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

现代天体物理学中未解决的主要问题之一是星系的形成和演化。天文学家希望了解星系最初是什么时候出现的，恒星的形成在宇宙的历史中是如何变化的，以及星系的物理成分。该奖项将通过对过去46亿年间数百个星系的中性氢气进行大规模调查，解决关于星系演化的长期问题。这项名为CHILES （COSMOS HI大型星系外巡天）的调查，利用了NSF的甚大阵列（VLA）射电望远镜的一个巨大项目来观测宇宙演化调查（COSMOS）领域的一部分。VLA观测时间已超过1000小时，CHILES调查将首次提供数十亿年宇宙演化中单个星系的中性气体分布和运动学细节。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。这一合作奖还将为美国各地的六名研究生提供资金，组建一支新的熟练的射电天文学家队伍。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众多的公众宣传演讲中。

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.