WoU-MMA: Dwarf AGNs from Variability for the Origins of Seeds (DAVOS)

中等质量黑洞的合并预计将成为即将在太空中进行的实验所探测到的引力波的主要来源。为了确定速率和解释引力波信号，对黑洞数量密度的独立测量至关重要。然而，黑洞在矮星系中的比例并没有得到很好的限制。这是推进多信使天文学令人兴奋的新前沿的一个主要障碍。该项目将测量矮星系中中等质量黑洞的数量密度和分布。它将发现新的矮活动星系核（AGN）候选者在较低质量的星系在较高的红移。它将对中等质量黑洞的起源做出明智的推断。它对星系演化和解释引力波具有广泛的意义。该计划还将创造社会价值。它将在公共教育和课堂上传播知识。它还将制定专门的推广计划，以促进科学的多样性。该计划将利用新的质量估计方法和利用最先进的天气调查来测量最佳河外深场矮星系中的黑洞占据比例。它将测试并可能区分所有超大质量黑洞的播种模型。它将产生直接的黑洞质量估计值（或上限），而这些估计值在探索不足的中等质量区域还不可行。所有生成的代码都将开源，以使社区能够广泛使用。该计划将是鲁宾、欧几里得和罗马天文台进行大规模矮活动星系核研究的探路者。该奖项旨在解决/推进Windows on the Universe Big Idea的目标。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。

Mergers of intermediate mass black holes are expected as prime sources of gravitational waves to be detected by upcoming experiments in space. To determine the rates and interpret the gravitational wave signals, independent measurements of the black hole number densities are critical. However, the fraction of black holes in dwarf galaxies is poorly constrained. This presents a major hurdle in advancing the exciting new frontier of multi-messenger astronomy. This project will measure the number densities and distributions of intermediate mass black holes in dwarf galaxies. It will discover new dwarf active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates in lower mass galaxies at higher redshift. It will make informed inferences on the origins of intermediate mass black holes. It has broad implications for galaxy evolution and for interpreting gravitational waves. The program will also create societal values. It will disseminate knowledge in public education and classrooms. It will also develop dedicated outreach programs to promote diversity in science.This program will leverage a new mass estimation method and harness state-of-the-art synoptic surveys to measure the black hole occupation fraction in dwarf galaxies in the best extragalactic deep fields. It will test and potentially distinguish seeding models for all supermassive black holes. It will produce direct black hole mass estimates (or upper limits) that are not yet feasible otherwise in the poorly explored intermediate-mass regime. All codes generated will be open-sourced to enable broad community usage. The program will be a pathfinder for large-scale dwarf AGN studies with the Rubin, Euclid, and Roman observatories. This award addresses/advances the goals of the Windows on the Universe Big Idea.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.