Witnessing the assembly of massive dark matter structures in the Universe and their impact on galaxy evolution

见证宇宙中大量暗物质结构的组装及其对星系演化的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-03820
• 负责人: Balogh, Michael
• 金额: $ 4.44万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=644551
• 关键词: Witnessing; assembly; massive; dark; matter

With large telescopes we are able to peer into the past, observing the Universe at a time when galaxies like our own Milky Way were just started to assemble and form the stars that, in turn, host planets. Astrophysics is at an exciting point in its history, as the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), of which Canada is a major contributor, will allow us to see farther back in time, and in far more detail, than ever before. This research program will start by exploiting the unique data we have already obtained on galaxy systems observed as they were when the Universe was only a third of its present age, to learn about how changes to the cosmological gas accretion rate impacts the formation of new stars in these young galaxies. These data, the result of a four year Large Program on the Gemini Telescopes, will be followed up with JWST and other facilities to obtain an exquisite picture of the Universe at the peak epoch of galaxy assembly. Specifically, we will measure stellar masses, star formation rates, gas content and the spatial distribution of stars for galaxies that inhabit dark haloes of different mass. This allows a direct look at how the buildup of stars is related to that of the dark matter - that mysterious component of our Universe that dominates the growth of structure. One of the biggest mysteries in astronomy today is why the assembly of stars and galaxies - the light that we can see - happens at a very different rate compared with the assembly of dark matter. Decoupling the "normal" matter in the Universe from the dark matter requires enormous energy to be released and distributed in ways that we do not understand. By using new technology to make careful observations of the distant Universe, we have the opportunity to observe these cosmic interactions directly. Through detailed modeling, simulation, and comparison with other data we will establish a consistent explanation for how supernova explosions, supermassive black holes, and galaxy interactions together shape the Universe around us. This research endeavour is structured to provide maximum opportunity for students to develop widely applicable skills, and to prepare them for the era of Big Data in astronomy, that will be realized toward the end of this proposal when Euclid and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) begin operations.

有了大型望远镜，我们就可以窥见过去，观察像银河系这样的星系刚刚开始聚集并形成恒星的时候的宇宙，而恒星又反过来形成了行星。天体物理学正处于其历史上一个激动人心的时刻，因为詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜（JWST）的发射，将使我们能够看到比以往任何时候都更远的时间，并且更加详细。加拿大是该望远镜的主要贡献者。这个研究项目将从利用我们已经获得的星系系统的独特数据开始，这些数据是当宇宙只有现在年龄的三分之一时观察到的，以了解宇宙气体吸积率的变化如何影响这些年轻星系中新恒星的形成。这些数据是为期四年的双子座望远镜大项目的结果，JWST和其他设施将对这些数据进行跟踪，以获得星系聚集高峰时期宇宙的精美图片。具体来说，我们将测量恒星质量、恒星形成率、气体含量以及不同质量暗晕所在星系的恒星空间分布。这使得人们可以直接观察恒星的形成与暗物质的形成之间的关系——暗物质是我们宇宙中主导结构增长的神秘成分。当今天文学最大的谜团之一是，为什么恒星和星系的聚集——我们能看到的光——发生的速度与暗物质的聚集速度大不相同。将宇宙中的“正常”物质与暗物质分离需要以我们无法理解的方式释放和分布巨大的能量。通过使用新技术对遥远的宇宙进行仔细观察，我们有机会直接观察这些宇宙相互作用。通过详细的建模、模拟和与其他数据的比较，我们将为超新星爆炸、超大质量黑洞和星系相互作用如何共同塑造我们周围的宇宙建立一个一致的解释。这项研究的目的是为学生提供最大的机会来发展广泛应用的技能，并为天文学大数据时代做好准备，这将在欧几里得和大型天气巡天望远镜（LSST）开始运行时实现。