Conference Book 2-6 July 2017 University of Hull E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics
(top-milkyway) ESO/S. Brunier (bottom) ESO/S. Guisard (top-humberbridge) Neutralle/wikimedia commons/ CC-BY-SA-3.0 Conference Book - Table of Contents
Introducing the 25th RAS National Astronomy Meeting iii
Welcome...... iii
E.A.Milne ...... v
SocialEvents ...... vii
Getting Around Hull Campus ...... viii
Local Information ...... xi
PublicTransport...... xii
Timetable...... xiv
Plenary Talks 1
Plenary I: A Solar Revolution ...... 1
Plenary II: It’s Not to be Swept Under the Rug: Dust in the Interstellar Medium ...... 1
Plenary III: Galactic Archealogy: Mapping the Chemistry and Dynamics of the Milky Way ...... 1
Plenary IV: How Stars Form ...... 2
Plenary V: Promoting Diversity and Sustainable Excellence in Science Careers ...... 2
PlenaryVI:DefyingGravity:OurEruptiveSun ...... 2
Plenary VII: Tantalising Glimpses of the Dark Ages and Dark Matter from the Earliest Galaxies ...... 3
Misc Science Events 4
HackDay ...... 4
CommunityForum...... 6
MediaWorkshop ...... 6
SpecialLunches...... 6
Parallel Sessions 8
Early-Universe Cosmology and Gravitational Waves ...... 11
Discovering Exoplanets Hidden in the Stellar Noise ...... 13
Non-Cosmology Science with the Euclid Observatory ...... 16
GAIA DR1: Contents, Access and Use ...... 18
i Conversion of Magnetic-Field Energy and Energetic Particles in the Sun and Heliosphere ...... 20
Transient Astronomy: The Technology and the Techniques ...... 26
Low-Surface-Brightness Astronomy: The New Era of Deep-Wide Galaxy Surveys ...... 29
PythoninAstronomy ...... 33
The Dynamics of Solar-Stellar Atmospheres: Winds, Flares and CMEs ...... 35
The Future of Astronomical Polarimetry ...... 39
Astronomical Concepts in Cultural Astronomy: Reviewing Approaches and O↵ering Experiences ...... 42
The Dark Energy Survey: New Results ...... 44
Open session on Magnetospheric, Ionospheric and Solar-Terrestrial physics ...... 46
Generation and evolution of Solar and Stellar Magnetic Fields, and Implications for the Solar-Stellar Connection 52
Active Galactic Nuclei in the Local Universe ...... 55
Galactic Chemical Evolution, Stars, and the Creation of Elements in the Big-Data Era ...... 60
Looking Forward to Cosmology in the Era of LSST and Euclid ...... 67
Solar-System Exploration in the Era of Digital Sky Surveys ...... 71
Comparative Planetary Science ...... 73
Exploring the High-Redshift Universe with Current and Future Facilities ...... 77
Is the Sun in Transition? The Unusual Cycle 24, and Implications for the Solar-Stellar Connection ...... 84
Modern Morphologies: 10 Years of Galaxy Zoo ...... 87
The Magellanic Clouds: Exploring All Aspects of the Magellanic System Including its Link to the Milky Way . 92
Current Developments in Numerical Astrophysics ...... 94
Latest Trends In Observing And Understanding The Dynamics Of The Solar Atmosphere: From MHD Waves To Small-Scale Transients ...... 98
Observational Studies of the Solar Corona: Results from Recent Missions and Eclipses ...... 104
AstroReach@NAM ...... 106
Galaxies in Di↵erent Environments: From Groups to Clusters ...... 111
Connecting Scales of Galactic Star Formation in Theory and Observation ...... 116
Massive Stars as Cosmic Monsters ...... 121
The Physical Processes Underlying Space Weather: Formation, Eruption and Propagation of Coronal Mass Ejections ...... 125
Low-Frequency Astronomy with LOFAR ...... 128
ii Introducing the 25th RAS National Astronomy Meeting
Welcome
John Zarnecki
Welcome to Hull for NAM 2017. This is the first time that NAM has been to Hull – it’s long overdue and we are very pleased to be here. This meeting is well-established as part of the UK astronomy and geophysics calendar by now, and has visited most parts of the UK and Ireland. The programme encompasses 32 parallel sessions broadly divided into 6 themes. In addition there are special lunch sessions, public & school events and social events. I would particularly like to encourage everyone to attend the com- munity session on Wednesday (13:30-15:00) where you will have the chance to discuss some of the big issues in research with senior representatives from STFC and the UK Space Agency. NAM is a major undertaking – and many peo- ple throughout the RAS and the local institutions deserve our thanks for much hard work in the planning and im- plementation. From a personal point of view, I can say that my first NAM as President was over-shadowed by the Brexit vote which occurred just days before the meeting. I am hoping for a less dramatic national context this year so that we can concentrate on astronomy and geophysics only! If you are not yet a member of the RAS, this is also the perfect opportunity to join us, and help us in our work supporting conferences like this one, as well as making the wider case for astronomy and geophysics. Our sta↵ on the Society registration desk will be pleased to advise and as- sist you in your application. I do hope you all find the scientific programme stimulating and informative , that you also benefit from the related activities, and you find some time to explore Hull and its surroundings. Remem- ber that Hull is UK City of Culture this year so there is a vibrant programme of events taking place - I hope you have a chance to sample some of them.
