Extreme star formation in the ultraviolet: The CASTOR revolution

STFC: Maria Macarena Garcia del Valle Espinosa: ST/V507209/1

Ultraviolet light contains a high density of astrophysical information and is critically important for understanding energetic phenomena in stars and hot plasmas. It also is one of the most important tracers of star formation activity in galaxies. While the optical and infrared ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum are largely accessible from the ground, UV light is completely blocked by the atmosphere and space observatories are needed for its study.

CASTOR is a proposed Canadian-led space mission that would provide high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy in the UV spectral region. With a planned launch by the end of the decade, the imaging and spectroscopic data would far surpass any existing UV surveys in terms of sensitivity and angular resolution, as well as complement upcoming space- and ground-based facilities that will observe at different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

In this project we will contribute to the science development activities of the mission. We will assess how CASTOR imaging could be used to measure the physical properties (stellar mass, star formation rate and chemical composition) for large samples of low-mass, strongly star-forming galaxies in the nearby Universe. To this end we will carry out realistic simulations of UV and blue-optical imaging from CASTOR, plus IR imaging from the soon-to-be launched Euclid space telescope.

With these synthetic observations we will explore the detectability limits for galaxies with a wide range of star formation activities. The software tools and techniques to be developed in this project will be integrated into a suite of software packages that is being developed by the consortium to help astronomers plan future CASTOR science programmes.

Training from this placement will help strengthen the collaboration between UK and Canada researchers in key areas such as UV astronomy and the development of space missions.