Collaboration with The NANTEN2 International Star Formation Consortium. Through this collaboration Australia, for a very modest sum, will gain its first direct access to the astronomical facilities of the Atacama plateau, one of the best sites for investigating star formation on the Earth. The project fosters international collaboration, and raises the profile of Australian science and facilities by bringing together astronomers from Australia, Japan, Germany, Korea, Chile and Switzerland.The co ....Collaboration with The NANTEN2 International Star Formation Consortium. Through this collaboration Australia, for a very modest sum, will gain its first direct access to the astronomical facilities of the Atacama plateau, one of the best sites for investigating star formation on the Earth. The project fosters international collaboration, and raises the profile of Australian science and facilities by bringing together astronomers from Australia, Japan, Germany, Korea, Chile and Switzerland.The collaborations formed during this project will enable Australian scientists future access to new front-line telescopes such as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), due to commence operations in 2010. Read moreRead less
Before Planets: The Mineralogy and Chemistry of Pre-Planetary Disks. Planets form within the circumstellar disks around young stars. Samples of the solid material composing our own primitive disk are found in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles. Using the powerful technique of astronomical mid-infrared spectropolarimetry, we will ascertain the composition of the material existing within the disks around young stars. By studying a range of disk ages we will determine how the composition ....Before Planets: The Mineralogy and Chemistry of Pre-Planetary Disks. Planets form within the circumstellar disks around young stars. Samples of the solid material composing our own primitive disk are found in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles. Using the powerful technique of astronomical mid-infrared spectropolarimetry, we will ascertain the composition of the material existing within the disks around young stars. By studying a range of disk ages we will determine how the composition evolves with time, and what physical processes affect it, in order to better understand how our own solar system formed. Further, we will image these disks in mm-wave molecular emission and constrain their chemistry and rotational properties.Read moreRead less
Habitable planets and stellar oscillations with the NASA Kepler mission. This project will ensure Australia's participation in a large space mission, which will detect habitable planets, like our own, around stars. We will build strong links to leading international institutions, supply high-level training for students in information processing skills, and develop new techniques for data analysis that are directly relevant to future space missions. This will position Australia in space explorati ....Habitable planets and stellar oscillations with the NASA Kepler mission. This project will ensure Australia's participation in a large space mission, which will detect habitable planets, like our own, around stars. We will build strong links to leading international institutions, supply high-level training for students in information processing skills, and develop new techniques for data analysis that are directly relevant to future space missions. This will position Australia in space exploration, with potential spin-offs for Australian industry. The science of this project will lead to a breakthrough in our understanding of the structure and evolution of stars and their planets, which will enhance Australia's reputation in these two fields of research.Read moreRead less
How many bright stars of the night sky harbour planets? The search for planets around stars is one of the grand endeavours that defines the modern era of astronomy. This project will develop two innovative technologies that will lead this field into new observational terrain: high-contrast aperture masking interferometry at large telescopes, and very narrow angle astrometry at the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer. These new instruments will enable the search for planets around the bright ....How many bright stars of the night sky harbour planets? The search for planets around stars is one of the grand endeavours that defines the modern era of astronomy. This project will develop two innovative technologies that will lead this field into new observational terrain: high-contrast aperture masking interferometry at large telescopes, and very narrow angle astrometry at the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer. These new instruments will enable the search for planets around the bright intermediate-mass stars of our southern sky, and will target the critical orbital scales of planets at solar-system scale separations. This encompasses the habitable zone where conditions could support life, and the sample will have immediate impact on fundamental questions of planetary formation.Read moreRead less
The First Deep Infrared Study of the Nearby Galaxy Population. We will conduct two major near-infrared (IR) surveys: The Southern Galactic Cap near-IR survey, and the Local Sphere of Influence survey. These surveys will capitalise on the innovative and award winning Australian IRIS2 facility. The two surveys push the observational frontier by orders of magnitude. They will be used to explore the close connection between the near-IR global properties of a galaxy and its underlying physics and pro ....The First Deep Infrared Study of the Nearby Galaxy Population. We will conduct two major near-infrared (IR) surveys: The Southern Galactic Cap near-IR survey, and the Local Sphere of Influence survey. These surveys will capitalise on the innovative and award winning Australian IRIS2 facility. The two surveys push the observational frontier by orders of magnitude. They will be used to explore the close connection between the near-IR global properties of a galaxy and its underlying physics and provide a generic local reference for the upcoming next generation infrared space-telescope missions.
