The group environment: a key to galaxy evolution and quasar activity

群体环境：星系演化和类星体活动的关键

• 批准号: 355663-2011
• 负责人: Gallagher, Sarah
• 金额: $ 2.7万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=572635
• 关键词: group; environment; key; galaxy; evolution

The most massive nearby galaxies built up the bulk of their stars and their central supermassive black holes at a time when the Universe was a quarter to a half its current age. The coeval timing of these processes and the apparently fixed relationship between the masses of black holes and their host galaxies point towards a connection between these two phenomena. My proposed research program addresses an intriguing intersection of black hole growth and galaxy evolution by focusing on the physical processes and the galaxy group environment that link them as outlined in the three projects listed below. (1) Determining What Happens to a Quasar Host Galaxy: The motions of gas within a galaxy hosting a black hole actively growing as a quasar directly bear on the fueling process. In other words, was the quasar triggered by a dramatic merger of two gas-rich galaxies or were more subtle galaxy interactions the cause of the inflow of gas to the nucleus? (2) Understanding Quasar Feedback: Computer simulations of the dusty winds from quasars offer the potential to measure the structure and velocity of the outflows. With these two important parameters, the kinetic energy of the winds - and therefore their potential to affect their galaxy hosts - can be determined. (3) Characterizing Nuclei and Stellar Populations in Compact Group Galaxies: Compact group galaxies in the local Universe show evidence for rapid evolution from actively star forming to quiescent as the effects of even subtle galaxy interactions enhance the processing of gas through triggered star formation. Finding the ages of the stars and peering into the galaxy centres will open up the study of stellar buildup in these systems. These three projects combined form a coherent program for investigating the relationship between the growth of supermassive black holes as luminous quasars and the build-up of stars in massive galaxies, processes fostered in the group environment.

当宇宙年龄只有当前年龄的四分之一到一半时，附近质量最大的星系就形成了大部分恒星和中心超大质量黑洞。 这些过程的同时发生时间以及黑洞质量与其宿主星系之间明显固定的关系表明这两种现象之间存在联系。 我提出的研究计划通过关注将黑洞生长和星系演化联系起来的物理过程和星系群环境来解决黑洞生长和星系演化的一个有趣的交叉点，如下面列出的三个项目所述。 (1) 确定类星体宿主星系会发生什么：作为类星体而活跃生长的黑洞所在星系内的气体运动直接影响燃料供给过程。 换句话说，类星体是由两个富含气体的星系的戏剧性合并引发的，还是更微妙的星系相互作用导致气体流入核？ (2) 了解类星体反馈：对类星体尘埃风的计算机模拟提供了测量流出结构和速度的潜力。 有了这两个重要的参数，就可以确定风的动能，从而确定它们影响星系宿主的潜力。 (3) 表征致密星系团中的原子核和恒星群：本地宇宙中的致密星系团显示出从活跃的恒星形成到静止的快速演化的证据，因为即使是微妙的星系相互作用的影响也会通过触发恒星形成来增强气体的处理。 找出恒星的年龄并观察星系中心将开启对这些系统中恒星形成的研究。 这三个项目结合起来形成了一个连贯的计划，用于研究作为发光类星体的超大质量黑洞的生长与大质量星系中恒星的形成（在群体环境中培育的过程）之间的关系。