Collaborative Research: Investigations of Quasar Variability with High-Cadence Spectroscopy

这个项目将研究类星体的内部工作原理，类星体是星系中心的超大质量黑洞，正在吸收大量物质。当超大质量黑洞坠落并以极高的亮度在整个电磁光谱中发射时，这种物质在超大质量黑洞周围形成一个热盘，使这些物体在整个可见宇宙中都可见。使用一个史无前例的数据集，包括对数千个类星体的观测，该项目将揭示类星体内部环境的细节，这对于理解超大质量黑洞与它们所居住的星系之间的关系非常重要。这一理解对于确定星系如何形成、演化以及形成我们今天所看到的宇宙是很重要的。此外，该项目将支持亚利桑那大学的黑洞主题夏令营和康涅狄格大学物理系学生的夏季桥梁项目；这两个项目都专门招收和瞄准在STEM领域代表性不足的群体的学生。超大质量黑洞(SMBH)与其所在星系之间的相互作用的本质是星系形成和演化研究中尚未回答的主要问题之一。类星体是研究这些问题的主要目标；然而，由于类星体的小角度尺寸，其内部区域很难描述。类星体的可变性可以用来从各种不同的角度了解SMBH周围的环境，从而为研究活动星系核反馈和星系演化提供关键信息。拟议的项目将利用SDSS III/IV混响测绘项目和SDSS-V黑洞测绘仪混响测绘项目提供的高频率和长持续时间的光谱监测，这两个项目正在获取数千个类星体的数百个光谱历元。这个项目将充分利用这些数据：(1)通过研究类星体光谱中宽吸收特征的变异性来测量类星体吸积盘风的性质。这将测量这些流出中包含的能量，从而使我们能够确定这些流出是否能够向类星体宿主星系提供重要的反馈；(2)测量各种类星体发射线在各种不同时间尺度上的系综变率特征，这提供了类星体宽线发射区的物理条件信息，并查明搜索双黑洞的假阳性率；(3)系统地搜索“极端”可变性事件，这将使我们能够区分不同的吸积盘和能量模型。这项研究的结果将使我们能够更好地描述类星体活动的内部环境和吸积物理，使我们能够更好地了解它们与所在星系的相互作用。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will investigate the inner workings of quasars, which are supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies that are pulling in large amounts of material. The material forms a hot disk around the supermassive black hole as it falls and emits across the entire electromagnetic spectrum at extremely high luminosities, making these objects visible across the entire observable universe. Using an unprecedented dataset containing observations of thousands of quasars, this project will uncover details about the inner environments of quasars, which are important for understanding the relationship between the supermassive black holes and the galaxies they live in. This understanding is important for determining how galaxies form, evolve, and resulted in the universe that we see today. In addition, this project will provide support for a black-hole themed summer camp at the University of Arizona and a summer bridge program for physics students at the University of Connecticut; both of these programs specifically recruit and target students from groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields.The nature of the interaction between supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their host galaxies is one of the major unanswered questions in studies of galaxy formation and evolution. Quasars are prime targets for investigating these questions; however, the inner regions of quasars are difficult to characterize due to their small angular size. Variability in quasars can be used to learn about the environment surrounding the SMBH from a variety of different angles, thus providing critical information for studies of AGN feedback and galaxy evolution. The proposed project will leverage high-cadence and long-duration spectroscopic monitoring from the SDSS III/IV Reverberation Mapping Project and the SDSS-V Black Hole Mapper Reverberation Mapping Project, which are obtaining hundreds of spectral epochs for thousands of quasars. This project will make full use of these data to: (1) Measure properties of quasar accretion-disk winds by studying the variability of broad absorption features in quasar spectra. This will measure the energy contained within these outflows, which allows us to determine whether these outflows can provide significant feedback to the quasar host galaxies; (2) Measure ensemble variability characteristics of a variety of quasar emission lines over a variety of different timescales, which provides information on physical conditions of the quasar broad-line emitting regions and identifies the false-positive rate of searches for binary black holes; (3) Do a systematic search for "extreme" variability events, which will allow us to distinguish between different models of accretion disks and energetics. The results from this study will allow us to better characterize the inner environment and accretion physics governing the activity of quasars, allowing us to better understand their interactions with the galaxies in which they reside.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.