Teaching
I currently teach a course in Advanced (Astronomical) Data Analysis to 5th year St Andrews undergrads and 1st year PhD students across the SUPA network (St Andrews, Edinburgh, Aberdeen), as well as supervising undergraduate and postgraduate research students in Astrophysics and Theoretical Physics.
In past years I have taught undergraduate courses at 1st year (Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology, Stars and Elementary Astrophysics), 2nd year (Galactic Astronomy, Chemical Evolution), 3rd year (Extrasolar Planets), 4th year (Binary Stars and Accretion Disks, Cosmology), and 5th year (Astronomical Data Analysis).
Research areas
I have wide-ranging interests in many areas of astrophysics ranging from extrasolar planets to black hole accretion in galaxies to alternative gravity theories. My main expertise is in the interpretation of astrophysical observations, in particular developing novel data analysis and astro-tomography methods that extend the reach and resolution of observational data.
In the 1980's I worked mainly on accretion in compact binary systems, developing eclipse mapping and doppler tomography methods to make micro-arcsecond maps of the temperature profiles and emission-line distributions on the faces of the accretion disks in cataclysmic variables. For this I developed the optimal extraction algorithm for CCD spectroscopy, and maximum entropy reconstruction methods to convert the observed eclipse lightcurves and orbital phase variations of the emission-line profiles into accretion disk maps. (I developed similar methods to map x-ray coronae of rotating stars, and to make albedo maps of Pluto and Charon from mutual event lightcurves.)
In the 1990's I worked also on echo mapping of accretion flows into the supermassive black holes of active galactic nuclei, using light travel time delays to resolve structures 1-100 light days from the black hole, including the accretion disk and the broad emission-line regions. I adapted the maximum entropy methods to recover delay dsitributions and 2-dimensional velocity-delay maps of various emission-line regions, revealing their stratified ionisation structure and some aspects of the gas kinematics (virial flows) from which black hole masses and accretion rates are be measured.
I worked on science teams developing concepts and proposals for two space missions - NASA/Kronos and ESA/Eddington, neither of which was selected for flight.
In the 2000's I began work on detection of extrasolar planets by two methods. For hot planets, small wide-angle ground-based surveys (WASP, QES) have detected over 100 hot Jupiters transiting their host stars. For cool planets, monitoring the lightcurves of microlensing events (PLANET, RoboNet) to detect occasional brief lightcurve anomalies that reveal the mass and orbit size of planets outside the snow line and down to just below the Earth mass. I recently proposed to repurpose the disabled Kepler satellite to measure microlens parallaxes, pending NASA approval to start in 2014.
I currently work mainly on two key projects exploiting our new network of nine 1m robotic telescopes (LCOGT/SUPA). The first monitors lightcurves of Galactic Bulge microlensing events to detect and characterise cool planets, and to characterise the mass and orbit size distribution of cool exoplanets outside the snow line and down to the mass of the Earth. The second monitors lightcurves of quasars, interpreting variations in terms of time-delayed reprocessing to measure quasar accretion disk T(R) profiles, black hole masses, accretion rates, and luminosity distances. My goal is to secure useful luminosity distances for reverberating quasar accretion disks out to redshift 3, to check and extend cosmological constraints from supernovae.
On a more speculative front, I am working to understand and develop astrophysical tests of Conformal Gravity, and to study Dirac solitons - localised quantum systems bound by their own self gravity - in both General Relativity and Conformal Gravity. My goals are to discover a simple alternative explanation for Dark Matter and Dark Energy phenomena, and to model elementary particles with fewer input parameters than the Standard Model.
