CAREER: Understanding the Formation of Galaxy Nuclei

职业：了解星系核的形成

• 批准号: 1350389
• 负责人: Anil Seth
• 金额: $ 59.85万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-04-01 至 2020-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1350389&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Understanding; Formation; Galaxy; Nuclei

This CAREER award will enable the PI, Dr. Anil Seth, to study the formation of massive black holes and nuclear star clusters through detailed studies of some of the nearest galaxy nuclei. By combining a wide range of data sets, the PI will determine the masses of a sample of resolved nuclear star clusters in nearby galaxies, estimate the masses of a population of nuclear star clusters out to 10 Mpc, and measure the properties of galaxies that host tidal disruption event candidates. The work will subsequently address two key questions in our understanding of galaxy nuclei: (1) how and when do nuclear star clusters form?; and (2) do lower mass galaxies host supermassive black holes?The PI will also launch an ambitious program to expand the highly successful night-time astronomy program at Bryce Canyon National Park. In particular, the PI will (1) create a ranger talk on nearby galaxies and their nuclei to be used by staff at Bryce, (2) create an astronomy outreach training program for rangers at other parks nationwide so they can replicate Bryce's success, and (3) develop a summer internship program for undergraduate astronomy students. This work will provide critical contributions to our understanding of the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes, as well as the incredibly dense stellar clusters that lie at the centers of galaxies. It will leverage data from numerous federally funded astronomy facilities, and link with computational simulations of the evolution of the universe. Furthermore, the PI's outreach program will extend beyond Utah and Bryce Canyon to inspire national park visitors across the country to learn about the night sky.

这个职业奖将使PI，博士阿尼尔赛斯，研究形成的大质量黑洞和核星星集群通过详细研究一些最近的星系核。通过结合广泛的数据集，PI将确定附近星系中已分辨的核星星团样本的质量，估计核星星团人口的质量为10 Mpc，并测量拥有潮汐破裂事件候选者的星系的属性。这项工作随后将解决我们对星系核的理解中的两个关键问题：（1）核星星团是如何以及何时形成的？低质量星系是否有超大质量黑洞？PI还将启动一项雄心勃勃的计划，以扩大布莱斯峡谷国家公园非常成功的夜间天文学计划。特别是，PI将（1）创建一个关于附近星系及其核的护林员谈话，供布莱斯的工作人员使用，（2）为全国其他公园的护林员创建一个天文学外展培训计划，以便他们能够复制布莱斯的成功，以及（3）为本科天文学学生制定一个暑期实习计划。这项工作将为我们理解超大质量黑洞的形成和演化以及位于星系中心的令人难以置信的密集恒星团提供关键贡献。它将利用来自许多联邦资助的天文学设施的数据，并与宇宙演化的计算模拟相联系。此外，PI的推广计划将延伸到犹他州和布莱斯峡谷之外，以激励全国各地的国家公园游客了解夜空。