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Universe Sciences
Spotlight on ERC projects
2015
http://erc.europa.eu
Horizon 2020European Union funding for Research & Innovation
IntroductionWhat is the origin of the Universe? How do galaxies form and evolve? Is there a possibility of extra-terrestrial life? This brochure presents a few projects addressing some of the most important challenges in the field of Universe Sciences which were funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
Universe Sciences encompass all research areas related to astronomy and astrophysics, including astro-physics/chemistry/biology, the solar system, stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, planetary systems, cosmology, space science, and instrumentation.
To date the ERC has supported close to 180 ground-breaking, high-gain/high-risk projects covering all the above-mentioned areas for a total budget of almost EUR 350 million.
Among these projects, the highest number are in cosmology: scientists explore the big mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, others study modified gravity, the cosmic microwave background, pulsars, the general relativity theory, cosmic inflation, the epoch of reionization, and the anisotropic universe/large-scale structure of the universe.
Another area of growing scientific interest is the search for and study of exoplanets, since their discovery in the early 1990s. Currently, more than a dozen ERC projects have exoplanets as their main focus of research. Several of these projects have links with astrobiology, and a special topic is the habitability of exoplanets.
This brochure has been published on the occasion of the Joint ESA-ERC networking event on frontiers of space sciences and technology, taking place on 10-11 November 2015 at the European Space Agency.
Set up in 2007, the ERC is the first pan-European funding body designed to support investigator-driven frontier research and to stimulate scientific excellence across Europe. It aims to support the best and most creative scientists to identify and explore new directions in any field of research (Physical Sciences and Engineering, Life Sciences and Social Sciences and Humanities) with no thematic priorities and the only evaluation criterion being excellence. With more than 5 000 projects funded, it has now been 8 years that the ERC awards long-term grants to individual researchers of any nationality and age who wish to carry out their research projects in Europe.
Surveying the sky in search for new planets As empirical experiments are almost impossible in astronomy, research in this field relies heavily on observation. Prof. Andrzej Udalski set new frontiers in observational astronomy, in particular in the search for extra-solar planets, using a cutting-edge gravitational micro-lensing technique which enables the study of celestial objects irrespective of the light they emit.
The OGLEIV ERC-funded project is the fourth part of a unique long-term sky survey (OGLE), which was launched in 1992 to conduct observations in the densest stellar regions of the sky.
Prof. Udalski’s team has launched a second generation planetary microlensing survey of the Galactic Centre using a new gigantic ‘CCD’ mosaic camera which allows observation of thousands of square degrees of the sky every night. The camera is among the largest imagers worldwide and the OGLEIV survey has regularly monitored over a billion objects, making it one of the largest sky variability surveys today.
Overall, the OGLEIV survey has collected over 300 000 wide-field images. This represents over 150 Terabytes of raw data used, for instance, to study distant stellar populations, to assess how often exoplanets orbit their hosts, to measure Galactic distances.
Many interesting planetary systems have been discovered during the survey. Prof. Udalski’s team was notably the first to detect an Earth mass and a Uranus-like planet in binary systems. Furthermore, data collected during the project helped the team to rule out the hypothesis that low-mass compact objects are the main component of the dark matter in the dark halo enveloping the Milky Way. Recent celestial objects classified by the team include an unprecedented set of over 38 000 “RR Lyrae”-type pulsating stars over 180 square degrees, which have been used for precise modelling of the Galactic bulge structure.
Finally, the team has spotted 10 new Jupiter-sized planets floating in interstellar space far from the light of any nearby parent star. Scientists always had a hunch that free-floating planets exist, but they remained undetected until the microlensing technique was employed. Such objects emit almost no energy and being lonely do not disturb other bodies. In 2011, the magazine Science listed the discovery of free-floating planets among its 10 scientific ‘breakthroughs of the year’.
Researcher: Andrzej Udalski
Host institution: Uniwersytet Warszawski (Poland)
ERC project: Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment: New Frontiers in Observational Astronomy (OGLEIV)
ERC call: Advanced Grant 2009
ERC funding: EUR 2.5 million (2010-2014)
Project website: http://ogle.astrouw.edu.pl
© A
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© D
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Warsaw telescope at Las Campanas (Chili), central part of the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds
High precision techniques to measure galaxy clustering What is the nature of dark energy? How does it relate to dark matter? These are some of the key open questions in cosmology, which Prof. Luigi Guzzo intends to address in his research. Findings of his DARKLIGHT project, funded by the ERC, could add an important piece to the puzzle of the origin and evolution of the Universe.
