Collaborative Research: ACES Galactic Center Mass Flow

合作研究：ACES 银河中心质量流

• 批准号: 2206512
• 负责人: Qizhou Zhang
• 金额: $ 19.06万
• 依托单位: Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory
• 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=2206512&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; ACES; Galactic; Center

The center of our Milky Way Galaxy is dynamic, with stars forming in clouds of molecular gas. The pressure on the flow of gas regulates the star formation process. As gas moves in and out of galaxy centers, the galaxies grow and change. Gas flows form new stars, feed the central supermassive black hole, and eject mass in energetic outflows. The Milky Way center is the nearest and best laboratory for studying the life cycle of gas flows. The team of investigators will make the first high resolution maps of gas across the entire Milky Way center. By simultaneously mapping the gas motions and the distribution of star formation, the team will reveal how these processes are connected. This will be a significant advance in our understanding of the physics that drive the activity cycle in all galaxy centers. In addition, this work will support the creation of a program to support underrepresented students in the transition year between undergraduate and graduate school. Students will be integrated into this research collaboration and will receive data analysis training and targeted mentoring.A key research area in the National Academy’s “Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s” report is the study of cosmic mass flows on large and small scales. The center region of the Milky Way, called the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is a unique ecosystem for these studies. The CMZ is the only location where gas flows from kilo-parsec scales down to proto-stellar disks can be explored simultaneously. The team will lead critical parts of the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey (ACES), an ALMA large program to survey the entire Milky Way center and will make the first comprehensive measurement of mass flows in a galaxy nucleus. This program represents an unprecedented combination of a large observing area with high-resolution imaging. The investigators will conduct a complete census of the mass in molecular gas and protostars spanning four orders of magnitude in size scale and characterize the associated gas kinematics with more than a dozen molecular tracers. Products of this work will include a catalog of extended (diffuse) and compact (dense) mass components in the CMZ, as well as a complete kinematic model of gas motions through the CMZ. Ultimately, this project will make the definitive measurements of the rates of inflow, outflow, star formation, and accretion toward the central supermassive black hole.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.

我们的银河系中心是动态的，恒星在分子气体云中形成。 气体流动的压力调节恒星的形成过程。当气体进出星系中心时，星系就会生长和变化。气体流形成新的恒星，为中心超大质量黑洞提供能量，并以能量流出的形式喷射出质量。银河系中心是研究气流生命周期最近、最好的实验室。研究小组将制作第一张横跨整个银河系中心的高分辨率气体图。通过同时绘制气体运动和恒星形成的分布图，研究小组将揭示这些过程是如何相互联系的。这将是我们对驱动所有星系中心活动周期的物理学的理解的重大进步。此外，这项工作还将支持创建一个计划，以支持本科生和研究生院过渡年中代表性不足的学生。学生将融入这项研究合作，并将接受数据分析培训和有针对性的指导。美国国家科学院《2020年代天文学和天体物理学发现之路》报告中的一个关键研究领域是对大尺度和小尺度宇宙质量流的研究。银河系的中心区域，称为中央分子区（CMZ），是这些研究的独特生态系统。 CMZ 是唯一可以同时探索从千秒差距尺度到原恒星盘的气体流的位置。该团队将领导 ALMA CMZ 探索巡天 (ACES) 的关键部分，这是一项 ALMA 大型计划，旨在巡查整个银河系中心，并将首次全面测量星系核中的质量流。该计划代表了大观测区域与高分辨率成像的前所未有的结合。研究人员将对分子气体和原恒星的质量进行一次完整的普查，其尺寸范围跨越四个数量级，并用十几种分子示踪剂来表征相关的气体运动学。这项工作的产品将包括 CMZ 中扩展（扩散）和紧凑（密集）质量分量的目录，以及通过 CMZ 的气体运动的完整运动学模型。最终，该项目将对中心超大质量黑洞的流入、流出、恒星形成和吸积速率进行明确的测量。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。