The chemistry of galaxies

星系的化学

• 批准号: 44454-2006
• 负责人: McCall, Marshall
• 金额: $ 1.61万
• 依托单位: York University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=390559
• 关键词: chemistry; galaxies

In the bottom-up picture of galaxy formation, dwarf galaxies are like snowflakes and giant galaxies are like snowdrifts.  To learn about how the snow forms and disperses, attention should be focussed on the structure and distribution of the snowflakes.  To learn about how snow accumulates, the focus should shift to the snowdrifts.  Guided by this logic, the applicant proposes to focus studies over the next grant period on star-forming dwarf galaxies and the bulges and disks of giant spiral galaxies.   Pointed studies of dwarfs in the near-infrared will lead to a deeper understanding of how they formed, and refinement of a new tool to map their arrangment throughout the universe.  Analyses of their distribution and motions locally will enable characterization of the profile of the Local Sheet of Galaxies, a highly flattened structure within which the Milky Way and all other galaxies out to 15 million light years are found yet about which little is known.  From studies of spirals, it will be possible to glean how flows of gas have affected evolution.  At the same time, the work will lead to a tool to reliably measure the chemical enrichment of galaxies in the farthest reaches of the universe.

在自下而上的星系形成图中，矮星系就像雪花，而巨星系就像雪堆。要了解雪是如何形成和分散的，注意力应该集中在雪花的结构和分布上。要了解雪是如何积累的，注意力应该转移到雪堆上。在这个逻辑的指导下，申请人提议在下一个赠款期内重点研究恒星形成矮星系和巨型螺旋星系的凸起和盘。 在近红外波段对矮星进行有针对性的研究将有助于更深入地了解它们是如何形成的，并改进一种新的工具来绘制它们在整个宇宙中的分布图。对它们的分布和局部运动的分析将有助于描述局部星系片的轮廓，一种高度扁平的结构，银河系和1500万光年外的所有其他星系都存在于其中，但人们对它知之甚少。根据对螺旋星系的研究，这将有可能收集气体流动如何影响进化。2同时，这项工作将导致一种工具，可以可靠地测量宇宙最遥远处星系的化学富集程度。