Collaborative Research: First Light and Reionization with Lyman Alpha Galaxies

该团队将使用地面望远镜，配备特殊用途的过滤器，寻找宇宙中最遥远的星系。这些星系是最早形成的，可能是它们将年轻宇宙中的物质从中性状态彻底转变为电离状态的原因。这种改变状态的转变使年轻的宇宙走上了一条道路，这条道路导致了今天成熟宇宙中丰富的星系、恒星和行星。为研究获得的数据将显示信号强度作为其电磁频率函数的丰富模式。作为一项新颖的拓展工作的一部分，研究小组将对这些数据进行声波处理，也就是说，将它们转换为可听的频率，并在信号的响度中给它们烙上丰富的图案。这使得人耳能够“探测”到已知的最遥远的星系。将开发MP3文件，并与说明资料一起发布。该项目的目的是研究早期宇宙何时以及如何被再电离，这是宇宙学中一个尚未解决的关键问题。将采取分期观察方法。在第一阶段，将获得窄带巡天的数据，以寻找红移为7.7和8.8的候选man- α发射星系。在第二阶段，将对候选星系进行光谱跟踪，以确认它们的高红移，并形成莱曼α发射星系的光度函数。该函数将对这些红移处的星系间介质（IGM）的电离程度产生限制。该团队率先采用了这种光度函数方法，首次证明了IGM在红移6.5时大部分被电离。该团队的新工作将首次限制IGM的电离程度，甚至是更极端的红移。光谱学也将用于研究igm的其他性质。为研究获得的光谱数据将显示信号强度作为其电磁频率函数的丰富模式。作为一项新颖的拓展工作的一部分，研究小组将对这些数据进行声波处理，也就是说，将它们转换为可听的频率，并在信号的响度中给它们烙上丰富的图案。这使得人耳可以模拟光谱仪。将开发MP3文件，并与说明资料一起发布。

The team will use ground-based telesopes, kitted out with special purpose filters, to hunt for the most distant galaxies in theUniverse. These galaxies were the first to form and are probably responsible for radically transforming the matter in the youngUniverse from a neutral to an ionized state. That state-altering transition sent the young Universe down a path that led to the rich panoply of galaxies, stars, and planets in today's mature Universe. The data acquired for the research will exhibit richpatterns in the strength of the signal as a function of its electromagnetic frequency. As part of a novel outreach effort, the team will sonify these data, that is, convert them to audible frequencies and imprint them with rich patterns in the loudness of the signal. This allows the human ear to "detect" the most distant galaxies known. MP3 files will be developed and released along with explanatory material.The aim of the project is to investigate when and how the early Universe became reionized, a key unsolved problem in cosmology. Astaged observational approach will be taken. In the first stage, data from narrow-band surveys will be acquired to find candidateLyman-alpha-emitting galaxies at redshifts of 7.7 and 8.8. In the second stage, spectroscopic follow-up of the candidates will be doneto confirm their high redshifts and form a luminosity function of Lyman-alpha-emitting galaxies. That function will yield constraints onthe degree of ionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at those redshifts. The team pioneered this luminosity-function approach, usingit to show for the first time that the IGM is largely ionized at a redshift of 6.5. The team's new work will place the first constrainson the degree of ionization of the IGM at even more extreme redshifts. The spectroscopy will also be used to study other IGMproperties. The spectroscopic data acquired for the research will exhibit rich patterns in the strength of the signal as a function of its electromagnetic frequency. As part of a novel outreach effort, the team will sonify these data, that is, convert them to audible frequencies and imprint them with rich patterns in the loudness of the signal. This allows the human ear to emulate a spectrograph. MP3 files will be developed and released along with explanatory material.