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: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=691097
• 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.

借助大型望远镜，我们能够窥视过去，在像我们银河系这样的星系刚刚开始聚集并形成恒星的时候观察宇宙，而恒星反过来又是行星的宿主。 天体物理学正处于其历史上一个令人兴奋的时刻，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和更详细的细节。 这项研究计划将首先利用我们已经获得的关于星系系统的独特数据，这些星系系统在宇宙只有目前年龄的三分之一时被观察到，以了解宇宙学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。 这些数据是双子座望远镜为期四年的大型计划的结果，将通过JWST和其他设施进行跟进，以获得星系聚集高峰时期宇宙的精美照片。 具体来说，我们将测量恒星质量，星星形成率，气体含量和空间分布的恒星的星系，居住在不同质量的暗晕。 这使得我们可以直接看到恒星的形成与暗物质的形成是如何相关的--暗物质是我们宇宙中控制结构生长的神秘成分。 今天天文学最大的谜团之一是为什么恒星和星系的聚集-我们可以看到的光-与暗物质的聚集相比发生了非常不同的速度。 将宇宙中的“正常”物质与暗物质解耦需要以我们不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，我们将建立一个一致的解释超新星爆炸，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。 这项研究工作的结构是为学生提供最大的机会，以发展广泛适用的技能，并为他们在天文学大数据的时代做好准备，这将实现对本提案结束时，欧几里得和大型综合巡天望远镜（LSST）开始操作。