"The seeds of galaxy formation, obscured star formation at high redshift, and the local fossil record of galaxy formation."

“星系形成的种子，高红移下模糊的恒星形成，以及星系形成的当地化石记录。”

• 批准号: 418765-2012
• 负责人: Chapman, Scott
• 金额: $ 4.37万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 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=573812
• 关键词: seeds; galaxy; formation; obscured; star

Observational cosmology is an attempt to understand the processes which initiated the universe we live in, and how the rich and complex structure in the present-day universe formed and evolved. My research focuses on studying both the fundamental physics of cosmology via the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and measurements of structure on very large scales, down to the details of galaxy evolution and the complex physics which manifests on small scales. There are many unanswered questions, starting from how the primordial density fluctuations in the very early universe inflated to produce the observed distribution of structure and galaxies, all the way to how environment drives galaxy evolution. Studying the Sub-millimetre Galaxies (SMGs) in particular in the distant universe gives us insight into the peak epoch in which massive galaxies were forming the bulk of their stars. This leads to a host of questions, such as whether massive galaxies form in a single burst of star formation or is their growth extended over time. My laboratory is involved in several experiments aimed at studying SMGs as well as the CMB: the South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a 10 metre telescope we have been actively involved with for the past two years, simultaneously gaining new information on the brightest SMGs, galaxy clusters (the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect), and primary CMB. The POLARization of the Background Radiation (POLARBeaR) experiment focuses on the polarized B-mode radiation from the CMB - the `smoking gun' of the Early Universe inflationary epoch in the first 10^-38sec after the Big Bang. We are partners with Berkeley and Chicago in these experiments and take an active role in both leading areas of the science and in instrumentation development. These experiments will provide important new results during the period of this grant. I'm also active in the space-based Herschel telescope studies of distant SMGs, with large PI and co-I allocated projects in my Herschel-HerMES, LESS/SHRUGS, and SPT collaborations, and I am working towards various projects with the newly commissioned SCUBA-2 camera on the Canada/UK/Dutch JCMT telescope. My approach to research in this area is multifaceted, combining a number of different yet complementary studies. I work on detailed studies of small numbers of galaxies, which can teach us about very specific physics driving their evolution; but I also undertake statistical studies of large samples, which provides information on global proerties of galaxies and the overall trends in galaxy evolution. By studying galaxies which exist in isolation as well as those evolving in unique high density regions I can constrain the role of the environment in forming galaxies. I also sample the entire electromagnetic spectrum, though with a strong focus on the relatively unexplored infrared regime. Such mulitwavelength data are crucial as observations at different wavelengths probe different physical processes which are relevant to galaxy evolution. For example, the infrared allows us to study the current star formation in a galaxy, while optical light gives us information on (amongst other things) previous star formation. Using these complementary techniques and the new generation of telescopes and detectors, I, along with my team of graduate students and postdocs, will shed light on the process of cosmology and galaxy evolution.

观测宇宙学试图理解我们所生活的宇宙的起源过程，以及当今宇宙中丰富而复杂的结构是如何形成和演变的。我的研究重点是通过宇宙微波背景（CMB）研究宇宙学的基础物理学和非常大尺度上的结构测量，直至星系演化的细节和在小尺度上表现出的复杂物理学。有许多未解的问题，从非常早期宇宙中的原始密度波动如何膨胀以产生观察到的结构和星系分布，一直到环境如何驱动星系演化。特别是在遥远的宇宙中研究亚毫米星系（SMG），使我们能够深入了解大质量星系形成其大部分恒星的高峰时期。这就引出了一系列问题，比如大质量星系是在星星形成的一次爆发中形成的，还是随着时间的推移而增长的。 我的实验室参与了几个旨在研究SMG和CMB的实验：南极望远镜（SPT）是一个10米望远镜，我们在过去两年中一直积极参与，同时获得关于最亮SMG，星系团（Sunyaev-Zeldovich效应）和主CMB的新信息。背景辐射极化（POLARBaR）实验的重点是来自宇宙微波背景辐射的极化B模辐射--宇宙大爆炸后最初10 ^-38秒内早期宇宙暴胀时期的"确凿证据"。我们与伯克利和芝加哥在这些实验的合作伙伴，并采取在科学和仪器开发的领先领域的积极作用。这些实验将在该资助期间提供重要的新成果。 我还积极参与了对遥远SMG的天基赫歇尔望远镜研究，在我的赫歇尔-赫歇尔-赫耳墨斯、LESS/SHRUGS和SPT合作中，我与PI和co-I分配了大量项目，我正在加拿大/英国/荷兰JCMT望远镜上使用新委托的SCUBA-2相机进行各种项目。 我在这一领域的研究方法是多方面的，结合了一些不同但互补的研究。我对少量星系进行详细研究，这可以教我们关于驱动它们演化的非常具体的物理学;但我也进行大样本的统计研究，这提供了星系的全球特性和星系演化的总体趋势的信息。通过研究孤立存在的星系以及在独特的高密度区域演化的星系，我可以限制环境在形成星系中的作用。我也对整个电磁波谱进行了采样，但重点关注相对未开发的红外区。这种多波长数据至关重要，因为不同波长的观测探测与星系演化有关的不同物理过程。例如，红外线使我们能够研究星系中当前的星星形成，而光学光则为我们提供了以前星星形成的信息（以及其他信息）。利用这些互补的技术和新一代的望远镜和探测器，我和我的研究生和博士后团队沿着，将揭示宇宙学和星系演化的过程。