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Stellar oscillations from the ground and space. We are participating in the Danish-led satellite mission MONS. The main instrument is a 32-cm telescope that is being designed and built by an Australian company. It will measure tiny brightness fluctuations in stars that reveal exquisite details about their internal structures. We propose to develop sophisticated processing algorithms that will allow MONS to measure the brightness fluctuations with unprecedented precision. We will also exploit ....Stellar oscillations from the ground and space. We are participating in the Danish-led satellite mission MONS. The main instrument is a 32-cm telescope that is being designed and built by an Australian company. It will measure tiny brightness fluctuations in stars that reveal exquisite details about their internal structures. We propose to develop sophisticated processing algorithms that will allow MONS to measure the brightness fluctuations with unprecedented precision. We will also exploit our new method for detecting oscillations in the brightest stars from the ground using the world's largest telescopes.Read moreRead less
Venturing into the Cluster Desert. Fundamental questions that ask about the nature and the fate of the Universe are of interest not only to astronomers, but also to the general public. In particular, the realisation that the Universe is dominated by dark energy has sparked wide public interest. We still know very little about dark energy. Is it Einstein's famous cosmological constant or something more exotic, such as a new particle or even new physics? This proposal aims to build a sample of ver ....Venturing into the Cluster Desert. Fundamental questions that ask about the nature and the fate of the Universe are of interest not only to astronomers, but also to the general public. In particular, the realisation that the Universe is dominated by dark energy has sparked wide public interest. We still know very little about dark energy. Is it Einstein's famous cosmological constant or something more exotic, such as a new particle or even new physics? This proposal aims to build a sample of very distant galaxy clusters that can then be used to search for a very special type of supernova - the Type Ia Supernova, which can be used as a tool to learn about the properties of dark energy. Read moreRead less
The birth of stars and planetary systems. Stars are born through the collapse of clouds in interstellar space. A by-product of the collapse is a flattened ring of gas in orbit about the newly-formed star. Eventually planets form within the ring and a planetary system is born. Magnetic forces in the clouds are strong, and so are expected to significantly affect these processes. This project aims to understand the role of magnetic fields in the formation of stars and planetary systems in order ....The birth of stars and planetary systems. Stars are born through the collapse of clouds in interstellar space. A by-product of the collapse is a flattened ring of gas in orbit about the newly-formed star. Eventually planets form within the ring and a planetary system is born. Magnetic forces in the clouds are strong, and so are expected to significantly affect these processes. This project aims to understand the role of magnetic fields in the formation of stars and planetary systems in order to develop accurate models that can be used to interpret observations by planned national and international astronomical facilities. The truly international nature of astronomy will allow us to enhance Australia's research visibility overseas.Read moreRead less
Formation and evolution of galaxies in the Local Group. This project will represent a significant contribution in the context
of Australian numerical astrophysics tackling fundamental questions in
the field of galaxy formation and evolution. It will address questions
that relate to our very existence, through trying to understand the
formation of our Milky Way galaxy and the Local Group in which it
resides. It will `value add' to the large investment made in optical/radio telescope facili ....Formation and evolution of galaxies in the Local Group. This project will represent a significant contribution in the context
of Australian numerical astrophysics tackling fundamental questions in
the field of galaxy formation and evolution. It will address questions
that relate to our very existence, through trying to understand the
formation of our Milky Way galaxy and the Local Group in which it
resides. It will `value add' to the large investment made in optical/radio telescope facilities in this country, by focussing on data
obtained from these telescopes. The animations produced from the
project's simulations provide a clear and graphic way of conveying the
results of the study to the public, and hence exciting and educating
them about this important area of astronomy.
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The High Time Resolution Radio Universe. The radio sky is blanketed by charged particles in the interstellar medium that smear impulsive emissions. By constructing a new digital electronic device for the giant Parkes radio telescope we will be able to divide the radio sky up into many thousands of radio "channels", which when searched on a supercomputer, will enable us to peer into the heart of our Galaxy in search of short bursts of emission. This will be the first large-scale search of the Uni ....The High Time Resolution Radio Universe. The radio sky is blanketed by charged particles in the interstellar medium that smear impulsive emissions. By constructing a new digital electronic device for the giant Parkes radio telescope we will be able to divide the radio sky up into many thousands of radio "channels", which when searched on a supercomputer, will enable us to peer into the heart of our Galaxy in search of short bursts of emission. This will be the first large-scale search of the Universe for short bursts of radio emission. The project will pioneer real-time processing of data on a remote supercomputer via a dedicated fibre link. Read moreRead less