Empirical Calibration of Feedback Processes in Galaxy Evolution

当一个星系经历剧烈的恒星诞生时，超新星爆炸和大质量恒星的风加热了周围的气体，并可以将其作为风从星系中驱逐出去。 由于恒星只能从冷的致密气体中形成，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流出，无论是在本地还是在距离如此之大，以至于我们看到的星系是宇宙只有现在年龄的一半。 在附近的星系中，许多原子和离子的光谱线将在星系表面进行研究，以追踪不同电离阶段和风中不同深度的气体。 辐射传输计算将被用来解释观测结果，搜索受冲击的气体区域，并估计有多少质量离开星系。 这些详细的研究将被用来解释更遥远的星系的观测，那里可以研究的光谱线更少。 这些结果将帮助我们了解星系是如何形成的，以及是什么控制着它们制造恒星的速度。 两名研究生，一名妇女和一名拉丁美洲男子，将通过参加研究进行培训。首席研究员陪同“加州大学圣巴巴拉物理马戏团”每年访问当地的小学。 她还与UCSB同事合作，在圣巴巴拉自然历史博物馆举办了一系列受欢迎的公开讲座;讲座被录制并在当地电视台播出。这些推广活动将得到她的研究的支持和加强。首席研究员还将通过帮助为计划中的30米望远镜的仪器建立科学案例来为研究基础设施做出贡献。

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.