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

中等质量黑洞的合并有望成为即将到来的太空实验所探测到的引力波的主要来源。为了确定速度和解释引力波信号，独立测量黑洞数密度是至关重要的。然而，矮小星系中黑洞的比例很少受到限制。这是推进多信使天文学令人兴奋的新前沿的主要障碍。该项目将测量矮小星系中中等质量黑洞的数量、密度和分布。它将在红移较高的低质量星系中发现新的矮星活动星系核(AGN)。它将对中等质量黑洞的起源做出明智的推断。它对星系演化和引力波的解释有着广泛的意义。该项目还将创造社会价值观。它将在公共教育和课堂上传播知识。该计划将利用一种新的质量估计方法，并利用最先进的天气观测来测量最佳河外深部区域中矮小星系的黑洞占有率。它将测试并有可能区分所有超大质量黑洞的种子模型。它将产生直接的黑洞质量估计(或上限)，否则在探索不充分的中等质量区域是不可行的。所有生成的代码都将是开源的，以支持广泛的社区使用。该计划将成为鲁宾天文台、欧几里德天文台和罗马天文台进行大规模矮星活动星系核研究的先行者。这一奖项致力于/推进宇宙之窗的目标。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。

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.