Project acronym BinCosmos
Project The Impact of Massive Binaries Through Cosmic Time
Researcher (PI) Selma DE MINK
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE9, ERC-2016-STG
Summary Massive stars play many key roles in Astrophysics. As COSMIC ENGINES they transformed the pristine Universe left after the Big Bang into our modern Universe. We use massive stars, their explosions and products as COSMIC PROBES to study the conditions in the distant Universe and the extreme physics inaccessible at earth. Models of massive stars are thus widely applied. A central common assumption is that massive stars are non-rotating single objects, in stark contrast with new data. Recent studies show that majority (70% according to our data) will experience severe interaction with a companion (Sana, de Mink et al. Science 2012).
I propose to conduct the most ambitious and extensive exploration to date of the effects of binarity and rotation on the lives and fates of massive stars to (I) transform our understanding of the complex physical processes and how they operate in the vast parameter space and (II) explore the cosmological implications after calibrating and verifying the models. To achieve this ambitious objective I will use an innovative computational approach that combines the strength of two highly complementary codes and seek direct confrontation with observations to overcome the computational challenges that inhibited previous work.
This timely project will provide the urgent theory framework needed for interpretation and guiding of observing programs with the new facilities (JWST, LSST, aLIGO/VIRGO). Public release of the model grids and code will ensure wide impact of this project. I am in the unique position to successfully lead this project because of my (i) extensive experience modeling the complex physical processes, (ii) leading role in introducing large statistical simulations in the massive star community and (iii) direct involvement in surveys that will be used in this project.
Summary
Massive stars play many key roles in Astrophysics. As COSMIC ENGINES they transformed the pristine Universe left after the Big Bang into our modern Universe. We use massive stars, their explosions and products as COSMIC PROBES to study the conditions in the distant Universe and the extreme physics inaccessible at earth. Models of massive stars are thus widely applied. A central common assumption is that massive stars are non-rotating single objects, in stark contrast with new data. Recent studies show that majority (70% according to our data) will experience severe interaction with a companion (Sana, de Mink et al. Science 2012).
I propose to conduct the most ambitious and extensive exploration to date of the effects of binarity and rotation on the lives and fates of massive stars to (I) transform our understanding of the complex physical processes and how they operate in the vast parameter space and (II) explore the cosmological implications after calibrating and verifying the models. To achieve this ambitious objective I will use an innovative computational approach that combines the strength of two highly complementary codes and seek direct confrontation with observations to overcome the computational challenges that inhibited previous work.
This timely project will provide the urgent theory framework needed for interpretation and guiding of observing programs with the new facilities (JWST, LSST, aLIGO/VIRGO). Public release of the model grids and code will ensure wide impact of this project. I am in the unique position to successfully lead this project because of my (i) extensive experience modeling the complex physical processes, (ii) leading role in introducing large statistical simulations in the massive star community and (iii) direct involvement in surveys that will be used in this project.
Max ERC Funding
1 926 634 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-09-01, End date: 2022-08-31
Project acronym DELPHI
Project DELPHI: a framework to study Dark Matter and the emergence of galaxies in the epoch of reionization
Researcher (PI) Pratika DAYAL
Host Institution (HI) RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE9, ERC-2016-STG
Summary Our Universe started as a dark featureless sea of hydrogen, helium, and dark matter of unknown composition about 13 and a half billion years ago. The earliest galaxies lit up the Universe with pinpricks of light, ushering in the era of ‘cosmic dawn’. These galaxies represent the primary building blocks of all subsequent galaxies and the sources of the first (hydrogen ionizing) photons that could break apart the hydrogen atoms suffusing all of space starting the process of ‘cosmic reionization’. By virtue of being the smallest bound structures in the early Universe, these galaxies also provide an excellent testbed for models wherein Dark Matter is composed of warm, fast moving particles as opposed to the sluggish heavy particles used in the standard Cold Dark Matter paradigm.
Exploiting the power of the latest cosmological simulations as well as semi-analytic modelling rooted in first principles, DELPHI will build a coherent and predictive model to answer three of the key outstanding questions in physical cosmology:
- how did the interlinked processes of galaxy formation and reionization drive each other?