Galaxy redshift surveys, which map the large scale distribution of galaxies in space and time, have provided scientists with a unique probe of the basic cosmic components and their evolution. Less than two decades ago, researchers made an unexpected discovery: the Universe has recently entered a phase of accelerated expansion driven by dark energy – a phenomenon which still remains obscure. It became necessary to study this evolution and to trace the history of cosmic expansion more accurately. For this purpose, new large surveys of galaxy clustering relying on advanced methods and high-precision measurements will start in the coming years.
In this project, the international team led by Prof. Guzzo has been developing new mathematical and statistical tools that will meet the required high levels of precision and accuracy for the cosmic measurements (including redshift-space distortions), as well as to optimally analyse the new data acquired. These novel methods and techniques are first tested on large numerical simulations and then applied to new data such as those provided by the European Southern Observatory VIPERS survey. They will eventually help scientists to fully exploit future galaxy redshift surveys, including the Euclid space mission that is to be launched in 2020 by the European Space Agency.
With these new tools we may have a better understanding of how, from its original state, the Universe has taken its current form and how galaxies, clusters and the cosmic web have developed under the joint effect of dark matter and dark energy. This will also allow cosmologists to verify whether or not the Einstein equations on the matter-gravity relation need to be modified, a development that could revolutionize the world of physics.
Researcher: Luigi Guzzo
Host institution: Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (Italy)
ERC project: Illuminating Dark Energy with the Next Generation of Cosmological Redshift Surveys (DARKLIGHT)
ERC call: Advanced Grant 2011
ERC funding: EUR 1.7 million (2012-2017)
Project website: http://darklight.brera.inaf.it/
Diagram showing the large-scale structure of the Universe out to ~10 billion light years, as traced by the nearly 60,000 galaxies whose distances were measured by the VIPERS survey. Each point in the diagram corresponds to a galaxy selected from panoramic images of the sky as the one shown in the background. The size and colour of the points reflect the luminosity and colour of the corresponding galaxy.
© VIPERS Collaboratio
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New insights into the formation of stars and black holes Radio astronomy has now entered a “golden age” with new facilities paving the way for significant discoveries on the early universe and the formation and evolution of galaxies. Working on faint radio-signals, Dr Vernesa Smolčić’s research may lead to significant advances in the area. Her goal is to provide the first census of high-redshift star-bursting galaxies, also called “submillimeter galaxies”, and a full census of galaxies hosting supermassive black holes.
Understanding how galaxies formed in the early universe and how they evolve through time is a principal goal of astrophysics. Dr Smolčić is leading two major sky radio surveys - conducted with the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA), the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) - that will push the frontiers of knowledge in this field. These surveys are unique for their deep radio measurements, the wide sky area under observation and because they use the most state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities.
During the CoSMass project, Dr Smolčić and her team, based in Croatia, will work on the massive data sets collected by these two large surveys. The new generation radio surveys have an increased sensitivity compared to surveys conducted to date. These novel measurements and observations, complemented by infrared and X-ray data from NASA’s Spitzer and Chandra space telescopes, are essential to study the evolution of galaxies at early cosmic times. In particular, Dr Smolčić will look at the dust properties in the early universe and how they affect the star formation history.
The results of this project are essential for the preparation of future large radio sky surveys that will be conducted with interferometers like the ASKAP (Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder) and the SKA (Square Kilometre Array), the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope. The final goal is to unveil the mechanisms that shape galaxies over cosmic time.
Researcher: Vernesa Smolčić
Host institution: University of Zagreb (Croatia)
ERC project: Constraining Stellar Mass and Supermassive Black Hole Growth through Cosmic Times: Paving the way for the next generation sky surveys (CoSMass)
ERC call: Starting Grant 2013
ERC funding: EUR 1.5 million (2014-2019)
Project website: http://zgal.phy.hr
Researcher’s webpage: http://www.phy.pmf.unizg.hr/~vs/Home.html.
