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: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=712633
• 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，我们能够凝视过去，在像我们自己的银河系这样的星系刚刚开始组装并形成恒星的时候，观察宇宙。 天体物理学在其历史上令人兴奋，因为加拿大是主要贡献者的詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜（JWST）的推出将使我们能够比以往任何时候都更及时地看到更远的时间。 该研究计划将开头，利用我们已经在观察到的星系系统上获得的独特数据开始，就像宇宙仅占其当今时代的三分之一时，以了解对这些年轻星系中新恒星形成的变化如何影响新恒星的变化。 这些数据是双子座望远镜上的四年大计划的结果，将随后进行JWST和其他设施，以在星系组件的峰值时期获得宇宙的精美图片。 具体而言，我们将测量恒星质量，恒星形成速率，气体含量以及居住在不同质量的黑暗光环的星系中的星星的空间分布。 这可以直接查看恒星的积累与暗物质的相关性 - 我们宇宙的神秘组成部分主导结构的增长。 当今天文学中最大的奥秘之一是，与暗物质组装相比，恒星和星系组装（我们可以看到的光）是为了截然不同的速度。 将宇宙中的“正常”物质与暗物质解耦需要以我们不了解的方式释放和分发巨大的能量。 通过使用新技术来仔细观察遥远的宇宙，我们有机会直接观察这些宇宙相互作用。 通过详细的建模，仿真和与其他数据的比较，我们将建立一个一致的解释，以解释超新星爆炸，超大的黑洞和星系相互作用如何塑造我们周围的宇宙。 这项研究的努力旨在为学生提供最大的机会发展广泛适用的技能，并为它们准备天文学的大数据时代，这将在欧几里得和大型天气调查望远镜（LSST）开始操作时实现。