- what were the physical properties of early galaxies and how have they evolved through time to give rise to the galaxy properties we see today?
- what is the nature (mass) of the mysterious Dark Matter that makes up 80% of the matter content in the Universe?
The timescale of the ERC represents an excellent opportunity for progress on these fundamental questions: observations with cutting-edge instruments (e.g. the Hubble and Subaru telescopes) are providing the first tantalising glimpses of early galaxies assembling in an infant Universe, required to pin down theoretical models. The realistic results obtained by DELPHI will also be vital in determining survey strategies and exploiting synergies between forthcoming key state-of-the-art instruments such as the European-Extremely Large Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array.
Summary
Our Universe started as a dark featureless sea of hydrogen, helium, and dark matter of unknown composition about 13 and a half billion years ago. The earliest galaxies lit up the Universe with pinpricks of light, ushering in the era of ‘cosmic dawn’. These galaxies represent the primary building blocks of all subsequent galaxies and the sources of the first (hydrogen ionizing) photons that could break apart the hydrogen atoms suffusing all of space starting the process of ‘cosmic reionization’. By virtue of being the smallest bound structures in the early Universe, these galaxies also provide an excellent testbed for models wherein Dark Matter is composed of warm, fast moving particles as opposed to the sluggish heavy particles used in the standard Cold Dark Matter paradigm.
Exploiting the power of the latest cosmological simulations as well as semi-analytic modelling rooted in first principles, DELPHI will build a coherent and predictive model to answer three of the key outstanding questions in physical cosmology:
- how did the interlinked processes of galaxy formation and reionization drive each other?
- what were the physical properties of early galaxies and how have they evolved through time to give rise to the galaxy properties we see today?
- what is the nature (mass) of the mysterious Dark Matter that makes up 80% of the matter content in the Universe?
The timescale of the ERC represents an excellent opportunity for progress on these fundamental questions: observations with cutting-edge instruments (e.g. the Hubble and Subaru telescopes) are providing the first tantalising glimpses of early galaxies assembling in an infant Universe, required to pin down theoretical models. The realistic results obtained by DELPHI will also be vital in determining survey strategies and exploiting synergies between forthcoming key state-of-the-art instruments such as the European-Extremely Large Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array.
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-03-01, End date: 2022-02-28
Project acronym FIRSTLIGHT
Project Unveiling first light from the infant Universe
Researcher (PI) Luitje Vincent Ewoud Koopmans
Host Institution (HI) RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE9, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary I request ERC funding to set up a dedicated science team to detect, for the first time, the redshifted 21-cm radio line emission of neutral hydrogen (HI) with LOFAR coming from the first billion years of the age of the Universe (the Epoch of Reionization and the Dark Ages ).
The study of this pristine neutral hydrogen gas is a rapidly emerging field of astrophysics, both theoretically and observationally. A number of expert international groups in the US/Australia (MWA), China (21CMA), India (GMRT) and the Netherlands (LOFAR) are contending to be the first to detect this hydrogen gas. My proposed ERC project is high-risk and high-gain; however, all risks are controlled and the scientific rewards of detection of neutral hydrogen at these early times would have a tremendous impact and open a new frontier in astronomy. The study of neutral hydrogen, as in the nearby Universe, will revolutionize our knowledge of astrophysical processes in the first phases of the Universe, just after recombination.
The LOFAR Epoch-of-Reionization Key-Science Project (LOFAR EoR-KSP), of which I am a PI, aims to be the first, and if being the first fails, to provide the best detection of this neutral HI gas. Indeed, we are in a very good starting position to reach both goals. Our team has access to the most sensitive telescope available for these studies (LOFAR) and leads a Key Science Project with guaranteed observing time. Our KSP is rapidly ramping up to the observational phase of the project (2010), and now more than ever requires dedicated scientists that together in a small team maximize the scientific return of the project (i.e. detect and study HI). If successful, our research team would be in a position to start leading similar projects with the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). It is crucial that we gear up for the use of that future instrument and retain Europe s position at the forefront of astrophysics and radio astronomy.
Summary
I request ERC funding to set up a dedicated science team to detect, for the first time, the redshifted 21-cm radio line emission of neutral hydrogen (HI) with LOFAR coming from the first billion years of the age of the Universe (the Epoch of Reionization and the Dark Ages ).
