Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100055
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP). The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP): The aim of the Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) is to fund the construction costs of an innovative instrument to be built in Australia and installed onto the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope. Australia leads the world in fibre-positioning instrumentation and their scientific exploitation. This project will allow Australi ....The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP). The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP): The aim of the Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) is to fund the construction costs of an innovative instrument to be built in Australia and installed onto the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope. Australia leads the world in fibre-positioning instrumentation and their scientific exploitation. This project will allow Australian researchers to take a leading role through major studies of the spatial distributions of galaxies. The outcomes of the project will be construction and delivery of an optical fibre-positioning system to the ESO, resulting in general access to the ESO's premier survey facility for eight Australian researchers.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100145
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,000.00
Summary
Australian membership of the European 4MOST Consortium. Australian membership of the European 4MOST consortium:
The objective of this project is to build the positioner at the Australian Astronomical Observatory to enable participation in the upcoming programs of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The 4MOST Consortium is modifying one of the ESO telescopes for a 10-year campaign of dedicated wide-field astronomy programs. A key component of this upgrade will be the Australian built fibre- ....Australian membership of the European 4MOST Consortium. Australian membership of the European 4MOST consortium:
The objective of this project is to build the positioner at the Australian Astronomical Observatory to enable participation in the upcoming programs of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The 4MOST Consortium is modifying one of the ESO telescopes for a 10-year campaign of dedicated wide-field astronomy programs. A key component of this upgrade will be the Australian built fibre-positioning system. In exchange for covering the labour costs associated with this instrument, Australian astronomers are being provided with the opportunity to lead one of the eight design reference missions and to participate in the other seven. The potential benefits are therefore two-fold: showcasing Australian technologies, and a leadership role for Australian scientists on one of ESO’s key facilities.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100009
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,160.00
Summary
Doubling the power of a unique astronomical survey facility. This project aims to double the number of fibres in the spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope and so double the number of stars and galaxies that it can observe simultaneously. This would allow rapid and timely completion of two major projects: the Taipan galaxy survey would be first to test a potential discrepancy in the expansion rate of the universe that may signal new physics, while the FunnelWeb stellar survey would (in tandem ....Doubling the power of a unique astronomical survey facility. This project aims to double the number of fibres in the spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope and so double the number of stars and galaxies that it can observe simultaneously. This would allow rapid and timely completion of two major projects: the Taipan galaxy survey would be first to test a potential discrepancy in the expansion rate of the universe that may signal new physics, while the FunnelWeb stellar survey would (in tandem with two space missions) identify potential nearby exoplanets and trace the history of the Milky Way. The benefits include high scientific impact for the two surveys, international showcasing of the Australian Starbug technology, and a national astronomical survey facility for the next decade.Read moreRead less
How typical is our Local Galaxy Group? This project will uncover how unusual the Local Group is by comparing the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy (known as M31) halos to similar mass systems in the local Universe. By using well understood galaxy groups created as part of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly project (GAMA), the study will be able to uncover the mass distribution of galaxies found in different mass groups. It will go further than any previous work by combining these robust groups with faint ....How typical is our Local Galaxy Group? This project will uncover how unusual the Local Group is by comparing the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy (known as M31) halos to similar mass systems in the local Universe. By using well understood galaxy groups created as part of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly project (GAMA), the study will be able to uncover the mass distribution of galaxies found in different mass groups. It will go further than any previous work by combining these robust groups with fainter imaging data. The combination of both datasets will allow the determination of whether the Local Group is typical or unusual. Putting the Local Group into a cosmological context is vital since many future Galactic archaeology surveys assume that it is typical, and can meaningfully inform us about the wider universe.Read moreRead less