© D
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Very Large Array located in Socorro, New Mexico (USA)
Setting eyes on the dark side of the universe More than 95% of our universe comes in the mysterious form of dark matter and dark energy that we can neither explain nor directly detect. Dr Catherine Heymans leads a team of researchers who were the first to “map” dark matter on the largest of scales. She now uses her research to confront Einstein’s theory of general relativity in an attempt to explain the nature of dark energy.
Early in the twentieth century, Einstein revolutionised our understanding of fundamental physics by concluding that mass can warp the very fabric of space and time. Using a powerful new astronomical technique called gravitational lensing, astronomers can directly observe the way in which the light from very distant galaxies is bent as it passes through large structures of matter in the universe.
With her FORCE project, Dr Heymans uses this light-bending effect to map the invisible dark matter in the universe. She collected the most comprehensive data from one of the world-leading surveys of the universe: the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS). When analysing the deep astronomical imaging, Dr Heymans and her team looked at the light from over ten million galaxies, some six billion light years away. Their images provided a very first glimpse of the intricate cosmic web of dark matter and galaxies, spanning more than one billion light years across.
Progress in probing and mapping the dark universe may have far-ranging implications. It is indeed widely believed that, in order to understand its nature, we will need to invoke new physics that will forever change our cosmic view, bringing into question our knowledge of fundamental physics.
By combining observations of the motion of galaxies and light in different gravitational fields, Dr Heymans’ team found their measurements to be in full agreement with Einstein’s theory of general relativity. This was the first time the theory of gravity had been tested on some of the largest cosmological scales in the universe. Dr Heymans has recently been awarded a new Consolidator grant to go one step further and inspire and confront new theories about how gravity works. She will directly test beyond Einstein theories of gravity using the first large-scale “same-sky” survey called 2dFLenS, which combines the quality of images of the European Southern Observatory Kilo-Degree Survey with wide-area spectroscopy from the Australian Astronomical Observatory.
Researcher: Catherine Heymans
Host institution: The University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)
ERC project: Fine Observations of the Rate of Cosmic Expansion: Combining the powers of Weak Gravitational Lensing and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations as Probes of Dark Energy (FORCE)
ERC call: Starting Grant 2009
ERC funding: EUR 1.25 million (2010-2016)
Researcher’s website: http://www.roe.ac.uk/~heymans/
© C
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New Hubble view of galaxy cluster Abell 1689
Hunting for extra-solar planets Since the early 1990s almost 2000 planets have been detected outside our solar system. These discoveries led to a new area of universe sciences which is rapidly expanding. Astronomers are currently searching for extra-solar planets using a huge array of telescopes and instruments. Funded by the ERC, Prof. Cardoso Santos’ team has developed new tools to be used in both ground- and space-based facilities, to detect and study these planets.
The most successful planet discovery techniques rely on the hosting star and the influence that the planet has on it. Indeed, most of the exoplanets have been detected using either the radial-velocity method, which investigates the gravitational influence of the planet on the star, or the transit method, that measures the dimming of the starlight as the planet crosses its disk. In this project, Prof. Cardoso Santos explored new aspects of the star-planet connection with the aim of optimising the planet search and the study of the newly found planets.
His team developed and applied state-of-the-art techniques to study the properties of hosting stars, including their precise atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances. This allowed them to better understand the planet formation processes, bringing clues about the number of planets in our galaxy. Furthermore, they succeeded to find ways to reduce the limitations of the radial-velocity method, namely the stellar sources of noise. These methods will allow astronomers to explore large samples of stars and to determine the properties of exoplanets with a unique precision.
The research done by Prof. Cardoso Santos’ team led to several major breakthroughs, including the detection in 2012 of one Earth-mass planet orbiting the bright star Alpha Centauri B, one solar-like star that is part of the nearest stellar system to the Sun. These results strongly support the understanding that planets, and in particular low-mass planets such as our Earth, are numerous in our galaxy.
The outcome of this project could significantly contribute to the success of instruments such as the ESPRESSO high-resolution spectrograph of the European Southern Observatory and of future space missions such as CHEOPS and PLATO by the European Space Agency.
