The Universe at z=5: High-redshift quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

本提案的目标是利用斯隆数字巡天（SDSS）的光度数据来识别高红移类星体（Z ~5），并对这些天体进行后续分析。最初的SDSS调试数据已经用于开发和证明发现技术，最终的样本量预计约为100个对象。这些数据开辟了一个新的机制，将允许PI-CO-I研究类星体的红移人口特征；高红移时星系形成与类星体活动的关系以及对高红移的中间气体的研究。斯隆数字巡天是一个雄心勃勃的项目，涉及全国各地和世界各地的大学和机构，以建立一个准确而完整的三维天空普查。使用新墨西哥州阿帕奇角天文台的专用2.5米望远镜，它将在未来五年内调查天空，收集1亿个星系、恒星和类星体的详细数据。调查的早期结果显示了它在许多方面的潜力，包括寻找宇宙中最遥远的物体。类星体，在天空中表现为无法分辨的、极其明亮的光点，被认为是物质落入一个比太阳大10亿倍的黑洞时释放出的辐射的结果。它们的极端亮度使它们在很远的距离就能被探测到。斯隆巡天让我们发现了大量迄今为止已知的最遥远的类星体。我们计划在接下来的几年里对这些神秘的物体做一些调查：a)。汇编遥远类星体的完整样本，研究它们聚集在一起的趋势，并了解它们随时间的演变。b)。用对大范围波长敏感的望远镜研究这些系统的物理特性，了解它们形成的过程以及它们如何产生巨大的亮度。c)。研究这些类星体的直接环境，了解它们对邻近星系的影响，以及弥漫在类星体之间空间的弥漫气体。d)。发现类星体的新类别和其他现象，我们的全面调查应该带来光明。本项目由美国国家科学基金会星系外天文学和宇宙学项目（AST/EXC）资助

AST- 0071091StraussThe goals of this proposal are to use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometric data to identify high redshift quasars (Z ~5) and conduct a follow up analysis of these objects. The initial SDSS commissioning data have already been used to develop and prove the discovery technique and the final sample size is expected to be ~ 100 objects. These data open up a new regime and will allow the PI-CO-I's to study quasar demographics with redshift; the relationship between galaxy formation and quasar activity at high redshifts; and studies of intervening gas at high redshifts. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is an ambitious project involving a consortium of universities and institutions around the country and around the world, to develop an accurate and complete census of the heavens in three dimensions. Using a dedicated 2.5m telescope at Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico, it will survey the sky over the next five years, compiling detailed data on 100 million galaxies, stars, and quasars. Early results from the survey have shown its potential on many fronts, including the search for the most distant objects in the universe. Quasars, which appear as unresolved, exceedingly luminous points of light in the sky, are believed to be the result of the radiation given off as material falls into a black hole one billion times more massive than the sun. Their extreme luminosity allow them to be detected at very great distances. The Sloan Survey has allowed us to discover a great number of the most distant quasars yet known. We plan to do a number of investigations of these enigmatic objects over the next few years: a). Compile complete samples of distant quasars, to study theirtendency to cluster together and to understand their evolution with time. b). Study the physical properties of these systems with telescopes sensitive to a large range of wavelengths, to understand the processes by which they formed and how they generate their tremendous luminosities. c). Study the immediate environment of these quasars to learn about their effect on neighboring galaxies, and the diffuse gas which permeates the space between quasars. d). Discover new classes of quasars and other phenomena which our complete survey should bring to light. Funding for this project was provided by the NSF program for ExtragalacticAstronomy & Cosmology (AST/EXC).***