Characterizing the Early Co-evolution of Galaxies, Black Holes, and Gravitational-Wave Sources

最近发射的詹姆斯韦伯太空望远镜（JWST）已经改变了我们对早期宇宙的理解。在宇宙大爆炸后不久的宇宙时期发现了丰富的星系群，这对星系形成和演化的模型提出了挑战。生活在星系核中的超大质量黑洞（BHs）也在很早的时代就被JWST观测到。这些黑洞是引力波（时空结构中的涟漪）科学的下一个前沿；脉冲星定时阵列和激光干涉仪空间天线可能很快就能探测到来自近距离黑洞对的引力波。然而，这些即将到来的数据财富将需要这些复杂过程的强大理论模型。pi将解决我们对早期宇宙中黑洞和星系演化的理解中的关键空白，包括产生引力波的系统。使用一套最先进的宇宙学模拟，他们将确定不同的黑洞演化模型对早期宇宙中星系和黑洞特性的影响。他们的研究结果将在理解黑洞的形成、生长和动力学如何影响它们与星系的共同演化，以及发现引力波源的环境方面提供革命性的飞跃。他们还将扩大佛罗里达大学（UF）鳄鱼计算项目（GCP），使其成为一个面向历史上被排除在外的高中生的住宿暑期项目，并利用新的佛罗里达大学人工智能计划的资源进行额外的编程。超大质量黑洞（BHs）是星系演化的基本组成部分，它们是引力波（GW）天文学的下一个前沿：来自黑洞双星的引力波可能很快就会被脉冲星定时阵列（pta）和激光干涉仪空间天线（LISA）探测到。与此同时，詹姆斯韦伯太空望远镜（JWST）的初步结果已经改变了我们对高红移宇宙的理解。即将到来的大量JWST数据将揭示早期黑洞和星系演化，并为GW观测提供关键的补充，但它们的解释将需要这些复杂过程的强大理论模型。尽管高度偏倚的发光z ~ 6类星体限制了黑洞的形成和这些大质量物体的早期成长，但它们并没有告诉我们更多的“普通”黑洞的起源。该项目将解决以下主要问题：(1)在早期宇宙中，星系是如何与黑洞和AGN一起演化的？(2)激励黑洞对和GW源的主特征是什么？该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

The recently launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has already transformed our understanding of the early Universe. The discovery of rich populations of galaxies at cosmic epochs shortly after the Big Bang has challenged models for galaxy formation and evolution. Supermassive black holes (BHs), which live in galactic nuclei, have also been observed by JWST at very early epochs. These BHs are the next frontier in science with gravitational waves (ripples in the fabric of spacetime); gravitational waves from close pairs of BHs may soon be detected with pulsar timing arrays and with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. However, this coming wealth of data will require robust theoretical models of these complex processes. The PIs will address key gaps in our understanding of BH and galaxy evolution in the early Universe, including systems that produce gravitational waves. Using a suite of state-of-the-art cosmological simulations, they will determine the impact of different BH evolution models on galaxy and BH properties in the early Universe. Their results will provide a transformative leap in understanding how BH formation, growth, and dynamics impact their co-evolution with galaxies, as well as the environments in which gravitational-wave sources are found. They will also expand the University of Florida (UF) Gator Computing Program (GCP) to be a residential summer program for historically excluded high school students, with additional programming that leverages the resources of the new UF Artificial Intelligence Initiative. Supermassive black holes (BHs) are fundamental components of galaxy evolution, and they are the next frontier in gravitational wave (GW) astronomy: GWs from BH binaries may soon be detected with pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) and with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). In the meantime, initial results from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have already transformed our understanding of the high-redshift Universe. The coming wealth of JWST data will unveil early BH and galaxy evolution and provide crucial complements to GW observations, but their interpretation will require robust theoretical models of these complex processes. Although the highly biased population of luminous z ~ 6 quasars constrains BH formation and early growth for those massive objects, they tell us nothing about the origins of much more numerous, "ordinary" BHs. This project will address these major questions: (1) How do galaxies evolve in concert with BHs and AGN in the early Universe? (2) What are the host characteristics of inspiraling BH pairs and GW sources?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.