John Zarnecki, President of the Royal Astronomical Soci- ety
iii Brad Gibson
Speaking on behalf of the entire E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics, it is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to the 25th National Astronomy Meeting (NAM2017). Es- tablished in 2015 with the generous support of the Uni- versity of Hull and Arthur Milne’s family, the Centre’s 23 sta↵ and postgraduates now play a pivotal role in enabling Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) provision across the entire region. The city of Hull has ral- lied around the Milne Centre, embracing NAM2017 within its spectacular UK City of Culture programme of o↵erings. We hope you have the chance to explore what is a beau- tiful city, blessed with some of the most stunning beaches in the country, alongside what we hope will be an exciting scientific meeting.
I would like to thank the members of the Milne Centre and many of our undergraduates, for contributing in count- less ways to the successful planning of NAM2017. This en- deavour simply could not have happened without you all. For organising the Schools’ Days, let me especially thank Connor Macrae, Phil Bell-Young, and Sheona Urquhart; for the conference book, posters, and badges, Lawrence Bilton, Chris Jordan, Kevin Pimbblet, David Benoit, and Connor Macrae; for web page maintenance, Siri Chong- chitnan; for room bookings, Elke Roediger. Finally, and it is impossible for me to overstate or exaggerate this: or- ganising NAM2017 would have been an impossible task without Gareth Few and Yjan Gordon, who oversaw and coordinated essentially every aspect of the programme. A deep and personal vote of thanks is sent to the both of them.
Brad Gibson, Director of the E.A. Milne Centre for Astro- physics
iv E.A. Milne: A Humble Journey to Astrophysics
Edward Arthur Milne The E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics is named in hon- our of the Hull-born physicist and mathematician Edward Arthur Milne. Milne was a truly prolific researcher; amongst his many discoveries, the most groundbreaking were his in- sights into the inner structure and atmosphere of stars. His work on cosmology also paved the way for the our modern understanding of the history and evolution of the Universe. Arthur, as he was known, also made a significant contribution during the First World War, when he was part of a highly skilled group of mathematicians who developed a technique that enabled anti-aircraft and naval guns to accurately tar- get Zeppelin bombers. The cutting-edge research continues at the E.A. Milne Centre in his legacy.
The Life of Edward Arthur Milne
Arthur Milne was born in Hull to a modest family with deep Yorkshire roots. From Hymers College, where he had a free place, he won enough scholarships (five) to pay for his university education at Trinity College, Cambridge. He came under the influence of the mathematician GH Hardy, but in 1916, at the invitation of the Nobel polymath AV Hill, Milne abandoned his studies to develop a height-finding device, designed by Horace Darwin, for anti-aircraft gunnery. At HMS Excellent in Portsmouth, Hill’s team transformed gunnery by taking a scientific approach and Milne was commissioned a Lieutenant, RNVR. (The Army had rejected him for poor eyesight.)
