Astronomical instrumentation and observational studies of supernova remnants and massive stars

我的主要研究计划是建造一台新仪器，特别是一台新的红外光谱仪，我将在世界上一些最大的望远镜上使用它。天文学上的新发现总是依赖于新仪器的能力；因此，建造一台新仪器是加强我们对宇宙理解的根本和必要的一步。用这个仪器项目培训学生也是势在必行的，这将极大地造福于加拿大天文学社区的未来。在这个仪器项目中，学生将学习如何设计和实现新型红外光谱仪的各种部件，作为他们博士论文的一部分。这个仪器计划将使用我们最近在多伦多大学为现代天文仪器建立的新的实验室基础设施来执行。除了这个仪器项目，我还计划使用各种设备对超新星遗迹和大质量恒星进行观测研究，包括太空中的卫星，并最终使用我建造的仪器。超新星遗迹是超新星爆炸的遗迹，超新星爆炸可能是宇宙中由大质量恒星死亡产生的最壮观的事件。通过研究超新星遗迹和大质量恒星，我试图回答以下问题：[1]超新星是如何爆炸的？[2]大质量恒星的演化和随之而来的超新星爆炸是如何联系在一起的？[3]大质量恒星的演化和超新星爆发的物理学是如何与黑洞或中子星的形成联系起来的？[4]质量损失在大质量恒星的演化中扮演了什么角色？这些问题很难回答，但它们都是令人着迷的问题。我希望，根据我在这项提案中要求的资金，我可以在几年内为上述问题提供有用的答案。

My primary research plan is to build a new instrument, specifically a new infrared spectrograph, which I will use on some of world's largest telescopes. New discoveries in astronomy are ever dependent on the capabilities of new instruments; therefore, building a new instrument is a fundamental and essential step for enhancing our understanding of the universe. It is also imperative to train students with this instrument program, which will greatly benefit the future of the Canadian astronomical community. In this instrumentation program, students will learn how to design and implement various components of a novel infrared spectrograph as part of their PhD thesis. This instrumentation program will be performed using the new laboratorial infrastructure that we recently established at the University of Toronto for modern astronomical instrumentation. In addition to this instrument program, I also plan to conduct observational studies of supernova remnants and massive stars using various facilities, including satellites in space and eventually the instruments that I built. A supernova remnant is the remains of a supernova explosion which is probably a single most spectacular event in the universe generated by the death of a massive star. By studying the supernova remnants and massive stars, I try to answer the following questions: [1] how do supernovae explode? [2] How are the evolutions of massive stars and consequent supernova explosions connected? [3] How are the evolutions of massive stars and the physics of supernova explosions are connected to the formation of black holes or neutron stars? [4] What is the role of mass loss in the evolution of massive stars? These are difficult questions to answer, but they are fascinating questions to address. Hopefully, based on the funding that I request in this proposal, I can give useful answers to the above questions in a few years.