Collaborative Research: A Survey of Galaxy Evolution and Star Formation over the Past 4.6 Billion Years

星系的形成和演化是现代天体物理学尚未解决的主要问题之一。天文学家希望了解星系何时首次出现，宇宙历史上星星的形成是如何变化的，以及星系的物理组成。该奖项将通过对过去46亿年中数百个星系的中性氢气进行大规模调查来解决长期存在的星系演化问题。该调查名为CHILES（COSMOS HI大型河外星系调查），利用NSF的超大阵列射电望远镜（VLA）观测宇宙演化调查（COSMOS）领域的一部分。已经批准了超过1,000小时的VLA观测时间，智利调查将是第一个提供数十亿年宇宙演化过程中单个星系中性气体分布和运动学细节的调查。这些数据和相关产品将向公众开放，为整个天文学界提供一个遗留数据集。该合作奖项还将为美国各地的六名研究生提供资金，培养一批新的射电天文学家。最后，研究小组将把调查结果纳入他们的普通天文学课程和许多公共宣传演讲中。

One of the principal unsolved problems in modern astrophysics is the formation and evolution of galaxies. Astronomers wish to understand when galaxies first emerge, how star formation changes over the history of the universe, as well as the physical constituents of galaxies. This award will resolve long-standing questions about galaxy evolution by performing a massive survey of the neutral hydrogen gas of hundreds of galaxies over the past 4.6 billion years.The survey, named CHILES (the COSMOS HI Large Extragalactic Survey), takes advantage of an enormous program with NSF's Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes to observe a section of the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field. Over 1,000 hours of VLA observing time have been granted, and the CHILES survey will be the first to provide details on the neutral gas distribution and kinematics for individual galaxies over several billion years of cosmic evolution. The data and associated products will be made available to the public, providing a legacy dataset for the entire astronomical community.This collaborative award will also provide funding for six graduate students across the United States, creating a new cohort of skilled radio astronomers. Finally, the research team will incorporate the results of the survey into their general astronomy classes and in their numerous public outreach presentations.