Ballistics unlocked Milne’s mathematical originality. He quantified the behaviour of winds in the upper atmosphere, essential for high-angle shells; he corrected faulty formulae; he refined the mathematics of sound for huge listening trumpets that located enemy aircraft at night; he hung out of flimsy planes to obtain meteorological data.
After the Armistice his outstanding analyses took him back to Cambridge as a Fellow – a rare feat without an undergraduate degree. He came into the orbit of JJ Thomson, E Rutherford, FW Aston, PMS Blackett and the astronomer HF Newall, who, aware of Milne’s investigation of the Earth’s atmosphere, suggested he tackle stellar atmospheres. Although a novice to astronomy, his rapid succession of fundamental papers cemented his reputation in astrophysics. The spectroscopic method he and RH Fowler devised for finding stellar temperatures and pressures was adopted worldwide. At the age of 30, by then Beyer professor at Manchester, Milne became a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1941 the Society awarded him a Gold Medal.
When Milne moved to Oxford in January 1929, to the Rouse Ball chair, he was appalled by the University’s marginal- isation of science. Energetically he set about improvements - and was not afraid to court controversy there and on other fronts. Bolstered by a happy summer with American astronomers at Ann Arbor, Michigan, he attacked Eddington over his mass/luminosity relationship. Their verbal jousting at Royal Astronomical Society meetings attracted an eager audience. Milne loved the cut and thrust of debate whereas Edington scored on paper. Ten years would elapse before the ‘carbon cycle’ explanation of the source of stellar energy settled the notorious contretemps about stellar structure in Eddington’s favour.
At Oxford Milne built up astrophysics and Rhodes Scholars sought him. Graduate students appreciated the weekly colloquia he had introduced, then an innovation, with speakers as illustrious as A Einstein and E Hubble. S Chan- drasekhar, a lifetime friend, visited regularly. HH Plaskett at the Observatory complemented Milne, the theoretician, and together they established a world centre of cosmic studies. From 1937 to 1939 Milne was President of the London Mathematical Society and in 1935 the Royal Astronomical Society honoured him with a Gold medal. Later from 1943 to 1945 he was the Royal Astronomical Society’s President.
A gloomy remark from JH Jeans provoked Milne to postulate his Kinematic Relativity, based on Time, and it seemed a plausible alternative to Einstein’s General Theory based on Space. But Milne was mocked for using light signals to measure distance. This foreshadowed radar, yet has not been adequately recognised, according to H Bondi. As R Penrose notes in the Introduction to my biography we define distance today in terms of time. Milne’s fascination with the concept of Time led him to suggest the strange notion that two scales operate in the Universe. Consequently ‘constants’ of nature vary over the ages, a thesis expanded by JBS Haldane. Milne’s bold powerful unorthodox ideas underpinned by his Christianity frequently aroused criticism, yet even his adversaries admired his ingenuity. In general his work was
v received better outside Britain and, as well as lecturing abroad, he spent three months in 1932 with EF Freundlich at the Einsteinturm in Potsdam.
During World War II he worked for the Ordnance Board on ballistics, living in south London throughout the Blitz. His speciality was on the penetration of armour plating encasing tanks and warships. In 1944 a VI rocket (Doodlebug) demolished his house. He resumed academic life at Oxford while continuing part-time to advise on defence matters.
In later years Milne was stricken with debilitating Parkinsonism, the result of encephalitis lethargica he had as a young man, but he refused to slacken his pace. He died from heart failure, aged 54, in Dublin at a Royal Astronomical Society conference.
By Meg Weston Smith (Milne’s daughter)
Author of:
Beating the Odds. The Life and Times of EA Milne Imperial College Press 2013
“EA Milne and the Creation of Air Defence” in Notes and Records of the Royal Society 1990
“EA Milne: a nova of the inter-war years” in Astronomy Now July 2005
vi Social Events
Social events at NAM2017 will include:
Welcome Reception - Sunday 2nd @ 18:00 - Canham Turner Building • Public Talk by Chris Lintott - Monday 3rd @ 19:00 - Middleton Hall (Drinks reception before at 18:00, supported • by Winton)
5-a-side football - Tuesday 4th @ 18:00 - University sports ground • BBQ - Tuesday 4th @ 19:00 - Canham Turner Building • Pre-Conference Dinner drinks - Wednesday 5th @ 18:45 - Mercure Hull Grange Park Willerby • Conference Dinner & RAS Awards Ceremony: •
The conference dinner will take place at 19:30 on Wednesday the 5th July.
