Researchers supporting the ATNF have made significant contributions to the Square Kilometre Array Observatory’s latest description of the range of astronomical research to be enabled by its telescopes.

The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) has released Advancing Astrophysics II, an anthology outlining the transformational science that will be possible with the SKA-Low and SKA-Mid telescopes.

Written by more than 1,500 researchers from 51 countries, the new science book is a major update on the previous version (2015, eds. Bourke et al.).

It details researchers’ plans for observations using SKA-Low in Australia and SKA-Mid in South Africa, to understand more about the Universe from the formation and evolution of stars to testing fundamental laws of physics.

Researchers at Australian institutions played a major role, contributing to more than 40% of the book’s 221 papers.

The anthology features significant input from ATNF researchers, with multiple papers led by our people including:

• Gemma Anderson, “Rapid Response Triggering for Radio Transients with the SKA Observatory”
• Mark Cheung, “Probing the Physics of the Solar Corona with High-Resolution Observations Using SKA-Mid”
• Rajan Chhetri, “Understanding Sub-arcsecond Scale Radio Sources and Space Weather with the SKA Low Using Interplanetary Scintillation”
• Baerbel Koribalski, “Discovering Radio Relics Around Massive Early-type Galaxies Formed by Merger Shocks”
• Elizabeth Mahoney, “Tracing Cold Gas in Absorption Across Cosmic Time with the SKA”
• John Morgan, “Methods of Observing and Characterising the Ionosphere with SKA-Low”
• Cathryn Trott, “Overview of 21cm Experiments at High Redshift with SKAO”, and
• Tessa Vernstrom, “Cosmic Magnetism Science with the SKA”.

Read more about Advancing Astrophysics II on the SKAO website.