PhD supervision
- Felipe Arevalo Escobar
Selected publications
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Open access
A complex dust morphology in the high-luminosity AGN Mrk 876
Landt, H., Mitchell, J. A. J., Ward, M. J., Mercatoris, P., Pott, J-U., Horne, K., Hernández Santisteban, J. V., Malhotra, D., Cackett, E. M., Goad, M. R., Romero Colmenero, E. & Winkler, H., 7 Mar 2023, In: Astrophysical Journal. 945, 13 p., 62.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
First detection of the outer edge of an AGN accretion disc: very fast multiband optical variability of NGC 4395 with GTC/HiPERCAM and LT/IO:O
Mc Hardy, I. M., Beard, M., Breedt, E., Knapen, J. H., Vincentelli, F. M., Veresvarska, M., Dhillon, V. S., Marsh, T. R., Littlefair, S. P., Horne, K., Glew, R., Goad, M. R., Kammoun, E. & Emmanoulopoulos, D., 1 Mar 2023, In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 519, 3, p. 3366–3382 17 p., stac3651.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Rimmed and rippled accretion disc models to explain AGN continuum lags
Starkey, D. A., Huang, J., Horne, K. & Lin, D. N. C., 1 Feb 2023, In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 519, 2, p. 2754–2768 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
TOI-836: a super-Earth and mini-Neptune transiting a nearby K-dwarf
Hawthorn, F., Bayliss, D., Wilson, T. G., Bonfanti, A., Adibekyan, V., Alibert, Y., Sousa, S. G., Collins, K. A., Bryant, E. M., Osborn, A., Armstrong, D. J., Abe, L., Acton, J. S., Addison, B. C., Agabi, K., Alonso, R., Alves, D. R., Anglada-Escudé, G., Bárczy, T., Barclay, T., Barrado, D., Barros, S. C. C., Baumjohann, W., Bendjoya, P., Benz, W., Bieryla, A., Bonfils, X., Bouchy, F., Brandeker, A., Broeg, C., Brown, D. J. A., Burleigh, M. R., Buttu, M., Cabrera, J., Caldwell, D. A., Casewell, S. L., Charbonneau, D., Charnoz, S., Cloutier, R., Cameron, A. C., Collins, K. I., Conti, D. M., Crouzet, N., Czismadia, S., Davies, M. B., Deleuil, M., Delgado-Mena, E., Delrez, L., Demangeon, O. D. S., Demory, B-O., Dransfield, G., Dumusque, X., Egger, J. A., Ehrenreich, D., Eigmüller, P., Erickson, A., Essack, Z., Fortier, A., Fossati, L., Fridlund, M., Günther, M. N., Güdel, M., Gandolfi, D., Gillard, H., Gillon, M., Gnilka, C., Goad, M. R., Goeke, R. F., Guillot, T., Hadjigeorghiou, A., Hellier, C., Henderson, B. A., Heng, K., Hooton, M. J., Horne, K., Howell, S. B., Hoyer, S., Irwin, J. M., Jenkins, J. S., Jenkins, J. M., Jensen, E. L. N., Kane, S. R., Kendall, A., Kielkopf, J. F., Kiss, L. L., Lacedelli, G., Laskar, J., Latham, D. W., Lecavalier Des Etangs, A., Leleu, A., Lendl, M., Lillo-Box, J., Lovis, C., Mékarnia, D., Massey, B., Masters, T., Maxted, P. F. L., Nascimbeni, V., Nielsen, L. D., O’Brien, S. M., Olofsson, G., Osborn, H. P., Pagano, I., Pallé, E., Persson, C. M., Piotto, G., Plavchan, P., Pollacco, D., Queloz, D., Ragazzoni, R., Rauer, H., Ribas, I., Ricker, G., Ségransan, D., Salmon, S., Santerne, A., Santos, N. C., Scandariato, G., Schmider, F-X., Schwarz, R. P., Seager, S., Shporer, A., Simon, A. E., Smith, A. M. S., Srdoc, G., Steller, M., Suarez, O., Szabó, G. M., Teske, J., Thomas, N., Tilbrook, R. H., Triaud, A. H. M. J., Udry, S., Van Grootel, V., Walton, N., Wang, S. X., Wheatley, P. J., Winn, J. N., Wittenmyer, R. A. & Zhang, H., Apr 2023, In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 520, 3, p. 3649–3668 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The evolution of the UV/optical lag spectrum of NGC 7469 seen by the Liverpool Telescope