The venue is the Hull Grange Park Mercure hotel, located approximately 5 miles from campus, and a shuttle bus service will be provided. As well as being an excellent opportunity to unwind and socialise on the last evening of the conference, the RAS awards presentation will take place during the dinner.
This event will be hosted by the brilliant impressionist Jon Culshaw, who is also an astronomy enthusiast.
Provisional Menu:
Starter: Prawn and crayfish cocktail, bloody mary sauce, rustic bread OR Crispy breaded brie, pear and walnut salad, cranberry relish (vegetarian)
Main: Slow-cooked brisket of beef, local ale, caramelised onion gravy OR Roasted Mediterranean vegetable and goat’s cheese Wellington, basil cream sauce (vegetarian)
Dessert: Baked vanilla New York cheesecake, blackberry and apple compote
vii Getting Around Hull Campus
Here you will find custom maps to the locations of all the parallel and plenary sessions, the hack day etc., along with where to find locations for lunches and co↵ee breaks around the campus. Campus Map
viii Wilberforce Building
The Wilberforce building will primarily be used for parallel sessions and the hack day. Room locations are spread between the ground and first floor.
ix Larkin Building (with Middleton Hall)
The Larkin building will also primarily be used for the parallel sessions. The Larkin building is also adjacent to Middleton Hall, where the plenary talks will be held for each day of the conference.
x Local Information
On-Campus
It’s been a long day and you want to grab some food on campus. The on-campus facilities include a Spar supermarket, and the Sanctuary bar (‘Sanc’) serving food and drinks. These are located in ’University House’ and will be open the following hours throughout the conference:
Sunday 2nd July Shop CLOSED Bar 19:00 - Midnight, serving drinks
Monday 3rd July Shop 08:30 - 20:00 Bar 09:00 - Midnight, serving food till 19:00 and drinks all night.
Tuesday 4th July Shop 08:30 - 20:00 Bar 09:00 - Midnight, serving food till 15:00 and drinks all night.
Wednesday 5th July Shop 08:30 - 17:00 Bar 08:30 - Midnight, serving food till 15:00 and drinks all night.
Thursday 6th July Shop 08:30 - 17:00 Bar 09:00 - 16:00, serving food till 15:00 and drinks till close.
There are two cash machines located outside of the Students Union Building. There is no charge for making standard cash withdrawals. There is an emergency call number on the side of the cash machine should any problems occur.
Beverage and snack outlets on campus are as follows: Caf´e Opening Times The Art’s Caf´e Mon/Fri: 8am-6pm Foss Caf´e Mon/Fri: 8:30am-2:30pm Derwent Caf´e Mon/Thurs 8:30am-5pm Library Caf´e Mon/Fri 8:30am-9:30pm Zucchini’s Mon/Fri 8:30am-4:30pm
The university has a sports centre with the capacity to host variety of activities such as badminton and squash as well as a host of turn up and play sessions ran by our Sports Development team. This will be open Mon-Thurs (7am-10pm).
Buses are available to the city centre, running frequently from the location shown on the map. The 103 or 105 bus will take you to the Hull Paragon Interchange and will cost approximately £2.00 for a single fare or £3.50 for a day rider. Alternatively should you wish to book a taxi, Ride (previously 57 & 65 Cars), is the nearest depot and can be called on 01482 575757 for pickup.