The study of this pristine neutral hydrogen gas is a rapidly emerging field of astrophysics, both theoretically and observationally. A number of expert international groups in the US/Australia (MWA), China (21CMA), India (GMRT) and the Netherlands (LOFAR) are contending to be the first to detect this hydrogen gas. My proposed ERC project is high-risk and high-gain; however, all risks are controlled and the scientific rewards of detection of neutral hydrogen at these early times would have a tremendous impact and open a new frontier in astronomy. The study of neutral hydrogen, as in the nearby Universe, will revolutionize our knowledge of astrophysical processes in the first phases of the Universe, just after recombination.
The LOFAR Epoch-of-Reionization Key-Science Project (LOFAR EoR-KSP), of which I am a PI, aims to be the first, and if being the first fails, to provide the best detection of this neutral HI gas. Indeed, we are in a very good starting position to reach both goals. Our team has access to the most sensitive telescope available for these studies (LOFAR) and leads a Key Science Project with guaranteed observing time. Our KSP is rapidly ramping up to the observational phase of the project (2010), and now more than ever requires dedicated scientists that together in a small team maximize the scientific return of the project (i.e. detect and study HI). If successful, our research team would be in a position to start leading similar projects with the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). It is crucial that we gear up for the use of that future instrument and retain Europe s position at the forefront of astrophysics and radio astronomy.
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-10-01, End date: 2016-09-30
Project acronym RADIOSTAR
Project Radioactivities from Stars to Solar Systems
Researcher (PI) Maria Anna LUGARO
Host Institution (HI) MAGYAR TUDOMANYOS AKADEMIA CSILLAGASZATI ES FOLDTUDOMANYI KUTATOKOZPONT
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2016-COG
Summary RADIOSTAR will exploit radioactive nuclei produced by nuclear reactions inside stars and ejected by stellar winds and supernova explosions to fill the missing pieces of the puzzle of the origin of our Solar System: What were the circumstances of the birth of our Sun? Were they similar to those of the majority of other stars in our Galaxy, or were they special? Radioactive nuclei are the key to answer these questions because meteoritic analysis has proven that many of them were present at the time of the birth of the Sun. Their origin, however, has been so far elusive. RADIOSTAR steps beyond the state-of-the-art to answer these open questions by (i) combining the evolution of radioactive nuclei in the Galaxy and within molecular clouds and (ii) considering all the seventeen radionuclides of interest and all their stellar sources and analysing the effects of uncertainties in their stellar production. This will allow us to:
- Use the decay of radioactive nuclei produced by the chemical evolution of the Galaxy as a clock to measure the lifetime of the Sun’s parent molecular cloud prior to the Sun’s birth;
- Calculate the self-pollution of this molecular cloud from the ejecta of stars with lives shorter than such lifetime;
- Discover if such self-pollution can fully explain the abundances of radioactive nuclei present at the time of the birth of the Sun, or whether special conditions are required.
RADIOSTAR will also have a far-reaching impact on our understanding of exoplanetary systems because the heat produced by radioactivity affects the evolution of planetesimals, with implications for the amount of water on terrestrial planets in the habitable zone. RADIOSTAR will open a new window into research on the effect of radioactivity on the evolution of planetesimals outside our Solar System.
Summary
RADIOSTAR will exploit radioactive nuclei produced by nuclear reactions inside stars and ejected by stellar winds and supernova explosions to fill the missing pieces of the puzzle of the origin of our Solar System: What were the circumstances of the birth of our Sun? Were they similar to those of the majority of other stars in our Galaxy, or were they special? Radioactive nuclei are the key to answer these questions because meteoritic analysis has proven that many of them were present at the time of the birth of the Sun. Their origin, however, has been so far elusive. RADIOSTAR steps beyond the state-of-the-art to answer these open questions by (i) combining the evolution of radioactive nuclei in the Galaxy and within molecular clouds and (ii) considering all the seventeen radionuclides of interest and all their stellar sources and analysing the effects of uncertainties in their stellar production. This will allow us to:
- Use the decay of radioactive nuclei produced by the chemical evolution of the Galaxy as a clock to measure the lifetime of the Sun’s parent molecular cloud prior to the Sun’s birth;
- Calculate the self-pollution of this molecular cloud from the ejecta of stars with lives shorter than such lifetime;
- Discover if such self-pollution can fully explain the abundances of radioactive nuclei present at the time of the birth of the Sun, or whether special conditions are required.
