CAREER: Modeling the Evolution of Massive Galaxies with Enzo-E

职业：使用 Enzo-E 模拟大质量星系的演化

• 批准号: 2339916
• 负责人: Yuan Li
• 金额: $ 60.18万
• 依托单位: University of North Texas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-09-01 至 2029-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2339916&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Modeling; Evolution; Massive; Galaxies

The past few decades have seen tremendous advances in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution using both observations and detailed computer simulations. However, many key questions are still not fully understood. For example, most massive elliptical galaxies, among the oldest and most massive structures in the universe and hosts of supermassive black holes (SMBH), cease forming stars and transition into passively evolving systems. While the precise mechanisms underpinning such "quenching" are unclear, SMBHs appear to play a key role by suppressing the infall of fresh gas - the raw material of star formation - from the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The PI will conduct a computer simulation of a massive galaxy's formation and evolution with spatial resolution sufficient to resolve the CGM's complex structure and the small-scale physical processes occurring there. This work will inform and complement large-scale cosmological simulations and will provide mentoring and training for three graduate students in cutting edge galaxy simulations. Undergraduate students will also be involved, and the investigator will engage in outreach to local high schools and public planetarium shows. To better understand the evolution of massive galaxies, the investigator and her group will conduct a very high- resolution numerical study using a cosmological-zoom simulation focusing on the formation of a single massive galaxy while following its evolution all the way down to the current epoch (z = 0). The major objectives of this work are to understand (1) how SMBHs form and grow in massive galaxies, (2) precisely how SMBH "feedback" leads to star formation quenching, (3) the structure and evolution the CGM, and (4) how the evolution of satellite galaxies is affected. The team will use the newly developed Enzo-E, which is a highly scalable redesign of the original Enzo code for the exascale era. They will develop a new state-of-the-art SMBH formation/feedback model, which will be added to the publicly available code and shared with the community. The proposed simulations will force enhanced refinement in the galaxy's CGM, providing unprecedented details of this major gas reservoir around massive galaxies, which likely plays a key role in regulating the fueling of both SMBHs and star formation. This research will provide insight into the complex interplay between SMBHs, the CGM, and star formation in a massive galaxy, and it will provide a framework for simulating the effects of (e.g.) cosmic rays, dust, and radiative transfer.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.

在过去的几十年里，我们通过观测和详细的计算机模拟，在理解星系的形成和演化方面取得了巨大的进步。然而，许多关键问题仍然没有得到充分理解。例如，大多数大质量椭圆星系，宇宙中最古老和最大质量的结构和超大质量黑洞（SMBH）的宿主，停止形成恒星并过渡到被动演化系统。虽然支撑这种“淬火”的精确机制尚不清楚，但SMBH似乎通过抑制环星系介质（CGM）中新鲜气体（星星形成的原材料）的流入而发挥关键作用。PI将对一个大质量星系的形成和演化进行计算机模拟，其空间分辨率足以解决CGM的复杂结构和那里发生的小尺度物理过程。这项工作将为大规模宇宙学模拟提供信息和补充，并将为三名研究生提供尖端星系模拟方面的指导和培训。本科生也将参与其中，调查人员将参与当地高中和公共天文馆的宣传活动。为了更好地了解大质量星系的演化，研究人员和她的团队将使用宇宙变焦模拟进行非常高分辨率的数值研究，重点关注单个大质量星系的形成，同时一直跟踪其演化到当前时代（z = 0）。本工作的主要目标是了解（1）SMBH如何在大质量星系中形成和生长，（2）SMBH“反馈”如何精确地导致星星形成猝灭，（3）CGM的结构和演化，以及（4）卫星星系的演化如何受到影响。该团队将使用新开发的Enzo-E，这是一个高度可扩展的重新设计的原始恩佐代码的exascale时代。他们将开发一个新的最先进的SMBH形成/反馈模型，该模型将添加到公开可用的代码中并与社区共享。拟议的模拟将迫使星系CGM的改进，提供大质量星系周围这个主要气体储层的前所未有的细节，这可能在调节SMBH和星星形成的燃料方面发挥关键作用。这项研究将深入了解SMBH，CGM和大质量星系中星星形成之间的复杂相互作用，并将为模拟（例如）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。