O↵-Campus Pubs
In general you will find many pubs/restaurants to be reasonably priced in Hull. Main courses for meals are typically £15 and wine/beer £3.50 per pint/glass. Below are a list of local favourites. ⇠
Immediately across the road from the campus is the The Old Grey Mare, which o↵ers a small selection of food and • drink. A five minute walk along Cottingham road from the university is The Gardener?s Arms. This lively pub usually • serves both Hull locals, and the student population. There is always a good selection of beer (with cheap prices), and a sports bar to the rear with pool tables etc. Located on Newland Avenue, around 15 minutes walk from campus, the Boathouse has a good selection of cocktails, • craft beers, and excellent burgers. Also on Newland Avenue, The People’s Republic has a very retro feel, complete with an arcade games table • (featuring the likes of Pac-Man, Galaga etc.). There is a large selection of great tasting beer, both bottles and draught, in the mid-expensive price range (£3-6, depending on your choice). Xander’s can also be found on Newland Avenue. Its menu consists of traditional pub food, and there is a good • selection of beers available. The food is slightly more expensive than that of an average pub, but is worth the price. Newland Avenue is not short of options for a drink as Larkin’s, named after famous honourary Hullensian Philip • Larkin, is also located here. Larkin’s serves both good English pub food, and has a good selection of various types of beer. Typically a main course would be no more than £10, and the portion size is enough to satisfy any customer. Situated in the Old Town district of Hull’s city centre, the Lion and Key is a small but cosy pub. While the prices • may be slightly higher than most places, they o↵er a good selection of beers and whiskies. Alongside the river Humber sits the Minerva pub. This classical pub serves excellent food, and has a wide variety • of beer/gin to choose from. To accommodate trying all the di↵erent beers, a ‘flight’ would be recommended (which
xi gives 3 1/3 pint glasses of whichever beers you choose). Outside seating provides views of the Humber with which you can enjoy your food/drink.
Public Transport
For those accommodated at Thwaite Hall, transport to the university campus is best down via the 103 or 105 bus. For live bus times please see https://www.eyms.co.uk/bus-services/find-my-bus, or view the following timetables.
xii xiii Conference Timetable
In your lanyard, you have been provided a handy timetable for the conference, however, below you will find a full listed timetable for the 5 days.
Sunday
15:00-19:30 Registration 18:00-19:30 onwards Welcome reception (Canham Turner)
Monday
09:00-10:30 Parallel Sessions EarlyUni (Wilberforce LT-28) Exoplanets (Larkin LT-D) NonCosEuclid (Wilberforce LT-2) GAIA DR1 (Larkin LT-C) MagField (Wilberforce LT-1) TransAstro (Wilberforce LT-12) 10:30-11:00 Co↵ee 11:00-12:00 Plenary – A Solar Revolution - Scott McIntosh (Middleton Hall) 12:00-13:30 Lunch (University House) Careers lunch (Kingsley Suite) 13:30-15:00 Parallel Sessions GAIA DR1 (Larkin LT-C) LowSurfBright (Wilberforce LT-28) MagField (Wilberforce LT-1) PyAstro (Wilberforce LT-27) SolWind (Wilberforce LT-2) TransAstro (Wilberforce LT-12) 15:00-15:30 Co↵ee 15:30-16:30 Plenary – It’s Not to be Swept Under the Rug: Dust in the Interstellar Medium - Jean Chiar (Middleton Hall) 16:30-18:00 Parallel Sessions AstroPolar (Larkin LT-D) CultAstro (Larkin LT-A) DarkEnergy (Larkin LT-C) LowSurfBright (Wilberforce LT-28) MIST (Wilberforce LT-12) PyAstro (Wilberforce LT-27) SolMag (Wilberforce LT-1) SolWind (Wilberforce LT-2) 18:00-18:30 Pre-talk drinks reception (Middleton Arts Cafe) 19:00-19:30 onwards Public Talk – Galaxy Zoo from Penguins to Peas: How a million people explored the Universe together - Chris Lintott (Middleton Hall)
xiv Tuesday
