Theory in Australias Astronomical Facilities

1
Theory in Australias Astronomical Facilities

• Facilities WG Meeting
• 2005 Decadal Review

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Integration

• Deeply involved throughout life cycle of
  major observational facilities/instruments
• Before construction
• What do we really want to build?
• Science case in Aust context
• After construction
• Maximise scientific impact
• Interpret data fertilise big ideas

3
Overseas

• Before construction
• Theory routinely involved in inspiring science
  drivers and designs of major facilities
• NGST (Loeb, Blandford), Chandra (Bildsten)
• After construction
• Theorists and observers live side-by-side in
  facility-related science institutes
• STScI, ESO (counterexample NRAO)

4
Past Decade Case Studies

• mm ATCA- small natural community doing star
  formation/ISM science in Aust
• Gemini- big physics questions? Few nights ?
  small, smart, physics-driven experiments
• 2dF- brilliant project but disproportionate
  theoretical interpretation overseas
• Engineering science drivers in tandem

5
Next Decade Opportunities I

• SKA/NTD/
• Epoch of reionisation (Wyithe, Gibson)
• ISM (Melrose, Macquart, Wardle)
• Pulsars (Melatos, Melrose, Luo)
• AGN (Bicknell, Donea, Kuncic, Sutherland)
• ELT/Antarctic/
• Planets (Mardling, Maddison, Sackett, Asplund,
• Galaxy evolution (Bekki, Lewis, Gibson, Dopita,
  Sutherland, Wyithe)

6
Next Decade Opportunities II

• mm ATCA
• Star formation (Wardle, Murray, Maddison)
• ACIGA/PTA/
• Gravitational wave source astrophysics (Scott,
  Lun, Levin, Melatos)
• Auger/
• Particle astrophysics (Protheroe, Donea, Volkas)

7
Cost

• Before construction
• Approximately zero WG volunteers!
• After construction
• Sensible fraction of science component of
  facility/instrument operating budget
• ATNF science/total 18 / 145
• Bolton other fellowships open to theorists

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Challenge for Decadal Review

• Secure ongoing operational science
  funding hand-in-hand with funds for capital
  facilities
• Structural contradiction at present
• Beefed up ATNF model (STScI, ESO)
• CoEs nice but too small what needed to secure
  science payoff from a 100M facility?

9
Computational Astrophysics

• Resources wish-list still needs to be done
• Some incorporation into national facilities
• APAC model financially smart (community does not
  bear maintenance and depreciation)
• Grid 3 disburse funds to develop software
  services, then APAC houses it
• Special theory needs
• Theory portal in Aust Virtual Observatory
• Career death for coders (instrument builders)

10
Special Contributions Needs

• Proactive vs reactive
• Theory not just the handmaiden of data
  predictive role in advance of data ? inspire
  science goals for new instruments facilities
• Education
• Branding PhD Australia consistent
  (astro)physics knowledge across Aust PhDs
• Remote learning (Access Grid), Harley Wood
  schools ? build knowledge resources

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Specific Proposal Astro School

• Residential and by correspondence
• Take-away what you need to know notes, e.g.
  refs to chapters in classic texts
• Contact emails for Aust experts in subfields
• Structure around big questions?
• Cosmology (CMB theory), galaxy evolution (grav
  fluid dynamics), star and planet formation
  (radiative transfer, MHD), high-energy
  astrophysics (shocks, accretion, jets)
• Cost 100k preparing materials 50k p.a. ?