Our Galaxy in motion: ridges, ripples and spirals in the Milky Way

The European Space Agency’s Gaia mission to map the position and motion of around 1.8 billion stars has revolutionized our view of the Milky Way. Combined with complementary state-of-the-art ground-based surveys such as SDSS-IV & V we are now able to measure the position, kinematics and chemical composition of stars far across the Galactic disc.

These new surveys have revealed that our Galaxy is out of equilibrium, with ridges, ripples and spirals present in the position and motion of stars, which have spread across tens of thousands of light years in the Galactic disc similar to how ripples spread across a body of water after it is disturbed. These encode the dynamical history of our Galaxy, carrying information about past events such as satellite galaxy mergers, and the evolution of the Milky Way’s bar and spiral arms.

In this project, you would apply state-of-the-art modelling and analysis tools to data from Gaia and other Milky Way surveys and high-resolution galaxy simulations to explore disequilibrium processes in the stellar disc and dark matter halo, and unveil the chemodynamical history of our Galaxy. 

The project would suit someone with an interest in Galactic dynamics & archaeology, bridging across real data and simulation. You would learn software development skills as well as theoretical astrophysics, working within a friendly and welcoming department with lots of complementary expertise on galaxies, stars and dark matter. There is some flexibility to be more data focused, or more simulation-focused depending on the student's interests.

Open to any UK or international candidates. Up to 30% of our UKRI funded studentships can be awarded to candidates paying international rate fees. Find out more about eligibility.