A single telescope image of a distant galaxy contains more information than any human could analyse by eye, and this grant funds the theoretical work needed to make sense of it. The research tackles fundamental questions about how the universe works at every scale—from the crushing interiors of neutron stars to the vast, near-empty spaces between galaxies. One project links the deaths of massive stars to gamma-ray bursts, the most violent explosions in the cosmos. Another applies models of warped discs around stars to understand how supermassive black holes spin at the centres of galaxies. The work also develops computational simulations that underpin how astronomers interpret observations of dwarf galaxies and the tenuous gas that threads the universe. This is fundamental science. It does not aim to produce a new device or a marketable product. Its value lies in building the theoretical scaffolding that makes sense of what telescopes see. Past fundamental work in astrophysics has led to unexpected technologies—from Wi-Fi to medical imaging—but no such application is promised here. What will change is our understanding of how galaxies form, how black holes grow, and how the universe evolved from the Big Bang to its present state.
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The proposed research spans a wide range of topics within theoretical astrophysics and cosmology, addressing problems that span size scales ranging from the most compact stellar objects (neutron stars) to megaparsec scale processes in the intergalactic medium. The topics presented reflect the research expertise of the applicants and include topics that are traditional strengths at the IOA (e.g. dynamics, accretion discs, theoretical cosmology, computational simulations). A particular element of this grant is that it aims to promote synergy and collaboration between applicants working in diverse, but inter-related fields. For example, one project makes the link between massive stars and gamma ray bursts, while another applies the theory of warped accretion discs (developed for small scale discs around stars) to the problem of the spin distribution of supermassive black holes in the cores of galaxies. Other projects are relevant to observational work that is ongoing at the IOA, such as studies of dwarf spheroidal galaxies or the structure of the intergalactic medium, or else pioneer computational techniques that can be applied to a wide range of problems in cosmology and astrophysics. Overall, our aim is to ensure that the research projects listed here reap the maximum added value of being conducted in the environment of a large and diverse institution such as the IOA.
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