Kinematic Signatures of Black Hole Growth in the Local Universe

Erin Hicks博士被授予NSF天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在华盛顿大学（UW）开展研究和教育计划。在过去的十年里，人们越来越清楚地认识到，超大质量黑洞（BH）在星系演化中发挥着关键作用。这一发现是由以下发现驱动的：大多数（如果不是全部的话）星系都有BH，并且BH的质量与宿主星系的整体性质有关，可能是星系和它们的BH共同进化的结果。人们普遍认为黑洞通过吸积来自宿主星系的物质来积累质量，这一过程是活动星系核（AGN）背后的能量来源。在椭圆星系中发现的大质量黑洞被认为是早期宇宙中发生的强烈类星体活动星系核活动的产物，这是主要星系合并的结果。相比之下，在本地宇宙中持续的BH增长主要发生在拥有塞弗特活动星系核的螺旋星系中，其驱动机制尚不清楚。尽管在这些星系中发生了显着的BH增长，但没有观察到这种活动与大尺度现象（100 pc）的相关性;这表明这种吸积模式的触发机制及其在星系演化中的作用隐藏在较小的尺度上。希克斯博士将进行二维分子气体运动学的第一次比较研究，以及恒星运动学，在赛弗和不活跃星系的匹配样本中缩小到10 pc。希克斯博士将解释观测到的气体流入的运动学特征的理论模型的背景下，从而将约束的机制（S）负责BH的增长在本地宇宙中。希克斯博士还将导致两个教育活动在UW，旨在激发对天文学领域的本科生的多元化人口，并鼓励这些学生追求天文学作为一种职业。作为在完善的UW预专业天文学计划（前MAP），从传统上在科学中代表性不足的群体招募新生，并促进天文学作为本科专业的参与者，希克斯博士将提供入门级的研究项目从拟议的星系演化研究以及一对一的学生指导整个一年的计划。希克斯博士还将帮助传播前MAP的成功，以其他干部门在华盛顿大学。一个伙伴关系将形成与最近创建的，NSF资助的太平洋西北部路易斯斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（PNW LSAMP），以协助在其他科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）部门在整个UW的类似计划的实施。这将包括在课程建设、资金获取和研究项目开发方面的新项目合作，并将致力于实现PNW LSAMP的五年目标，即将STEM领域毕业的代表性不足的少数民族学生人数增加一倍。希克斯博士的第二个教育活动将是一个名为“银河系：从黑洞到超星系团”的课程，将在华盛顿大学天文学系开发和教授。Hicks的研究活动和相关主题，并将提供机会与非科学专业的学生分享河外研究的魅力。该课程的目标之一是让学生了解该领域令人兴奋的突破，并了解其基本原理，认识到科学方法在日常生活中的适用性，并培养对天文学的终身兴趣，从而使他们在未来继续参与该领域。

Dr. Erin Hicks is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the University of Washington (UW). Over the past decade it has become increasingly clear that supermassive black holes (BHs) play a pivotal role in galaxy evolution. This revelation has been driven by the discovery that most, if not all, galaxies harbor a BH, and that the mass of the BH is related to the global properties of the host galaxy, likely as a consequence of the co-evolution of galaxies and their BHs. It is widely accepted that BHs accumulate mass through accretion of material from the host galaxy and that this process is the source of power behind active galactic nuclei (AGN). The massive BHs found in elliptical galaxies are understood to be products of intense quasar AGN activity occurring in the early universe as a result of major galaxy mergers. In contrast, the ongoing BH growth in the local universe occurs primarily in spiral galaxies hosting Seyfert AGN, the driving mechanism(s) of which are not yet known. Despite the significant BH growth occurring in these galaxies, there is no observed correlation of this activity with large-scale phenomena (100 pc); this indicates that the triggering mechanism of this mode of accretion, and thus its role in galaxy evolution, is hidden on smaller scales. Dr Hicks will conduct the first comparative study of the two-dimensional molecular gas kinematics, as well as stellar kinematics, on scales down to 10 pc in a matched sample of Seyfert and inactive galaxies. Dr. Hicks will interpret the observed kinematic signatures of gas inflow in the context of theoretical models, and will thereby constrain the mechanism(s) responsible for BH growth in the local universe.Dr. Hicks will also lead two educational activities at UW that aim to excite a diverse population of undergraduate students about the field of astronomy and to encourage these students to pursue astronomy as a career. As a participant in the well-established UW Pre-Major in Astronomy Program (Pre-MAP), which recruits incoming students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in science and promotes astronomy as an undergraduate major, Dr. Hicks will provide entry level research projects drawn from the proposed galaxy evolution research as well as one-on-one student mentoring throughout the yearlong program. Dr. Hicks will also help to spread the success of Pre-MAP to other STEM departments across UW. A partnership will be formed with the recently created, NSF-funded Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PNW LSAMP) to assist with the implementation of similar programs in other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) departments across UW. This will include collaboration on new programs in curriculum building, funding acquisition and research project development, and will work toward the PNW LSAMP five-year goal of doubling the number of underrepresented minority students graduating in STEM fields. Dr. Hicks's second educational activity will be a course entitled "Galaxies: From Black Holes to Superclusters," to be developed and taught within the UW astronomy department. This course will draw directly from Dr. Hicks's research activities and related topics, and will provide the opportunity to share the fascination of extragalactic research with non-science majors. Among the goals of the course will be for students to gain awareness of exciting breakthroughs in the field and understanding of the fundamental principles underlying them, to recognize the applicability of the scientific method in daily life, and to develop a lifelong interest in astronomy that leads to their continued engagement in the field in the future.