Researcher: Nuno Miguel Cardoso Santos
Host institution: Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) and Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
ERC project: EXtra-solar planets and stellar astrophysics: towards the detection of Other Earths (EXOEarths)
ERC call: Starting Grant 2009
ERC funding: EUR 930 000 (2009-2014)
Project website: https://www.astro.up.pt/exoearths/index.html
Artist’s impression of the exoplanet 51 Pegasi b, which orbits a star about 50 light-years from Earth in the northern constellation of Pegasus (The Winged Horse). The team recently detected the signature of the reflected light spectrum of this planet.
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The secrets of the Earth’s deep interior The inner core of our planet was discovered more than 65 years ago and since then Earth scientists have been investigating to understand more about its precise structure and geodynamic properties. Many fundamental questions still remain unanswered. Supported by the ERC, Dr Arwen Deuss has achieved some impressive results in this field.
Life on Earth is possible thanks to its magnetic field that protects us from cosmic radiation and is generated by the core, which is the very central structure of our planet. Studying the composition and thermal state of the Earth’s deep interior is key to unraveling how its magnetic field works.
The Earth’s inner core is a solid ball the size of the Moon, made of iron and nickel, surrounded by an outer core of flowing liquid iron alloy. As no direct samples of the inner core, outer core and of the mantle can be taken, our knowledge of their structure and properties relies on seismology, the only tool that allows us to “see through” the Earth. Seismometers measure the waves generated by earthquakes and these data are interpreted to evaluate the Earth’s composition, density and velocity.
In her project, Dr Deuss coupled seismic observations of whole Earth oscillations, which make the Earth ring like a bell, with expertise in fluid dynamics and mineral physics. Her team developed pioneering tools to focus on some specific deep parts of our planet, something which had not been possible before due to lack of appropriate theory. Applying this novel theory and analyzing data from large earthquakes all around the globe - including the 2011 devastating seismic event in Japan - the team made a new comprehensive model of the inner core leading to several exciting discoveries.
Dr Deuss’ work has shown that the top of the inner core is divided into two hemispheres with very sharp boundaries. They are so different that they might be the equivalent of the continental and oceanic regions on the Earth’s surface - limiting the phenomenon of inner core superrotation to less than one degree per million years. They also found that a few weight percent of light elements, such as silicon or oxygen, needs to be present in the solid inner core in order to explain their observations of seismic attenuation anisotropy. These observations suggest that the geodynamic process at the origin of Earth’s inner core is much more complex than initially thought. The inner core heterogeneity might also be linked to places where the magnetic field of the Earth is stronger or weaker.
Researcher: Arwen Fedora Deuss
Host institution: University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
ERC project: Thermal and compositional state of the Earth’s inner core from seismic free oscillations (EARTH CORE STRUCTURE)
ERC call: Starting Grant 2007
ERC funding: EUR 1.2 million (2008-2014)
Whole Earth oscillation observation
D Observed splitting function
WEST EAST
16s05-17s04, s=1,3,5
E Predicted splitting function mantle + IC
WEST EAST
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F Predicted splitting function mantle only
WEST EAST
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-40 -20 0 20 40microHertz
A Observed splitting function16s05, s=2,4,6
B Predicted splitting function mantle + IC16s05, s=2,4,6
C Predicted splitting function mantle only16s05, s=2,4,6
-16 -8 0 8 16microHertz
D Observed splitting function
WEST EAST
16s05-17s04, s=1,3,5
E Predicted splitting function mantle + IC
WEST EAST
16s05-17s04, s=1,3,5
F Predicted splitting function mantle only
WEST EAST
16s05-17s04, s=1,3,5
-40 -20 0 20 40microHertz
A Observed splitting function16s05, s=2,4,6
B Predicted splitting function mantle + IC16s05, s=2,4,6
C Predicted splitting function mantle only16s05, s=2,4,6
-16 -8 0 8 16microHertz
Seismic observation of hemispherical division in the Earth’s inner core, made using whole Earth oscillation data.
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“The European Research Council has, in a short time, achieved world-class status as a funding body for excellent curiosity-driven frontier research. With its special emphasis on allowing top young talent to thrive, the ERC Scientific Council is committed to keeping to this course. The ERC will continue to help make Europe a power house for science and a place where innovation is fuelled by a new generation.”
Jean-Pierre Bourguignon ERC President and Chair of its Scientific Council
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http://erc.europa.eu/erc-stories
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doi:10.2828/03836 - ISBN 978-92-9215-038-9
JZ-02-15-568-EN-N