Utilising artificial intelligence to elucidate the physics of galaxies. For decades astronomers have puzzled over the connection between the structure and evolution of galaxies and the role played by host environments. This project aims to resolve this problem by combining multi-wavelength observations, multi-component simulations, and pioneering data analysis using artificial intelligence. In particular, we target the nearby Fornax galaxy cluster as a laboratory for studying galaxy formation in ....Utilising artificial intelligence to elucidate the physics of galaxies. For decades astronomers have puzzled over the connection between the structure and evolution of galaxies and the role played by host environments. This project aims to resolve this problem by combining multi-wavelength observations, multi-component simulations, and pioneering data analysis using artificial intelligence. In particular, we target the nearby Fornax galaxy cluster as a laboratory for studying galaxy formation in dense environments. Using our novel machine learning techniques, we will elucidate the physical mechanisms that drive the rapid evolution of star formation, galactic nuclei, and gas and dust content within Fornax. Our predictions will benefit ongoing and future surveys at the national and international level. Read moreRead less
In Search of New Gravity: testing advanced theories of gravity with cosmological data. The most startling discovery in cosmology in the last few decades has been that the Universe is accelerating. This remarkable fact indicates that our theory of gravity may need revision. Our current theory, Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, stands up in our solar system. If this theory breaks down on large scales, leading to the accelerating expansion, there must be some ‘cross-over’ scale where the the ....In Search of New Gravity: testing advanced theories of gravity with cosmological data. The most startling discovery in cosmology in the last few decades has been that the Universe is accelerating. This remarkable fact indicates that our theory of gravity may need revision. Our current theory, Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, stands up in our solar system. If this theory breaks down on large scales, leading to the accelerating expansion, there must be some ‘cross-over’ scale where the theory changes. This project will make theoretical predictions for those models that contain a cross-over and test them against current data for current and upcoming Australian cosmological surveys. It will determine if our current theory of gravity is a satisfactory theory, and if it is not, which new theory should replace it.Read moreRead less
Understanding the dynamics of the dark universe. This project aims to test theories of dark matter and dark energy with the ultimate goal of understanding the properties of the dark components of the universe and how those properties can be explained by new fundamental physics. The project will use two astronomical datasets, the Dark Energy Survey, with measurements of approximately 3000 supernovae, and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, with measurements of 30 million galaxies. By compar ....Understanding the dynamics of the dark universe. This project aims to test theories of dark matter and dark energy with the ultimate goal of understanding the properties of the dark components of the universe and how those properties can be explained by new fundamental physics. The project will use two astronomical datasets, the Dark Energy Survey, with measurements of approximately 3000 supernovae, and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, with measurements of 30 million galaxies. By comparing theoretical models to this combination of data the project will help to determine whether dark energy changes with time, measure detailed clustering properties of dark matter, and test advanced theories of gravity.Read moreRead less
Mapping the dark matter with early type galaxies. Unidentified dark matter outweighs luminous matter (stars, gas, and galaxies) by several times and is detected by its gravitational effects in the Universe. The Six Degree Field Galaxy Survey is now complete and this project will prepare a larger survey, which will put the team clearly in the lead in understanding the distribution of dark matter.
Weighing Black Holes with The Australian Dark Energy Survey. This project plans to measure how supermassive black holes have evolved over the last 12 billion years. Direct measurements of central black hole masses only exist for about 40 relatively nearby galaxies. The unique time-lapse observations and five-year baseline of the Australian Dark Energy Survey will enable us to measure masses for about 400 black holes, an order of magnitude more than previously possible. In addition to weighing bl ....Weighing Black Holes with The Australian Dark Energy Survey. This project plans to measure how supermassive black holes have evolved over the last 12 billion years. Direct measurements of central black hole masses only exist for about 40 relatively nearby galaxies. The unique time-lapse observations and five-year baseline of the Australian Dark Energy Survey will enable us to measure masses for about 400 black holes, an order of magnitude more than previously possible. In addition to weighing black holes, recent results show that with precision measurement these systems may provide a standard candle, a new fundamental yardstick for cosmology. Unlike supernova observations that discovered dark energy, our measurements are practical to distances stretching back across 90 per cent of the observable universe.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100003
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,675.00
Summary
Understanding diversity: chemical and kinematic tracers of galaxy evolution. Understanding how galaxies form and evolve throughout the Universe is one of the biggest outstanding challenges in astrophysics. The project aims to develop an innovative method for understanding the fundamental properties of angular momentum and chemical content of all kinds of galaxies. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of galaxy evolution, for the first time enabling astronomers to robustly ....Understanding diversity: chemical and kinematic tracers of galaxy evolution. Understanding how galaxies form and evolve throughout the Universe is one of the biggest outstanding challenges in astrophysics. The project aims to develop an innovative method for understanding the fundamental properties of angular momentum and chemical content of all kinds of galaxies. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of galaxy evolution, for the first time enabling astronomers to robustly compare distant, long-ago galaxies with those in the nearby, present-day Universe. Expected outcomes include a novel framework for determining galaxy morphology, based on fundamental physics. The framework will be highly beneficial to understanding the evolution of diverse types of galaxies, including our own Milky Way.Read moreRead less