RADIOSTAR will also have a far-reaching impact on our understanding of exoplanetary systems because the heat produced by radioactivity affects the evolution of planetesimals, with implications for the amount of water on terrestrial planets in the habitable zone. RADIOSTAR will open a new window into research on the effect of radioactivity on the evolution of planetesimals outside our Solar System.
Max ERC Funding
1 726 300 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-09-01, End date: 2022-08-31
Project acronym SACCRED
Project Structured ACCREtion Disks: initial conditions for planet formation in the time domain
Researcher (PI) Ágnes KÓSPÁL
Host Institution (HI) MAGYAR TUDOMANYOS AKADEMIA CSILLAGASZATI ES FOLDTUDOMANYI KUTATOKOZPONT
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE9, ERC-2016-STG
Summary In this ERC Starting Grant, I propose an ambitious research program to target important challenges in predicting realistic initial conditions for the planet formation process. I will perform a large systematic study of the accretion-driven eruptions of newborn stars, and evaluate their influence on the structure, composition, and chemistry of the terrestrial planet forming zone in the circumstellar disk. The research will focus on three main questions:
- How does the mass accretion proceed in realistic, structured, non-axisymmetric disks?
- What physical mechanisms explain the accretion-driven eruptions?
- What is the effect of the eruptions on the disk?
My new research group will study young eruptive stars, pre-main sequence objects prone to episodes of extremely powerful accretion-driven outbursts, and combine new observations, state-of-the-art numerical modelling, and information from the literature. With a novel concept, we will first model the time-dependence of mass accretion in circumstellar disks, taking into account the latest observational results on inhomogeneous disk structure, and determine what fraction of young stellar objects is susceptible to high mass accretion peaks. Next, we will revise the paradigm of the eruptive phenomenon, compelled by recently discovered young eruptive stars whose outbursts are inconsistent with current outburst theories. Finally, we will determine the impact of accretion-driven eruptions on the disk, by considering the increased external irradiation, internal accretion heating, and stellar winds. With my experience and track record, I am in a position to comprehensively synthesize existing and newly acquired information to reach the proposed goals. The expected outcome of the ERC project is a conclusive demonstration of the ubiquity and profound impact of episodic accretion on disk structure, providing the initial physical conditions for disk evolution and planet formation models.
Summary
In this ERC Starting Grant, I propose an ambitious research program to target important challenges in predicting realistic initial conditions for the planet formation process. I will perform a large systematic study of the accretion-driven eruptions of newborn stars, and evaluate their influence on the structure, composition, and chemistry of the terrestrial planet forming zone in the circumstellar disk. The research will focus on three main questions:
- How does the mass accretion proceed in realistic, structured, non-axisymmetric disks?
- What physical mechanisms explain the accretion-driven eruptions?
- What is the effect of the eruptions on the disk?
My new research group will study young eruptive stars, pre-main sequence objects prone to episodes of extremely powerful accretion-driven outbursts, and combine new observations, state-of-the-art numerical modelling, and information from the literature. With a novel concept, we will first model the time-dependence of mass accretion in circumstellar disks, taking into account the latest observational results on inhomogeneous disk structure, and determine what fraction of young stellar objects is susceptible to high mass accretion peaks. Next, we will revise the paradigm of the eruptive phenomenon, compelled by recently discovered young eruptive stars whose outbursts are inconsistent with current outburst theories. Finally, we will determine the impact of accretion-driven eruptions on the disk, by considering the increased external irradiation, internal accretion heating, and stellar winds. With my experience and track record, I am in a position to comprehensively synthesize existing and newly acquired information to reach the proposed goals. The expected outcome of the ERC project is a conclusive demonstration of the ubiquity and profound impact of episodic accretion on disk structure, providing the initial physical conditions for disk evolution and planet formation models.
Max ERC Funding
1 370 200 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-07-01, End date: 2022-06-30