Vincentelli, F. M., Beard, M., Hardy, I. M., Cackett, E., Horne, K. & Pahari, M., 16 Feb 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Astronomische Nachrichten. Early View, 5 p., e20230018.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
A pair of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright K-dwarf TOI-1064 characterised with CHEOPS
Wilson, T. G., Goffo, E., Alibert, Y., Gandolfi, D., Bonfanti, A., Persson, C. M., Cameron, A. C., Fridlund, M., Fossati, L., Korth, J., Benz, W., Deline, A., Florén, H-G., Guterman, P., Adibekyan, V., Hooton, M. J., Hoyer, S., Leleu, A., Mustill, A. J., Salmon, S., Sousa, S. G., Suarez, O., Abe, L., Agabi, A., Alonso, R., Anglada, G., Asquier, J., Bárczy, T., Navascues, D. B. Y., Barros, S. C. C., Baumjohann, W., Beck, M., Beck, T., Billot, N., Bonfils, X., Brandeker, A., Broeg, C., Bryant, E. M., Burleigh, M. R., Buttu, M., Cabrera, J., Charnoz, S., Ciardi, D. R., Cloutier, R., Cochran, W. D., Collins, K. A., Colón, K. D., Crouzet, N., Csizmadia, S., Davies, M. B., Deleuil, M., Delrez, L., Demangeon, O., Demory, B-O., Dragomir, D., Dransfield, G., Ehrenreich, D., Erikson, A., Fortier, A., Gan, T., Gill, S., Gillon, M., Gnilka, C. L., Grieves, N., Grziwa, S., Güdel, M., Guillot, T., Haldemann, J., Heng, K., Horne, K., Howell, S. B., Isaak, K. G., Jenkins, J. M., Jensen, E. L. N., Kiss, L., Lacedelli, G., Lam, K., Laskar, J., Latham, D. W., Lecavelier des Etangs, A., Lendl, M., Lester, K. V., Levine, A. M., Livingston, J., Lovis, C., Luque, R., Magrin, D., Marie-Sainte, W., Maxted, P. F. L., Mayo, A. W., McLean, B., Mecina, M., Mékarnia, D., Nascimbeni, V., Nielsen, L. D., Olofsson, G., Osborn, H. P., Osborne, H. L. M., Ottensamer, R., Pagano, I., Pallé, E., Peter, G., Piotto, G., Pollacco, D., Queloz, D., Ragazzoni, R., Rando, N., Rauer, H., Redfield, S., Ribas, I., Ricker, G. R., Rieder, M., Santos, N. C., Scandariato, G., Schmider, F-X., Schwarz, R. P., Scott, N. J., Seager, S., Ségransan, D., Serrano, L. M., Simon, A. E., Smith, A. M. S., Steller, M., Stockdale, C., Szabó, G., Thomas, N., Ting, E. B., Triaud, A. H. M. J., Udry, S., Van Eylen, V., Van Grootel, V., Vanderspek, R. K., Viotto, V., Walton, N. & Winn, J. N., 1 Mar 2022, In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 511, 1, p. 1043–1071 29 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
A second planet transiting LTT 1445A and a determination of the masses of both worlds
Winters, J. G., Cloutier, R., Medina, A. A., Irwin, J. M., Charbonneau, D., Astudillo-Defru, N., Bonfils, X., Howard, A. W., Isaacson, H., Bean, J. L., Seifahrt, A., Teske, J. K., Eastman, J. D., Twicken, J. D., Collins, K. A., Jensen, E. L. N., Quinn, S. N., Payne, M. J., Kristiansen, M. H., Spencer, A., Vanderburg, A., Zechmeister, M., Weiss, L. M., Wang, S. X., Wang, G., Udry, S., Terentev, I. A., Stürmer, J., Stefánsson, G., Shporer, A., Shectman, S., Sefako, R., Schwengeler, H. M., Schwarz, R. P., Scarsdale, N., Rubenzahl, R. A., Roy, A., Rosenthal, L. J., Robertson, P., Petigura, E. A., Pepe, F., Omohundro, M., Murphy, J. M. A., Murgas, F., Močnik, T., Montet, B. T., Mennickent, R., Mayo, A. W., Massey, B., Lubin, J., Lovis, C., Lewin, P., Kasper, D., Kane, S. R., Jenkins, J. M., Huber, D., Horne, K., Hill, M. L., Gorrini, P., Giacalone, S., Fulton, B., Forveille, T., Figueira, P., Fetherolf, T., Dressing, C., Díaz, R. F., Delfosse, X., Dalba, P. A., Dai, F., Cortés, C. C., Crossfield, I. J. M., Crane, J. D., Conti, D. M., Collins, K. I., Chontos, A., Butler, R. P., Brown, P., Brady, M., Behmard, A., Beard, C., Batalha, N. M. & Almenara, J-M., 1 Apr 2022, In: Astronomical Journal. 163, 4, 18 p., 168.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
