Active Galactic Nuclei in Merging Galaxies, Viewed with Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics

使用激光导星自适应光学器件观察合并星系中的活动星系核

• 批准号: 0908796
• 负责人: Claire Max
• 金额: $ 28.84万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Cruz
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-15 至 2013-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0908796&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Active; Galactic; Nuclei; Merging; Galaxies

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Dr. Max will lead a project to use laser guide star adaptive optics at the Keck Observatory to study galaxy mergers involving at least one active galactic nucleus among the merging pair. The research team will use imaging and spatially resolved integral field spectroscopy at near-IR wavelengths to measure black hole mass, spatial distribution of stellar velocity dispersion, potential presence of gas disks in the central 100 pc, and the nature of feedback and outflows in the region within a few hundred pc of the black hole.Dr. Max will develop a new recruiting program for the NSF-funded Akamai Workforce Initiative, the goal of which is to increase participation of local college students in science and technology in Hawaii, with a focus on astronomical observatories, astronomy research, and technology development. She will give talks at community colleges with high minority enrollments, and student organizations serving female and native Hawaiian memberships. Additional broader impacts of the funded program include development and use of adaptive optics, which will benefit future large telescope projects.

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。马克斯博士将在凯克天文台（Keck Observatory）领导一个项目，利用激光导星自适应光学来研究合并对中至少有一个活动星系核的星系合并。研究小组将使用成像和近红外波段的空间分辨积分场光谱学来测量黑洞质量、恒星速度色散的空间分布、中心100pc内可能存在的气体盘，以及距离黑洞几百pc内区域的反馈和流出的性质。Max将为美国国家科学基金会资助的Akamai劳动力计划开发一个新的招聘计划，其目标是增加夏威夷当地大学生对科学和技术的参与，重点是天文台，天文学研究和技术开发。她将在少数族裔入学率较高的社区大学，以及为女性和夏威夷土著成员服务的学生组织发表演讲。资助项目的其他更广泛的影响包括自适应光学的发展和使用，这将有利于未来的大型望远镜项目。