09:00-10:30 Parallel Sessions AGNsLocal (Wilberforce LT-28) GalChem (Larkin LT-D) LSScosmology (Wilberforce LT-2) MIST (Wilberforce LT-12) SolMag (Wilberforce LT-1) SolSys (Larkin LT-C) 10:30-11:00 Co↵ee 11:00-12:00 Plenary – Galactic Archaeology: Mapping the Chemistry and Dynamics of the Milky Way - Christina Chiappini (Middleton Hall) 12:00-13:30 Lunch (University House) MIST Lunch (Brynmor Jones Library) 13:30-15:00 Parallel Sessions AGNsLocal (Wilberforce LT-28) CompPlan (Wilberforce LT-27) GalChem (Larkin LT-D) HighRed (Wilberforce LT-1) LSScosmology (Wilberforce LT-2) MIST (Wilberforce LT-12) SunTrans (Larkin LT-C) 15:00-15:30 Co↵ee 15:30-16:30 Plenary – How Stars Form - Chris McKee (Middleton Hall) 16:30-18:00 Parallel Sessions CompPlan (Wilberforce LT-27) GalChem (Larkin LT-D) HighRed (Wilberforce LT-1) MIST (Wilberforce LT-12) ModMorph: Bars & Transitions (Wilberforce LT-28) SunTrans (Larkin LT-C) 18:00-20:30 5-a-side football (University Sports Ground) 19:00-19:30 onwards Barbeque (Canham Turner)
Wednesday
09:00-18:00 Hack day (Wilberforce LR-17 & Wilberforce LR-20) 09:00-10:30 Parallel Sessions HighRed (Wilberforce LT-1) MagClouds (Wilberforce LT-15) MIST (Wilberforce LT-12) ModMorph: Properties and Technique (Wilberforce LT-28) NumAstro (Larkin LT-C) SolAtmos (Larkin LT-D) SolCorona (Larkin LT-A) 10:30-11:00 Co↵ee 11:00-12:00 Plenary – Promoting Diversity and Sustainable Excellence in Science Careers - Claartje Vinkenburg (Middleton Hall) 12:00-13:30 Lunch (University House) Diversity Lunch (Kingsley Suite) UKSP Special Lunch (Brynmor Jones Library) 13:30-15:00 Community Forum (Middleton Hall) RAS STFC UKSA 16:30-18:00 Special Interest Groups Publishing Workshop (Wilberforce LR-12) Media Workshop (Wilberforce LR-29) 18:30 Bus pickup (The Courtyard/Thwaite Hall) 18:45-19:30 Pre-dinner drinks 19:30 onwards Conference dinner and RAS awards ceremony
xv Thursday
09:00-10:30 Parallel Sessions AstroReach (Larkin LT-A) GalEnv (Wilberforce LT-1) GalStar (Wilberforce LT-15) MassiveStars (Wilberforce LT-28) NumAstro (Larkin LT-C) SolAtmos (Larkin LT-D) SpaceWeather (Wilberforce LT-27) 10:30-11:00 Co↵ee 11:00-12:00 Plenary – Defying Gravity: Our Eruptive Sun - Lucie Green (Middleton Hall) 12:00-13:30 Lunch (University House) Education & Public Outreach Lunch (Kingsley Suite) 13:30-15:00 Parallel Sessions AstroReach (Larkin LT-A) GalEnv (Wilberforce LT-1) GalStar (Wilberforce LT-15) LOFAR (Larkin LT-C) MassiveStars (Wilberforce LT-28) SolAtmos (Larkin LT-D) SpaceWeather (Wilberforce LT-27) 15:00-15:30 Co↵ee 15:30-16:30 Plenary – Tantalising Glimpses of the Dark Ages and Dark Matter from the Earliest Galaxies - Pratika Dayal (Middleton Hall) 16:30 End of meeting
xvi Plenary Talks
All Plenary talks will be hosted in Middleton Hall located towards the south side/main entrance of the campus (Please see the Larkin floor plan under the Getting Around Hull Campus section for reference).
Plenary I: A Solar Revolution
Scott McIntosh - Mon 3 July 11:00 - 12:00
To many (citizens and astronomers alike) the Sun is a boring star. It’s taken for granted, despite providing the energy required to fuel our existence. In a time of increasing dependence on space-based technology, and the impending increase of human exploration in the solar system, we need to understand our star better than ever before. Despite centuries of observation it often seems like there are more answers than questions about the Sun, what makes it tick, and go boom! Over the past five years we may just have found the cypher, the Rosetta Stone, to decode the Sun’s magnetic activity. This Rosetta Stone potentially upsets our ability to understand stellar activity in any simple way - the Sun is a guide to the stars. Beyond giving insight into the (past and future) climatology of our star’s atmosphere, we start to gain physical insight into the processes responsible for ”space weather” phenomena like flares and coronal mass ejections - maybe they are not ”intrinsically unpredictable” after all! The source, the rotational energy and structure of the star’s induced circulation.
