Author Archives: cosmoaimsblog

Hillary Adrienne Sanctuary

Posted on January 27, 2011

I am from Montreal, Canada.  I have a MSc diploma in engineering physics from EPFL (Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne), Switzerland.  I am currently finishing my PhD at the University of Geneva on alternative theories of gravity. What inspired you … Continue reading →

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Patrice wins ‘Best PhD Astronomy Presentation’ at the SKA Conference

Posted on December 12, 2010

Patrice Okouma won the prize for the best presentation in the PhD Astronomy category at the annual SKA Project Postgraduate Bursary Conference held recently at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies. The conference hosted all beneficiaries of an SKA bursary … Continue reading →

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Mathematics in biology

Posted on November 24, 2010

Mathematics underpin science everywhere and being at AIMS offers us the great opportunity to be exposed to the diverse ways in which the world is being explored and researched using mathematics. On Tuesday, Rhoda Hawkins from Bristol joined us to … Continue reading →

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Group getaway in September

Posted on November 18, 2010

We went on a 3-day getaway in the Western Cape in September 2010 where we conceptualised and filmed various cool, unusual illustrations of cosmological and scientific ideas. This ‘making-of’ video captures the spirit of the getaway.

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Soliciting Secrets from Strong Field Spacetimes

Posted on November 17, 2010

Last Wednesday Jeandrew Brink from the National Institute for Theoretical Physics, NITHeP, visited us to give us a colloquium on Strong Field Spacetimes. Her abstract goes: Quantitatively mapping the strong field regions around compact objects using the gravitational radiation emitted … Continue reading →

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Group Publications in October

Posted on November 4, 2010

Statistical Classification Techniques for Photometric Supernova Typing by James Newling & al., with Melvin Varughese, Bruce Bassett, Bryony Martin and Mathew Smith (arXiv:1010.1005) See also the video abstract for the paper posted here A Mismatch in the Ultraviolet Spectra between … Continue reading →

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The metaphor of research

Posted on October 28, 2010

We have produced a couple of videos, each of which ends with the little video snippet shown below. The storyline mimics the process of research. The apple at the beginning of the film is the universe, with its physics represented … Continue reading →

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Group publications in September

Posted on October 7, 2010

One new paper was published, and one was revised this month: Optical discovery of stellar tidal disruption flares by Sjoert van Velzen et al. with Mathew Smith (arXiv:1009.1627) The Cosmic Microwave Background in an Inhomogeneous Universe – why void models … Continue reading →

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Cosmological N-body simulations workshop

Posted on October 6, 2010

On Monday, October 4 we welcomed about 30 participants to a cosmological N-body simulation workshop organised by Andreas Faltenbacher (UWC) and Mat Smith (UCT/AIMS). People from the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape, the South African … Continue reading →

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Computing errors: data, models, errors and estimates

Posted on October 5, 2010

René Andrae has given the astronomy community a great paper, not to be published, but definitely to be read, about: ‘Error estimation in astronomy: A guide’ Error propagations, means, medians, maximum likelihood points, thresholds, marginalisations, etc. all are nuances that … Continue reading →

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Cosmological N-Body simulations workshop

Posted on September 27, 2010

This is a joint workshop between the Cosmology at AIMS group, SAAO and UWC. Romeel Davé and Neal Katz are visiting Cape Town from the US and some of their collaborators have joined them for a couple of weeks. This … Continue reading →

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SAGS 2010

Posted on September 24, 2010

This week, a number of group members are attending the South African Gravity Society 2010 conference in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal. Organised by the University of Zululand and the Astrophysics and Cosmology Research Unit (ACRU) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, it is … Continue reading →

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