Kinematic Signatures of Black Hole Growth in the Local Universe

Erin Hicks博士被授予美国国家科学基金会天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在华盛顿大学（UW）开展研究和教育项目。在过去的十年里，人们越来越清楚地认识到，超大质量黑洞（BHs）在星系演化中起着关键作用。这一发现是由以下发现推动的：大多数（如果不是全部的话）星系都有黑洞，而黑洞的质量与宿主星系的整体特性有关，这可能是星系及其黑洞共同演化的结果。人们普遍认为，黑洞通过吸积宿主星系的物质来积累质量，这一过程是活动星系核（AGN）背后的动力来源。在椭圆星系中发现的大质量黑洞被认为是早期宇宙中由于主要星系合并而发生的强烈类星体AGN活动的产物。相比之下，本地宇宙中正在进行的黑洞增长主要发生在拥有Seyfert AGN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著的黑洞增长，但没有观察到这种活动与大规模现象（100pc）的相关性；这表明，这种吸积模式的触发机制，以及它在星系演化中的作用，在较小的尺度上是隐藏的。希克斯博士将进行第一次二维分子气体运动学和恒星运动学的比较研究，在塞弗特星系和不活跃星系的匹配样本中，以10%的比例进行比较。希克斯博士将在理论模型的背景下解释观测到的气体流入的运动特征，从而约束本地宇宙中负责黑洞增长的机制。希克斯还将在西澳大学领导两项教育活动，旨在激发本科生对天文学领域的兴趣，并鼓励这些学生将天文学作为一项职业。作为威斯康星大学天文学专业预科项目（Pre-MAP）的参与者，希克斯博士将提供从拟议的星系演化研究中提取的入门级研究项目，并在为期一年的项目中提供一对一的学生指导。该项目从传统上在科学领域代表性不足的群体中招募新生，并促进天文学作为本科专业。Hicks博士还将帮助将Pre-MAP的成功推广到西华大学的其他STEM部门。将与最近成立的由美国国家科学基金会资助的太平洋西北路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（PNW LSAMP）建立伙伴关系，以协助在西华大学其他科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）部门实施类似计划。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，并将努力实现PNW LSAMP的五年目标，即将代表性不足的少数族裔学生在STEM领域毕业的人数增加一倍。希克斯博士的第二项教育活动将是一门名为“星系：从黑洞到超星系团”的课程，该课程将在华盛顿大学天文学系开发和教授。本课程将直接借鉴Hicks博士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。本课程的目标之一是让学生意识到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，从而使他们将来继续从事该领域的工作。

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.