Collaborative Research: A Multi-Dimensional View of the Milky Way

星系是宇宙的主要组成部分。 我们的家星系，银河系，提供了一个特殊的机会，了解星系如何形成和随时间变化。 新的天文学调查，如斯隆数字巡天（SDSS），现在正在测量银河系数十万颗恒星的化学元素“指纹”。 研究人员将沿着分析这些化学指纹以及恒星的年龄和位置，以了解银河系的历史以及产生这些元素的恒星核熔炉。 他们还将开发新的方法来改进SDSS对恒星温度和化学成分的测量。研究人员将使用多元素丰度比图来经验性地推断超新星的元素产额，并确定化学富集的其他主要渠道。研究人员将通过为SDSS Voyages门户网站开发一个新的恒星光谱学“探险”来加强SDSS的教育部分，该门户网站针对高中生。 他们将开发新的天文馆显示有关元素的起源和银河系的历史。他们计划广泛的公众参与活动，包括公共讲座和俄亥俄州国家天文馆的节目。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Galaxies are the main building blocks of the Universe. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, provides a special opportunity to learn about how galaxies form and change with time. New astronomical surveys, such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), are now measuring the chemical element "fingerprints" of hundreds of thousands of stars across the Milky Way. The investigators will analyze these chemical fingerprints along with ages and positions of stars, to learn the history of the Milky Way and about the nuclear furnaces of stars that produce these elements. They will also develop new methods to improve the SDSS measurements of stellar temperatures and chemical compositions. The investigators will use maps of multi-element abundance ratios to empirically infer the element yields of supernovae and to identify other major channels of chemical enrichment.The investigators will enhance the educational component of the SDSS by developing a new "expedition" on stellar spectroscopy for the SDSS Voyages portal, which is aimed at high school students. They will develop new planetarium shows about the origin of the elements and the history of the Milky Way. They plan extensive public engagement activities, including public lectures and programs for the Ohio State Planetarium. These activities are tied specifically to their research activities.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.