The University of Bath is inviting applications for the following PhD project supervised by Dr Vicky Scowcroft in the Astrophysics Group within the Department of Physics.
For over one hundred years, variable stars have been crucial probes of astronomical distances and stellar physics. To this day, they continue to be at the forefront of modern astrophysics. We are entering a new golden age for variable star studies. The range of instrumentation available now and in the coming decade, both in space and on the ground, provides an excellent suite of tools for studying the variable star populations within our Galaxy, reaching out to beyond the Local Group at exquisite precision. These recent advances, particularly in the infrared (IR), mean that we can now map our nearest galaxies in three dimensions at fidelities never before achievable, enabling high–resolution studies of their metallicity and dynamical histories.
In this project, you will use variable star observations from facilities such as Gaia and the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate our nearest neighbours' structure and evolution. You will use the high-precision parallaxes produced by Gaia to calibrate the RR Lyrae period-luminosity relation, enabling the creation of high-resolution maps of the old stellar populations of galaxies in their three spatial dimensions, comparing their structural and chemical properties with numerical simulations. You will combine this data with our recently published Cepheid maps to investigate the spatial, age and metallicity distributions of the old (RR Lyrae) and young (Cepheid) populations in these galaxies.
Later in the project, you will use JWST data to expand this work from our nearest galaxies to the edge of the Local Group. These galaxies are too distant to resolve their stellar populations with present infrared instruments but will be brought into focus by JWST.
This project will directly contribute to one of the fundamental open questions in modern cosmology; how fast is the Universe expanding? You will determine an independent, robust foundation for the extragalactic distance ladder, essential to address the current tension between Hubble constant measurements arising from different techniques. Your work on this project will lay the groundwork for genuinely revolutionary science.
Candidate requirements:
Applicants should have a background in the physical sciences. They should have, or expect to gain, a minimum of a First or Upper Second Class UK Honours degree, or the equivalent from an overseas university.
Non-UK applicants will also be required to have met the English language entry requirements of the University of Bath.
Enquiries and applications:
Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Dr Vicky Scowcroft ([Email Address Removed]).
Formal applications should be made via the University of Bath's online application form for a PhD in Physics (full-time).
More information about applying for a PhD at Bath may be found on our website.
Anticipated start date: 4 October 2021.
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