Plenary II: It’s Not to be Swept Under the Rug: Dust in the Interstellar Medium
Jean Chiar - Mon 3 July 15:30 - 16:30
Interstellar dust grains - small sub-micron-sized particles that pollute the space between the stars - play an important role in the chemistry of the galaxy as well as the star and planet formation process. We glean most information about dust composition in the interstellar medium from infrared spectroscopy. The vibration of molecules making up the dust cause light from a background star to be absorbed at very specific frequencies in the infrared portion of the spectrum. Dust originates in the outflows of old stars and is composed mainly of silicate minerals and carbon particles. In star formation regions, the silicate grains are covered with icy mantles. I will give an overview of the nature of these dust and ice components, with emphasis on our current understanding of the cosmic life cycle of these materials.
Plenary III: Galactic Archealogy: Mapping the Chemistry and Dynamics of the Milky Way
Cristina Chiappini - Tue 4 July 11:00 - 12:00
Galactic Archeology (GA) is a coined term to the idea that the MW assembly history could be reconstructed by analysing the chemical composition and kinematics of its stars. One of the main obstacles, that we finally start to overcome, is the lack of precise chemo-kinematical-age information for large samples of stars covering large portions of the Galaxy. We are slowly migrating from a situation were most of GA studies were confined to the tinny so-called Hipparcos volume ( 100 pc around the Sun), towards larger chemo-kinematical maps of the MW. These studies have first extended the studied volume to 3 kpc around the Sun, with pioneer spectroscopic surveys such as RAVE and SEGUE (although with much
1 less precision on stellar parameters and no age information), and are now reaching even farther distances ( 5-6 kpc) with samples of APOGEE and LAMOST surveys. This was accompanied by spectroscopic and photometric surveys of the inner Galaxy (VVV, ARGOS, GIBs, GES). In this field the use of stellar abundance ratios as an indirect age estimator has been proved useful, but the lack of more precise ages still prevent us to answer some of the key questions about our Galaxy’s assembly, such as: what is the origin of the thick disk? which is the dominant process of the bulge/bar formation? What is the impact of secular evolution, and ultimately, where was our Sun born? The answers to these questions require challenging modelling of star formation, stellar evolution (and initial mass function), gas accretion and merger histories. It is now clear, that it is only in the MW that we will be able to constraint some of these key quantities (which will also impact our more general view of galaxy and bulge formation). This complexity imposes the search for even tighter observational constraints to those models. In particular, I will highly some examples of new observational constraints coming from the combination of spectroscopic & photometry information with astrometry (from Gaia) and asteroseismology (from CoRoT, Kepler, K2 and the future Plato). These now produce multidimentional-complex datasets, which have already started to strongly modify the way we work in this field. I shall choose examples that illustrate how this new information are leading to the emergence of important new concepts with respect to our Galaxy’s assembly and evolution.
Plenary IV: How Stars Form
Chris McKee - Tue 4 July 15:30 - 16:30
Stars are the atoms of the universe. The process by which stars form is at the nexus of astrophysics since they are believed to be responsible for the re-ionization of the universe, they created the heavy elements, they play a central role in the formation and evolution of galaxies, and their formation naturally leads to the formation of planets. Whereas early work on star formation was based on the assumption that it is a quiescent process, it is now believed that turbulence plays a dominant role. In this overview, I shall discuss the evolution of our understanding of how stars form and current ideas about the stellar initial mass function, the rate of star formation, the formation of massive stars, the role of magnetic fields, and the formation of the first stars.
