Extragalactic Astrophysics

The Birmingham Extragalactic Group studies a wide range of cosmic structures, from star clusters to superclusters, using a combination of multi-wavelength observations (radio, IR, optical and X-ray), advanced analysis techniques, and hydrodynamical modelling. More details of our work can be found by following the links below. Special features are our interest in hot gas in cosmic structures, in the use of gas, lensing and dynamical studies to probe the distribution of dark matter, and in applying sophisticated algorithms for data mining and the analysis of astronomical data.

Galaxies Starbursts & Superwinds Galaxy Mergers Elliptical galaxies Galaxy-cluster interactions Environmental Dependencies	Galaxy Groups Group evolution Hot gas in groups Cosmic feedback Fossil groups XI Scaling properties Millennium simulations
Galaxy Clusters & Large Scale Structure Galaxy clusters Gravitational lensing Cosmic feedback Galaxy-cluster interactions Superclusters and large-scale filaments Scaling properties	Extragalactic Surveys APM galaxy surveys XMM LSS survey LEGS REXCESS LoCuSS
E-Science Algorithms

The Group hosts an annual Extragalactic Workshop, which alternates between Birmingham and Nottingham.

Information on some of the Group's work with X-ray data from the XMM-Newton Observatory, and a guide to XMM data analysis can be found here.

Joining the group

We typically recruit two or three postgraduate students each year. Details of how to apply can be found here.
From time to time, postdoctoral research positions become available within the group, for more see the group's Employment page.

Members of the group

Staff
Prof Trevor Ponman
Dr Somak Raychaudhury
Dr Graham Smith
Dr Ian Stevens

Postdocs
Dr Alastair Sanderson
Dr Ewan O Sullivan

Postgrads
Victoria Hamilton-Morris
Smriti Mahajan
Tim James
Paul May
Aurelia Pascut

For more information please see the Who's Who page.

Recent PhDs

Andy Read [1994] - Postdoc working on XMM calibration (University of Leicester)
Dave Strickland [1998] - Chandra Fellow (Johns Hopkins University)
Ed Lloyd-Davies [2001] - Postdoc working on galaxies & clusters (University of Michigan, now at the University of Sussex)
Bruce Fairley [2001] - Software engineer Tessella
Ewan O'Sullivan [2002] - Staff member at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Alastair Sanderson [2002] - Postdoc working on clusters & cosmology (University of Illinois, now at Birmingham)
Simon Ellis [2003] - Postdoc working on galaxy clusters + AAT support (Anglo-Australian Observatory)
David Acreman [2004] - Meteorological researcher (The Met Office, now at the University of Exeter)
Joanna Hartwell [2004] - Postdoc working on local galaxies (Dunsink Observatory)
Ben Maughan [2004] - Lecturer at the University of Bristol
John Osmond [2004] - Postdoc working in medical imaging (Brunel & Institute of Cancer Research)
Trevor Miles [2006] - School Teacher
Nazirah Jetha [2006] - Postdoc working on galaxy clusters (Alabama)
Nicky Brassington [2006] - Postdoc Chandra studies of galaxies (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Scott Porter [2007] - School Teacher
Rowan Temple [2008] - Accountant
Ali Dariush [2009] - Postdoc at Cardiff
Ria Johnson [2009] - will soon be taking up a job at the Office for National Statistics.

Recent Publications

A list of the extragalactic group's recent (past 3+ years) publications, including recent astro-ph submissions, can be found here.