An isolated stellar-mass black hole detected through astrometric microlensing
Sahu, K. C., Anderson, J., Casertano, S., Bond, H. E., Udalski, A., Dominik, M., Calamida, A., Bellini, A., Brown, T. M., Rejkuba, M., Bajaj, V., Kains, N., Ferguson, H. C., Fryer, C. L., Yock, P., Mróz, P., Kozłowski, S., Pietrukowicz, P., Poleski, R., Skowron, J., Soszyński, I., Szymański, M. K., Ulaczyk, K., Wyrzykowski, Ł., Barry, R. K., Bennett, D. P., Bond, I. A., Hirao, Y., Silva, S. I., Kondo, I., Koshimoto, N., Ranc, C., Rattenbury, N. J., Sumi, T., Suzuki, D., Tristram, P. J., Vandorou, A., Beaulieu, J-P., Marquette, J-B., Cole, A., Fouqué, P., Hill, K., Dieters, S., Coutures, C., Dominis-Prester, D., Bennett, C., Bachelet, E., Menzies, J., Albrow, M., Pollard, K., Gould, A., Yee, J. C., Allen, W., Almeida, L. A., Christie, G., Drummond, J., Gal-Yam, A., Gorbikov, E., Jablonski, F., Lee, C-U., Maoz, D., Manulis, I., McCormick, J., Natusch, T., Pogge, R. W., Shvartzvald, Y., Jørgensen, U. G., Alsubai, K. A., Andersen, M. I., Bozza, V., Novati, S. C., Burgdorf, M., Hinse, T. C., Hundertmark, M., Husser, T-O., Kerins, E., Longa-Peña, P., Mancini, L., Penny, M., Rahvar, S., Ricci, D., Sajadian, S., Skottfelt, J., Snodgrass, C., Southworth, J., Tregloan-Reed, J., Wambsganss, J., Wertz, O., Tsapras, Y., Street, R. A., Bramich, D. M., Horne, K. & Steele, I. A., 6 Jul 2022, In: Astrophysical Journal. 933, 1, 28 p., 83.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Dust and the intrinsic spectral index of quasar variations: hints of finite stress at the innermost stable circular orbit
Weaver, J. & Horne, K. D., May 2022, In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 512, 1, p. 899-916Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
MOA-2019-BLG-008Lb: a new microlensing detection of an object at the planet/brown dwarf boundary
Bachelet, E., Tsapras, Y., Gould, A., Street, R. A., Bennett, D. P., Hundertmark, M. P. G., Bozza, V., Bramich, D. M., Cassan, A., Dominik, M., Horne, K., Mao, S., Saha, A., Wambsganss, J., Zang, W., Abe, F., Barry, R., Bhattacharya, A., Bond, I. A., Fukui, A., Fujii, H., Hirao, Y., Itow, Y., Kirikawa, R., Kondo, I., Koshimoto, N., Matsubara, Y., Matsumoto, S., Miyazaki, S., Muraki, Y., Olmschenk, G., Ranc, C., Okamura, A., Rattenbury, N. J., Satoh, Y., Sumi, T., Suzuki, D., Silva, S. I., Toda, T., Tristram, P. . J., Vandorou, A., Yama, H., Albrow, M. D., Chung, S-J., Han, C., Hwang, K-H., Jung, Y. K., Ryu, Y-H., Shin, I-G., Shvartzvald, Y., Yee, J. C., Cha, S-M., Kim, D-J., Kim, S-L., Lee, C-U., Lee, D-J., Lee, Y., Park, B-G., Pogge, R. W., Udalski, A., Mróz, P., Poleski, R., Skowron, J., Szymański, M. K., Soszyński, I., Pietrukowicz, P., Kozłowski, S., Ulaczyk, K., Rybicki, K. A., Iwanek, P., Wrona, M. & Gromadzki, M., 1 Sep 2022, In: Astronomical Journal. 164, 3, 75.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review