ASPIRE - A Legacy Survey of Quasars in the Epoch of Reionization

在大爆炸后不到10亿年的时间里观察到的遥远类星体是研究最早的超大质量黑洞的诞生、第一批大质量星系的组装以及早期宇宙中所见的大规模结构形成的理想示踪器。PI将通过分析从世界上最大的望远镜收集的传统多波长数据集，涵盖从X射线到射电的波长范围，对25个这样的类星体进行详细的表征。这个项目将促进我们对第一批超大质量黑洞的增长、它们与类星体宿主星系的相互作用以及它们周围的大尺度结构的理解。此外，他们还将与亚利桑那大学佛兰卓科学中心和天文馆合作，开发一个“聚变夏令营”暑期项目，该项目将对推广和教育产生广泛影响。理论模型预测，最早的10亿个超大质量黑洞(SMBH)形成于大质量星系，居住在大质量暗物质晕中。PIS将分析从ALMA、VLA以及地面光学和红外望远镜收集的一套多波长数据集，以获取再电离时代的25个类星体样本。这些数据，结合从JWST、Chandra和HST收集的数据，将使该团队能够解决长期存在的问题，即最早的SMBH是否位于最大质量的暗物质晕中，并居住在新兴的大规模星系过度密度中。该计划还将允许他们研究类星体宿主星系的组装，了解活动星系核反馈与早期大质量星系形成之间的联系，并限制早期宇宙中的宇宙电离和金属浓缩。该奖项反映了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。

Distant quasars observed less than one billion years after the Big Bang are ideal tracers for studying the birth of the earliest supermassive black holes, the assembly of the first massive galaxies, and the buildup of the large-scale structures seen in the early Universe. The PIs will perform a detailed characterization of 25 such quasars by analyzing a legacy multi-wavelength dataset collected from the world's largest telescopes, covering a wavelength range from X-ray to radio. This program will advance our understanding of the growth of the first supermassive black holes, their interactions with quasar host galaxies, and the large-scale structures surrounding them. Additionally, they will collaborate with the Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium at the University of Arizona to develop a "fusion-camp" summer program that will have broad impacts on outreach and education.Theoretical models predict that the earliest billion supermassive black holes (SMBHs) form in massive galaxies and inhabit massive dark matter halos. The PIs will analyze a suite of multi-wavelength datasets collected from ALMA, VLA, and ground-based optical and infrared telescopes for a sample of 25 quasars in the epoch of reionization. These data, combined with data that is being collected from JWST, Chandra, and HST, will enable the team to resolve the long-standing question of whether the earliest SMBHs reside in the most massive dark matter halos and inhabit emerging large-scale galaxy overdensities. This program will also allow them to study the assembly of quasar host galaxies, understand the connection between AGN feedback and early massive galaxy formation, and constrain cosmic reionization and metal enrichment in the early Universe.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.