Plenary V: Promoting Diversity and Sustainable Excellence in Science Ca- reers
Supported by Nature Astronomy
Claartje Vinkenburg - Wed 5 July 11:00 - 12:00
While most support the idea of more diversity in science, many diversity e↵orts fail to achieve results or even backfire. This is especially evident in disciplines where (white) men are overrepresented at all levels and where there is a strong belief in meritocracy and in raw talent as prerequisite for excellence. At the same time, the up-or-out career system in science may soon hit its expiration date, with mediocrity and loss of talent as the price to pay for suboptimal selection decisions and an obsolete breadwinner or ”ideal scientist” career model. Similarly, workplaces that can be characterized as ”masculinity contests” tend to reproduce exclusionary mechanisms for those who do not (want to) fit the prototype. Diversity interventions often ignore the role of implicit and explicit favoritism in selection, performance evaluation, and promotion. Based on my research at the ERC (on careers of applicants and on bias in panels) and at Delft University, I will present design specifications for interventions to promote diversity and sustainable excellence that engage gatekeepers, improve decision making, and mitigate bias.
Plenary VI: Defying Gravity: Our Eruptive Sun
Lucie Green - Thu 6 July 11:00 - 12:00
Our Sun is a dynamic star, exhibiting eruptive activity events known as coronal mass ejections. These ejections expel 12 1 around 10 kg of magnetised plasma into the heliosphere, across a range of speeds from 100 s to 1000 s of km s , as the result of a reconfiguration of the coronal magnetic field. The energy required to power a coronal mass ejection appears to be built-up in the low plasma beta environment of the coronal magnetic field over days/weeks prior to the eruption, in an energy storage and release process. This talk will look at the characteristics of coronal mass ejections, the 3-dimensional magnetic field configurations that are thought to be responsible for them and the physical processes that trigger and drive these events. How the energy is built up and how coronal mass ejections are initiated will be discussed from both the observational and theoretical perspectives.
2 Plenary VII: Tantalising Glimpses of the Dark Ages and Dark Matter from the Earliest Galaxies
Pratika Dayal - Thu 6 July 15:30 - 16:30
Galaxy formation in the first billion years mark a time of great upheaval in the history of the Universe: as the first sources of light, these galaxies ended the ’cosmic dark ages’ and produced the first photons that could break apart the hydrogen atoms su↵using all of space starting the process of cosmic reionization. As the earliest building blocks, the shapeless ellipticals galaxies that formed in the first billion years also determine the physical properties of all subsequent galaxy populations. At the forefront of astronomical research, the past few years have seen cutting-edge instruments provide tantalising glimpses of such galaxies chaotically assembling in an infant Universe. I will show how this data has provided an unprecedented opportunity to pin down the reionization state of the Universe (at least in its last stages), understand their physical properties, and study the key physics driving their formation and evolution. Finally, I will try to give a flavour of how the assembly of early galaxies, accessible with the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope and the associated reionization history, can provide a powerful testbed for Warm Dark Matter models.
3 Science Events
As well as our core science programme we will be hosting an array of science workshops/forums. Please check our maps to find the relevant locations these are being held.
Hack Day
Supported by Winton Wednesday 5th July 2017 (Wilberforce LR-17 & LR-20)
Following in the NAM tradition, the coding hack day is back for NAM 2017.
Hosted by the OpenAstronomy group (http://openastronomy.org/), this is the perfect opportunity for participants to get involved in some interesting projects, get help with coding and answers to any astronomy programming-related problems.
The event is informal and designed for people to drop in and out between any parallel sessions they are going to.
In the morning, we will organise some groups to work on various astronomy projects (suggested by you guys or our team). People can work on these problems in their own time throughout the day.
Even if you don’t have any coding experience, please feel free to join us to see what tools are available for you to use in your work. And remember, coding is anything from LaTeX to Python to C++ and can involve any kind of software, hardware and data we can get hold of.
We will provide you with a room and internet connection, just bring down your laptop (and power cable) and join.
In preparation for the event, we are compiling a list of project ideas and the skills on o↵er, if you have a project idea or want to o↵er your skills to help others then please visit our wiki: https://github.com/OpenAstronomy/nam2017_ hackday/wiki
We will be providing:
Wireless internet connection • Power sockets • Co↵ee supply (with biscuits, while stocks last) • Projector • White board • Small telescopes • CCD Sensor •
4 Getting Your Paper Published: a Workshop for Authors 4:30pm—6pm Wednesday 5th July Wilberforce LR-12
Aimed at early career researchers, the course will be run by MNRAS Editor-in-Chief, journal staff and our- publishers OUP, and will cover the following: