Empirical Calibration of Feedback Processes in Galaxy Evolution

当一个星系经历蓬勃的恒星诞生时，超新星爆炸和大质量恒星的风加热周围的气体，并可以将其作为风从星系中驱离。由于恒星只由冷而致密的气体形成，这种“反馈”调节了恒星诞生的速度。首席研究员将研究恒星形成星系的气体外流，无论是在局部还是在距离如此之远的地方，以至于我们可以看到宇宙只有现在年龄一半时的星系。在附近的星系中，许多原子和离子的光谱线将被研究穿过银河系的表面，以追踪不同电离阶段和风中不同深度的气体。辐射传输计算将用于解释观测结果，搜索激波气体区域，并估计有多少质量离开银河系。这些详细的研究将被用来解释对更远的星系的观测，在那里可以研究更少的谱线。这些结果将帮助我们理解星系是如何形成的，以及是什么控制了它们产生恒星的速度。两名研究生，一名女性和一名拉丁裔男性，将通过参与这项研究进行培训。首席调查员每年都会陪同加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的物理马戏团参观当地的一所小学。她还与UCSB的同事合作，在圣巴巴拉自然历史博物馆举办了一系列广受欢迎的公开讲座；讲座被录制下来，并在当地电视台播出。这些外展活动将得到她的研究的支持和加强。首席调查员还将通过帮助建立计划中的30米望远镜仪器的科学案例，为研究基础设施作出贡献。

When a galaxy undergoes vigorous starbirth, supernova explosions and the winds of massive stars heat the surrounding gas, and can drive it from the galaxy as a wind. Since stars form only from cool dense gas, this 'feedback' regulates the pace of starbirth. The Principal Investigator will study gas outflows from star-forming galaxies, both locally and at distances so large that we see the galaxies as they were when the cosmos was only half its present age. In the nearby galaxies, spectral lines of many atoms and ions will be studied across the face of the galaxy, to trace gas at different stages of ionization and at different depths within the wind. Radiative transfer computations will be used to interpret the observations, to search for regions of shocked gas and to estimate how much mass is leaving the galaxy. These detailed studies will be used to interpret observations of the more distant galaxies where fewer spectral lines can be studied. The results will help us to understand how galaxies form, and what controls the rate at which they make their stars. Two graduate students, a woman and a Latino man, will be trained by participating in the research. The Principal Investigator accompanies the 'UC Santa Barbara Physics Circus' annually on a visit to a local elementary school. She also works with UCSB colleagues to present a popular public lecture series at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History; the lectures are recorded and aired on local television. These outreach activities will be supported and enhanced by her research. The Principal Investigator will also contribute to research infrastructure by helping to build the science case for instruments for the planned Thirty Meter Telescope.