Higher Degree by Research Application Portal
| Title | The properties of galaxies in the early universe |
|---|---|
| Supervisor | A/Pro Claudia Lagos Urbina |
| Dr Elisabete Lima da Cunha | |
| Course | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Keywords | galaxy formation |
| cosmology | |
| computational astrophysics | |
| Research area | Physical Sciences |
| Project description | Observations coming from cutting edge telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA), have shown that the galaxies and black holes in the early universe grew faster and earlier than we expected from state-of-the-art models. These galaxies and black holes thus become massive very early, challenging our current understanding of the formation of these objects. During this PhD project, the student will use state-of-the-art galaxy formation and evolution simulations to test how well they can reproduce the wealth of early universe observations, and identify areas in the simulations that need revision. These include, but are not limited to, the star formation model used, the channels invoked for the growth of supermassive black holes, the way in which we predict the observed light of galaxies at different wavelengths, etc. The student will therefore focus on improving the underlying models to better fit the early universe data, and/or extend the predictive power of the simulations by extending our postprocessing tools to include emission lines at different wavelengths, with a particular focus on far infrared emission lines which are observable by ALMA. |
| Opportunity status | Open |
| Open date | 01 Jul 2025 |
| Close date | 30 Sep 2027 |
| Funding source | No specific funding. The project is open for students applying for RTP and students bringing their own scholarships. |
| School | Graduate Research School |
| Contact | Claudia Lagos at claudia.lagos@uwa.edu.au |
| Specific project requirement | Research experience through a masters degree. Some programming experience and a solid background in astrophysics are desirable. |
| Course type | Doctorates |
| Description | The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a program of independent, supervised research that is assessed solely on the basis of a thesis, sometimes including a creative work component, that is examined externally. The work presented for a PhD must be a substantial and original contribution to scholarship, demonstrating mastery of the subject of interest as well as an advance in that field of knowledge. Visit the course webpage for full details of this course including admission requirements, course rules and the relevant CRICOS code/s. |
| Duration | 4 years |