroscopy. Giant black holes at the centres of galaxies reach masses over ten billion times that of our Sun. Astronomy has revealed the origin of black holes with masses similar to that of the Sun, but remains puzzled by the existence of those with masses many million times larger. This project will reveal pathways o ....The growth of giant black holes in the early universe. This project aims to discover the largest black holes in the early universe and their origin, and weigh them using infrared spectroscopy. Giant black holes at the centres of galaxies reach masses over ten billion times that of our Sun. Astronomy has revealed the origin of black holes with masses similar to that of the Sun, but remains puzzled by the existence of those with masses many million times larger. This project will reveal pathways of black-hole growth early after the Big Bang. The project will shed light on the evolution of galaxies in the early universe and prepare the ground for new work by other scientists, for example on the origin of the elements.Read moreRead less
Characterising satellites using un-resolved optical observations . Space situational awareness is a critical priority for Australian national security and the commercial space sector as the economy is investing in space. Space debris is a growing international threat to all major economies that rely on space for communications and defence. This project will understand how defunct satellites degrade over time to produce space debris. To accomplish this the project will collaborate with the Polish ....Characterising satellites using un-resolved optical observations . Space situational awareness is a critical priority for Australian national security and the commercial space sector as the economy is investing in space. Space debris is a growing international threat to all major economies that rely on space for communications and defence. This project will understand how defunct satellites degrade over time to produce space debris. To accomplish this the project will collaborate with the Polish Space Agency to employ low resolution spectroscopy to measure the surface degradation of geostationary satellites. Read moreRead less
Seeing Dark with Light: Revealing the Milky Way with Stellar Streams. This project aims to reveal the dark matter that envelops the Milky Way, deconstructing its mass through observations of cannibalised smaller galaxies. Uniting ground- and space-based observations, this project expects to uncover the detailed size and shape of the Galaxy's dark matter halo through dynamical modelling of dwarf galaxies as they are disrupted by Galactic tidal forces. As well as determining this dominant mass, th ....Seeing Dark with Light: Revealing the Milky Way with Stellar Streams. This project aims to reveal the dark matter that envelops the Milky Way, deconstructing its mass through observations of cannibalised smaller galaxies. Uniting ground- and space-based observations, this project expects to uncover the detailed size and shape of the Galaxy's dark matter halo through dynamical modelling of dwarf galaxies as they are disrupted by Galactic tidal forces. As well as determining this dominant mass, the expected outcomes of this project include a unique snapshot of the evolution of our Milky Way. Leveraging major international collaborations and producing high-impact scientific results, this project will address the primal question of origins, yielding important societal and cultural benefits.Read moreRead less
New Statistical Techniques for Galactic Archaeology. This project aims to develop methods that will enable us to exploit new astronomical data. A revolution is under way in stellar astronomy, with new space satellites and Australian survey instruments about to reveal the composition of millions of stars. These data hold the promise of disentangling the origin of our galaxy through identification of star-forming groups that have long ago dispersed into our galaxy. We can also learn about the nucl ....New Statistical Techniques for Galactic Archaeology. This project aims to develop methods that will enable us to exploit new astronomical data. A revolution is under way in stellar astronomy, with new space satellites and Australian survey instruments about to reveal the composition of millions of stars. These data hold the promise of disentangling the origin of our galaxy through identification of star-forming groups that have long ago dispersed into our galaxy. We can also learn about the nuclear and stellar processes that were active in long-dead stars, and hence explain why the Universe is the way it is. This project aims to extend the powerful Minimum Message Length method, never before used in astronomy, to handle this data. This would put us in a unique position to extract new knowledge from the data that will arrive in the next one to five years.Read moreRead less
Supporting early science from the Murchison Widefield Array - a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder telescope. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is likely to be the first operational pathfinder for the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) on one of the two candidate SKA sites - the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The MWA will therefore generate large volumes of scientific data before 2012, the expected date of the international decision that will dete ....Supporting early science from the Murchison Widefield Array - a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder telescope. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is likely to be the first operational pathfinder for the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) on one of the two candidate SKA sites - the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The MWA will therefore generate large volumes of scientific data before 2012, the expected date of the international decision that will determine whether Australia or South Africa is to host the SKA. The early science results from the MWA will showcase the excellence of the Australian site for radio astronomy and play a significant strategic role in Australia's bid to attract the SKA, as an international mega-science project to Australia, with its benefits to Australian science, industry and society.Read moreRead less
Supporting early science from the Murchison Widefield Array - a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder telescope. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is likely to be the first operational pathfinder for the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) on one of the two candidate SKA sites - the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The MWA will therefore generate large volumes of scientific data before 2012, the expected date of the international decision that will dete ....Supporting early science from the Murchison Widefield Array - a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinder telescope. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is likely to be the first operational pathfinder for the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) on one of the two candidate SKA sites - the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. The MWA will therefore generate large volumes of scientific data before 2012, the expected date of the international decision that will determine whether Australia or South Africa is to host the SKA. The early science results from the MWA will showcase the excellence of the Australian site for radio astronomy and play a significant strategic role in Australia's bid to attract the SKA, as an international mega-science project to Australia, with its benefits to Australian science, industry and society.Read moreRead less
Deeper, Wider, Faster program: Detecting the fastest bursts in the Universe. This Project aims to progress a novel collaboration of worldwide facilities operating at all-wavelengths to discover and rapidly follow up the fastest bursts in the Universe (those lasting only milliseconds to hours). This Project aims to increase the program's scientific output that searches an unexplored time regime and aims to uncover new phenomena and physics. The challenges of 'real-time' identification of the fa ....Deeper, Wider, Faster program: Detecting the fastest bursts in the Universe. This Project aims to progress a novel collaboration of worldwide facilities operating at all-wavelengths to discover and rapidly follow up the fastest bursts in the Universe (those lasting only milliseconds to hours). This Project aims to increase the program's scientific output that searches an unexplored time regime and aims to uncover new phenomena and physics. The challenges of 'real-time' identification of the fast-fading events, including supercomputer data processing and sophisticated data visualisation and sonification techniques, offer an ideal platform to test and accelerate Big Data analyses in science, medicine, and industry, and increase public STEM participation, including the blind and visually-impaired community.Read moreRead less
The astrophysical stochastic background of gravitational waves and detection by advanced high optical power interferometers: an Australia-US collaboration. The proposed project is designed to enable one of the most exciting and least studied components of the gravitational wave spectrum, the Astrophysical Gravitational wave Background (AGB), to be detected by Advanced LIGO. It will extend the Australia-US collaboration in Advanced LIGO to include modeling, simulation and detection methods of the ....The astrophysical stochastic background of gravitational waves and detection by advanced high optical power interferometers: an Australia-US collaboration. The proposed project is designed to enable one of the most exciting and least studied components of the gravitational wave spectrum, the Astrophysical Gravitational wave Background (AGB), to be detected by Advanced LIGO. It will extend the Australia-US collaboration in Advanced LIGO to include modeling, simulation and detection methods of the AGB and the study of the optical noise in LIGO and Advanced LIGO type systems. In particular we plan to search for anomalous noise sources and, especially those arising in high optical power cavities that could limit detection of the AGB.Read moreRead less