Australian Research Council Supports Innovative Research in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Technology

12 November 2013

On Friday 8 November, The Hon Christopher Pyne, Minister for Education, announced the current round of projects to be funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC).

The RSAA is pleased to announce that it was the recipient of four ARC grants and a further two ANU projects were funded in space engineering. Many of these projects will utilise the new AITC Facilities.

ARC Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF)

TAIPAN

The TAIPAN survey will make the largest ever spectroscopic survey of galaxies over the whole southern sky and quadruple the number of nearby galaxies with measured redshifts, distances and velocities.

This project brings together a consortium of twelve institutions lead by ANU and supports the construction of a high-performance spectrograph that will be used to carry out the survey on the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST).

The new instrument will make it possible to measure the expansion rate of the universe to 1% precision, and then by combining optical spectroscopy and radio data for each galaxy, to measure the rate at which gas is being converted into stars in the local universe.

Congratulations to: Prof Matthew Colless; Prof Michael J Drinkwater; A/Prof Andrew M Hopkins; Dr Jonathan S Lawrence; Prof Bryan M Gaensler; Prof Jonathan Bland-Hawthorn; Prof Elaine M Sadler; Prof Quentin A Parker; A/Prof Christopher A Blake; Prof Jeremy R Mould; Prof Lister G Staveley-Smith; Dr Baerbel S Koribalski; Dr Michael J Brown; Dr Heath Jones; Prof Raymond P Norris; Dr Kevin A Pimbblet; Prof Christopher G Tinney; Dr Christopher M Springob; Dr David R Parkinson; Prof Rachel L Webster; Dr Nicholas F Tothill; A/Prof Miroslav D Filipovic; A/Prof Scott M Croom; Dr Michael J Ireland; A/Prof Andrew Sheinis.

Improving the Performance of the Gemini South GeMS

This project brings together the expertise of the ANU, the Gemini Observatory, Swinburne University of Technology, and the Australian Astronomical Observatory to develop a new Tip-Tilt Wave-Front Sensor camera for the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) on the Gemini South Telescope.

This will greatly extend the limiting magnitude of the WFS, and so extend the science scope of GeMS to a broad range of extragalactic objects. GeMS is used with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) that was built at RSAA. Dr Francois Rigaut, was the Principal Investigator for GeMS and has devised the WFS upgrade plan. His intimate knowledge of GeMS, together with support from the Gemini Observatory, makes this project possible.

The upgraded system will be available to all GeMS users, within the international Gemini partnership and beyond. It will enable wide-field diffraction-limited imaging of extragalactic objects at near-infrared wavelengths with angular resolutions comparable to those obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope at optical wavelengths. GeMS+GSAOI will continue to be the highest resolution near-infrared image system available until the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Congratulations to: Prof Peter J McGregor; Prof Karl Glazebrook; Prof Lisa J Kewley; Prof Gary S Da Costa; Dr Christopher E Lidman; Dr Stuart Ryder; Dr Chadwick Trujillo; A/Prof Francois Rigaut.

ARC Future Fellow

Dr Michael J Ireland

Exoplanet research has now entered a new era. Radial velocity and transit techniques have shown that planetary systems are extremely varied and complex, with the secrets to their taxonomy buried at the earliest epochs of planetary system evolution. This project will directly image these earliest stages of planetary formation through innovative algorithms that make best use of the largest infrared telescopes in the world, utilising their full diffraction limit. Resulting images will be combined with advanced collaborative modelling and the use of the latest Australian spectroscopic surveys and instrumentation, in order to unravel the secrets of planetary birth.

ARC Discovery Projects      

The Key Role of Black Holes in Galaxy Formation

Supermassive black holes, weighing in at billions of solar masses, in the nuclei of active galaxies are the most efficient producers of energy in the Universe. As well as copious amounts of radiation in the form of optical and ultraviolet light and X-rays they also produce collimated jets consisting of energetic particles and magnetic fields moving at speeds very close to the speed of light and more loosely collimated winds moving at several thousands of kilometers per second. When astronomers realized in the late 1990s that there is a close relationship between the masses of supermassive black holes and the masses of their host galaxies, it was soon appreciated that the powerful jets and winds emitted from the environs of these black holes could have an important influence on galaxy formation by either stimulating the formation of stars in an embryonic galaxy or by blowing away gas clouds that may otherwise form stars.

This project will model the effect of black holes on galaxy formation using sophisticated supercomputer simulations of radiation, jets and winds interacting with multi-phase interstellar gas in the host galaxy. The results of these simulations will be calibrated against radio, optical and infrared observations from ground-based and space-based observatories and the results will also incorporated into larger scale simulations describing the growth of structure in the Universe and the evolution of galaxies. This research is highly relevant to the future science programs of the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array.

The project involves an international team of astrophysicists from Australia, the UK, France and Japan.

Congratulations to: Prof. Geoff Bicknell; Dr. Ralph Sutherland; Dr. Chiaki Kobayashi; Dr. Matthew Lehnert; Dr Nicole Nesvadba; Dr. Alex Wagner.

A New Method for Laser Displacement Measurement

This project aims to develop a new method for laser displacement measurements that will be uniquely suited for use in space. These measurements will enable gravitational measurements of unprecedented accuracy. Missions such as GRACE utilise gravitational observations to provide the distribution of melting polar ice, changes in sea levels, and quantitative estimates of ground water in the world’s food bowls.  The technique will also allow space-based gravitational wave detectors far simpler than previous proposals. The improved performance, inherent robustness and drastically reduced complexity will enable new classes of missions that would not otherwise be possible.

Congratulations to: Prof Daniel A Shaddock; Prof Dr Karsten Danzmann; Dr William M Klipstein.

Electric Propulsion

Electric propulsion is the new wave of attitude control for spacecraft. Space engines must be small, lightweight and able to run unattended for over 20 years in a very harsh environment. The physics of a new electrothermal radiofrequency plasma thruster will be investigated. Neutral gas heating will be initially quantified by optical spectroscopy combined with computer generated simulated spectra. A space ready prototype will be designed, manufactured and developed to carry out direct measurements of thrust and gas heating in our large space simulation vacuum facility.

Congratulations to: Prof Christine Charles