Collaborative Research: Tracing the Evolution of the Largest Cosmic Structures and their Galaxy Constituents in the Distant Universe

合作研究：追踪遥远宇宙中最大的宇宙结构及其星系组成部分的演化

• 批准号: 2206222
• 负责人: Eric Gawiser
• 金额: $ 23.07万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2206222&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Tracing; Evolution; Largest

Some galaxies form in dense regions called galaxy clusters, others in regions of moderate density called filaments, and the rest in regions of lower density. This project studies how galaxy growth is spurred and regulated by a galaxy’s surroundings. A collaboration between scientists at Purdue University and Rutgers University are carrying out ODIN: a new survey of galaxies with 83 nights of observations on the 4-meter Blanco telescope. The goal is to observe the biggest region of the universe to-date focusing on detecting Lyman-alpha light, which is sensitive to hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. ODIN is expected to discover over 100,000 distant galaxies, a factor of 20 larger than current samples of this type of galaxy. The galaxies’ existing mass, rate of forming new stars, and how much they clump together with neighboring galaxies will reveal influences of their surrounding environment. As part of this project, the team will focus on providing research training to several students, and will also engage their broader communities through multiple outreach programs aimed at inspiring the younger generation to appreciate science. This program is aimed at understanding the role of environment in galaxy evolution. The ODIN survey is designed to use Lyman alpha (Lya) as a unique tracer of both galaxies and the large-scale structure of the matter distribution in which they are embedded. ODIN will employ a well-tested technique that combines deep narrow-band and broad-band imaging data to isolate Lya-emitting galaxies in a well-defined cosmic volume. ODIN’s narrow-band filters sample redshifted Lya emission at three widely separated cosmic epochs (cosmic ages of 1.3, 2.0, and 2.7 billion years). Using these galaxies, ODIN will identify a wide range of density environments from proto-clusters to filaments to the field to voids. The program will: (i) characterize the galaxy-dark matter connection through cosmic time to the present-day universe; (ii) determine the effect of environment on the physical properties of galaxies; and (iii) inform state-of-the-art models of galaxy formation through direct comparisons between observations and simulations. The narrow-band filters and survey data products will be made available to the astronomical community, enabling a wide range of investigations to follow.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.

一些星系在致密区域形成，称为星系簇，而另一些星系在中等密度的区域，称为细丝，其余的则在较低密度的区域中。该项目研究了银河系周围环境如何刺激和调节银河系增长。普渡大学和罗格斯大学的科学家之间的合作正在进行ODIN：对4米Blanco望远镜的83个晚上的星系调查。目的是观察宇宙迄今为止最大的区域，重点是检测莱曼 - 阿尔法光（Lyman-Alpha Light），后者对氢（宇宙中最丰富的元素）敏感。预计奥丁将发现超过100,000个遥远的星系，比这种类型的星系的当前样品大20倍。星系的现有质量，形成新恒星的速度以及它们与邻近星系的聚集数量将揭示其周围环境的影响。作为该项目的一部分，团队将专注于为几个学生提供研究培训，并通过多种旨在激发年轻一代欣赏科学的外展计划来吸引更广泛的社区。该计划旨在了解环境在星系进化中的作用。 ODIN调查旨在将Lyman Alpha（Lya）用作星系的独特示踪剂和嵌入它们的物质分布的大规模结构。奥丁将采用经过良好测试的技术，将深窄带和宽带成像数据结合在一起，以在明确定义的宇宙体积中分离出Lya发射星系。奥丁的窄带过滤器在三个广泛分开的宇宙时代（宇宙年龄为1.3、2.0和27亿年）以红移LYA排放样品。使用这些星系，ODIN将确定从原始群体到细丝到田间再到空隙的广泛密度环境。该程序将：（i）通过宇宙时间到当今的宇宙来表征Galaxy-Dark物质的连接； （ii）确定环境对星系物理特性的影响； （iii）通过观察和仿真之间的直接比较，为银河形成的最新模型提供了信息。窄带过滤器和调查数据产品将提供给天文学界，从而可以遵循广泛的投资。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响审查标准，通过评估来诚实地获得支持。