Leveraging the Hobby Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment to Understand Lyman-alpha Emission, Galaxy Evolution, and Reionization

观测表明，遥远星系星际介质（ISM）的物理条件正在发生变化，但物理原因仍然未知。 该项目使用一个即将存在的光谱样品的星系显示莱曼α发射，这是一个很好的探测ISM几何和运动学，测量详细的物理性质的ISM在这些星系。 它还将测量莱曼α发射星系（LAE）对星星形成的贡献。 这些结果对于理解再电离时代是至关重要的。 该项目将研究与教育相结合，每年让10名或更多的UT奥斯汀学生参与与数据源相关的研究，即Hobby Eberly望远镜暗能量实验（HETDEX）。 它还通过在McDonald天文台举办的两个寄宿教师讲习班影响全国的中学生，并通过每年制作一个StarDate广播节目，使数百万人受益。这项工作将限制宇宙星星形成高峰时期促进星系莱曼α辐射逃逸的物理机制。 来自HETDEX的前300，000个光谱学证实的LAE的数据将与新的广泛的多波长成像相结合，以i）测量莱曼α光度函数的详细演变; ii）了解促进莱曼α逃逸的物理特性; iii）测量LAE贡献的恒星形成率密度;（4）计算活动星系核紫外光度函数的弱端斜率，以区分活动星系核的演化趋势和估算活动星系核对再电离的贡献。 详细的物理性质的星群模型将测量全球逃逸的莱曼α发射的演变，以及这种演变背后的物理原因，并提供关键数据来约束理论模型。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Observations have shown that the physical conditions in distant galaxy interstellar media (ISM) are changing, but the physical cause remains unknown. This project uses a soon-to-exist spectroscopic sample of galaxies showing Lyman alpha emission, which is an excellent probe of ISM geometry and kinematics, to measure the detailed physical properties of the ISM in these galaxies. It will also measure the contribution of Lyman alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) to star formation. These results are critical to understanding the epoch of reionization. The project integrates research with education by involving ten or more UT Austin students per year in research related to the source of the data, the Hobby Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). It also impacts secondary school students nationwide through two residential teacher workshops at McDonald Observatory, and reaches millions by creating one StarDate Radio show each year.The work will constrain the physical mechanisms which promote the escape of Lyman alpha emission from galaxies during the peak epoch of cosmic star formation. Data for the first 300,000 spectroscopically confirmed LAEs from HETDEX will be combined with new extensive multi-wavelength imaging to i) measure the detailed evolution of the Lyman alpha luminosity function; ii) understand the physical properties which promote Lyman alpha escape; iii) measure the star-formation rate density contributed by LAEs; and iv) calculate the faint-end slope of the ultraviolet luminosity function for active galactic nuclei (AGN) to distinguish evolutionary trends and evaluate AGN contributions to reionization. Stellar population modeling of detailed physical properties will measure the evolution of the global escape of Lyman alpha emission, and the physical causes behind this evolution, and provide key data to constrain theoretical models.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.