Our main areas of involvement in the study are in setting the scientific requirements for an ELT and studying potential ELT instruments. Astrophysics is the study of the physical nature of celestial objects and the Universe in which they live. PPARC grants support research into cosmology and extragalactic astrophysics, theoretical cosmology and in astronomical instrumentation. Research Topics Astrophysics, Fusion and Plasma Physics. We are the principal UK partners with Japan in the construction of a wide-field, multi-object, infrared spectrograph project (FMOS). When you are faced with the prospect of doing research in physics and creating a research paper, you can be easily overwhelmed with the numerous physics research topics ideas that abound. Vernon M. Gerrish, in Semiconductors and Semimetals, 1995. The DIRBE instrument that flew on the COBE satellite provided the most detailed picture to date of the Galactic Bulge. Physics is the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy. WFMOS will provide simultaneous spectra of ~5000 galaxies spread over a 1.5 degree field of view, in order to answer fundamental questions about the complexity of the Universe and to determine the equation of state of dark energy. RSS. As a result of a complete merger, the neutron star sinks to the centre of the massive star forming a new hybrid object, generally referred to as a Thorne-Zytkow object (TZO). Classical mechanics, particle physics, nuclear, relativity, quantum mechanics, celestial bodies, physical properties, atomic physics, particle physics and cosmology are some of the branches of Physics applied in this broad subject. Sponsored research programs prepare for the next generation of missions through both theoretical research and applied technology investigations. A few galaxies have core regions with stellar kinematics that are completely decoupled from those of the rest of the galaxy and this is taken as an indication of a past merger, but when did it occur? Subdwarf-B (sdB) star research is of interest to investigations of stellar mass-loss, as these stars appear to represent extreme cases of near complete envelope loss during the later stages of stellar evolution. Oxford astrophysicists are very successful in gaining observing time on observing facilities, including 8m class telescopes (Gemini, Subaru, and VLT) and the Hubble Space Telescope for optical and infrared observations, as well as facilities spanning the electromagnetic spectrum from X-ray (XMM-Newton), far-infrared (Spitzer), sub-millimetre (JCMT) through to radio (VLA) wavelengths. Areas of Research Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Physics (Experimental) Experimental astrophysics research at MIT spans a huge range in scales, from black holes and planets to the largest structures in the universe. Key to our understanding are the links between host galaxy type, mass and environment, nuclear activity and starburst activity. Oxford researchers are carrying out a co-ordinated program to build up a larger sample of black hole mass measurements, especially at the low and high mass ends, to explore the dependence of black hole mass on galaxy morphology, level of activity, radio properties etc. Local galaxies can be studied with greater precision and linear resolution than high redshift galaxies allowing us to make connections between their structure, dynamics and star-formation history. The Research School of Physics performs research at the cutting edge of a wide range of disciplines. Research. Astrophysics Astrophysics is the Physics applied to the understanding of the Universe and all its celestial bodies and their interactions. However, it can be a daunting task to find unique, interesting topics like the ones listed below: How can physics reduce global warming? Active galactic nuclei are thought to be powered by massive black holes. Current research in observational astrophysics and cosmology at Stanford covers a wide range of approaches to tackling the most important frontiers. Based on our recent calculations, it now seems that a large fraction, if not the majority, of low-mass X-ray binaries may actually belong to a much more massive, previously largely ignored class of intermediate- mass X-ray binaries, and that standard textbooks on the subject need to be rewritten. The radio astronomy group at MIT is currently studying a number of topics in astrophysics, including gravitationallenses, radio stars, quasars, all-sky surveys, and astronomical transient sources. Savilian Professor of Astronomy: Professor Joe Silk Philip Wetton Professor of Astrophysics & Head of Astrophysics: Professor Roger Davies Professor Steve Rawlings Research at Oxford spans a wide range of astronomy and astrophysics, from the largest scales in the Universe to observational work on stars and the interstellar medium. As we probe the galaxy distribution to fainter magnitude limits, the study of galaxy clustering is affected by the evolutionary histories of the galaxies themselves, as we see more distant objects at earlier times. Both sub-departments are situated close to each other on the Keble Road site, close to the centre of Oxford and the University Parks. These include the isotropy of the Universe, its size, its homogeneity on large scales and its lack of homogeneity on small scales, and the paucity of bizarre relics such as monopoles. In a complementary attack on large-scale structure, the deep galaxy redshift surveys now underway and which will obtain of order a million redshifts have the sensitivity to probe large-scale power in density fluctuations in the nearby Universe. FMOS will see first-light in early 2005, and provides an excellent opportunity for a D.Phil student to become involved in the laboratory testing and science verification phase of the instrument which will address a wide range of science programmes from brown-dwarf stars to the evolution of galaxies at high redshifts. astrophysics observation research topics undergraduate research; Jun 28, 2016 #1 Bristlethorn. J F Wheater* Conformal symmetries and their extensions are a powerful tool in the study of field theories. The progenitor of SN 1993J on the other hand seems to have been a star mainly consisting of helium and heavier elements with a very small hydrogen-rich envelope. These are imprinted by primordial irregularities in density that grew by gravitational instability in the early Universe. Topics in Astrophysics: High Energy Astrophysics. The interface of cosmology and particle physics plays a critical role in motivating such research. The mechanism for transporting gas from ~100 pc scales to the immediate vicinity of the black hole is not well understood, although bars and Linblad resonances do play a vital role. It is a very ambitious project, as it will require major modifications to the Gemini telescope, and to the way in which the Observatory is run. The subject matter of physics includes mechanics, heat, light and other radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms. As part of a global effort by the world’s leaders to reduce the emissions and reverse or slow some of … The complex life of hydrodynamic modes. of Durham, UKATC) we have won a competitive bid to design and construct KMOS, the cryogenic, multi-object, near-infrared spectrometer for the ESO VLT. One of the more striking results to have come out of these and other models is that most reasonably large galaxies harbour so-called `supermassive' black holes at their centres. 1. The combined effects of cosmological redshift and galaxy evolution imply that multicolour surveys of faint galaxies are required to trace the evolution of galaxy clustering. Research Topics massive stars: 3-D Radiative Transfer modelling stellar winds colliding winds Hypergiants stellar evolution : AGB-stars planetary nebulae binary and multiple systems. One major objective is to understand the origin of the diversity of observed supernovae, the role various factors such as binarity, metallicity and rotation play and their implications for galaxy evolution models. Research Following the University's motto, 'Ever to Excel', the research in the School is focused in three main areas of excellence: astrophysics, condensed matter physics, and photonics. Recently we have been looking at the details of the spectra of distant supernovae and comparing them with their nearby counterparts, in order to search for possible signs of evolution in the population. ... Undergraduate in electrical engineering and computer science contributes to startling new astronomy research. For example, how do single and multiple black holes affect the distribution of stars in the surrounding bulge? Additional financial support is also available from the University. This feature is preserved under slow adiabatic perturbations. LMU/USM Astrophysics, Cosmology, and Artificial Intelligence Group. These ground-based telescopes are expected to have diameters in the range 30-100m, and will operate at optical and infrared wavelengths. During the LMXB phase, it is generally believed that the neutron star is spun up by accretion of matter, leaving a millisecond pulsar once the X-ray phase has ended. If you are talking as a project work then there are several topics in astrophysics which u can explain theoretically like supernova, exoplanets ,life cycle of star, structure of universe. Through a developing link with the CLRC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (also involved in the FMOS project) we are also contributing to the design and construction of a new 4-m. class survey telescope (VISTA) which will be sited close to the VLT in Chile in 2006. These are seen at times when the Universe was only about one billion years old, and are thus important for studying the earliest observable phases of galaxy formation. An improved understanding of protogalaxy evolution will have profound implications for understanding chemical evolution and for interpreting far infrared and submillimetre observations of star- forming galaxies in the distant Universe. We know that the galaxy population in dense regions of the universe is quite different from that in regions of average density but we do not know why. Several members of the Astrophysics Group are part of the Space Plasma Climate Section. Oxford also is a node in the European networks on Type Ia Supernovae (theory and observation). Galaxy mergers induce ultraluminous starbursts, and study of such phenomena, including the roles of infall, galactic winds and active nuclei, provides insight into spheroid formation. The increasingly refined measurements of anisotropies that have been detected over a range of angular scales are beginning to constrain and even challenge theoretical models. The group is involved in a wide-range of projects covering a whole range of frequencies, from low radio frequecies to hundreds of GHz, and develops novel techniques to be used in future experiments. This is of relevance to systems as diverse as a recoiling D-brane and densely packed polymers. Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics is an international journal publishing original research papers and reviews across all branches of astronomy and astrophysics. Detailed abundance studies of stars in external galaxies (beyond the Magellanic Clouds) are becoming feasible using the HST and 10 metre class ground-based facilities. New ground-based infrared and submillimetre observations are shedding new light on this problem, together with Hubble Space Telescope infrared imaging of quasar host galaxies. These seemingly diverse realms coincide in the Big Bang cosmology, which provides a unique particle accelerator that operates up to energies of 1019 GeV. 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