Evolution of Neutral Gas in Galaxies

该项目将由美国中性氢研究领域的一位领先专家负责，旨在回答有关星系从原始气体云到我们现在看到的复杂恒星和气体系统的形成和演化的许多悬而未决的问题。这项研究将比较邻近星系的结构和动力学与相应的年轻得多的高红移天体。通过研究继续改变星系结构的过程，以及在足够大的空间内测量中性氢的分布，将对原始气体转化为引力束缚星系系统的效率施加严格的限制。

This project, to be carried out by one of the leading U.S. experts in neutral hydrogen studies, seeks to answer some of the many unanswered questions about the formation and evolution of galaxies from primordial clouds of gas into the complex systems of stars and gas we now see. This investigation will compare the structure and dynamics of nearby galaxies with corresponding high redshift objects of much younger age. By studying the processes which continue to modify the structure of galaxies, and surveying the distribution of neutral hydrogen in a sufficiently large volume of space, strict constraints will be placed on the efficiency of conversion or primordial gas into gravitationally bound galactic systems.