Collaborative Research: The MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field Survey

要研究处于最大星星形成和超大质量黑洞生长时期的星系，需要在远距离观测它们，对应的宇宙学红移在1.5到3.0之间。这些星系发出的可见光携带着关于其恒星和气体成分的信息;由于红移，这种光在红外波长处被观察到。由国家科学基金会资助的凯克一号望远镜上的新的多目标红光探测光谱仪（MOSFIRE）是研究这些星系的一个重大发展，灵敏度和探测效率分别提高了约5倍和100倍。这个项目，MOSFIRE深度演化场（MOSDEF）调查，将绘制大约2000个星系的静止框架光谱的演变在1.5和3.5之间，比现有的调查多一个数量级的改进。该项目将利用凯克一号望远镜到2016年分配的44个夜晚，并将调查已经拥有广泛的多波长数据集的三个经过充分研究的天空区域。通过结合新的和现有的数据，提出建议的小组将描述遥远星系中星星的形成和吸积黑洞的活动，它们的质量，内容和结构，以及重子物质穿过它们的方式。在与理论家的合作中，MOSDEF团队将使用这些结果来测试和告知星系演化的前沿模型。MOSDEF光谱将向天文学界公开发布，以便进行更多的调查。研究生和本科生将得到该项目的支持并参与研究，团队成员将为K-12教师开发科学和技术关键方面的教学资源。

To study galaxies during the cosmic era of maximum star formation and supermassive black hole growth requires observing them at great distances, corresponding to cosmological redshifts between 1.5 and 3.0. The visible light emitted by these galaxies carries information about their stellar and gaseous contents; owing to the redshift, this light is observed at infrared wavelengths. The new, NSF-funded, Multi-Object Spectrometer for Infra-Red Exploration (MOSFIRE) on the Keck I telescope represents a major development for the study of these galaxies, offering increases in sensitivity and survey efficiency by factors of approximately 5 and 100, respectively. This project, the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) Survey, will chart the evolution of the rest-frame optical spectra for approximately 2000 galaxies between 1.5 and 3.5, more than an order of magnitude improvement over existing surveys. The project will make use of 44 nights allocated on the Keck I telescope through 2016, and will survey three well-studied regions of the sky already having extensive multi-wavelength datasets. By combining new and existing data, the proposing team will characterize the star formation and accreting black hole activity in distant galaxies, their masses, contents and structures, and the manner in which baryonic matter passes through them. In collaboration with theorists, the MOSDEF team will use these results to test and inform forefront models of galaxy evolution. The MOSDEF spectra will be publicly released to the astronomical community to enable additional investigations. Graduate and undergraduate students will be supported by the project and involved in the research, and team members will develop pedagogical resources for K-12 teachers on the key aspects of the science and techniques.