The Universe at z=5: High-redshift quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

本计划的目标是利用斯隆数字巡天(SDSS)的测光数据来识别高红移类星体(Z~5)，并对这些天体进行后续分析。最初的SDSS调试数据已经用于开发和验证发现技术，最终样本量预计为~100个对象。这些数据开辟了一种新的机制，并将允许Pi-CO-I研究红移的类星体人口统计学；高红移的星系形成和类星体活动之间的关系；以及高红移的中间气体的研究。斯隆数字天空调查是一个雄心勃勃的项目，涉及全国和世界各地的大学和机构联盟，以开发对天空进行准确和完整的三维普查。使用新墨西哥州阿帕奇点天文台的一台2.5米的专用望远镜，它将在未来五年内调查天空，汇编1亿个星系、恒星和类星体的详细数据。调查的初步结果显示了它在许多方面的潜力，包括搜索宇宙中最遥远的物体。类星体在天空中看起来像是未分辨的、极其明亮的光点，据信是物质落入质量为太阳10亿倍的黑洞时发出的辐射的结果。它们的极高亮度使它们能够在非常远的距离被探测到。斯隆调查使我们发现了大量已知的最遥远的类星体。我们计划在未来几年内对这些神秘物体进行多项调查：a)。汇编遥远类星体的完整样本，研究它们聚集在一起的趋势，并了解它们随时间的演化。b)。用对大范围波长敏感的望远镜研究这些系统的物理性质，以了解它们形成的过程和它们如何产生巨大的亮度。c)。研究这些类星体的邻近环境，以了解它们对邻近星系的影响，以及渗透到类星体之间空间的扩散气体。d)。发现新的类星体和其他现象，这是我们完整的调查应该揭示的。该项目的资金由美国国家科学基金会的星系外天文学和宇宙学计划(AST/EXC)提供。

AST- 0071091StraussThe goals of this proposal are to use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometric data to identify high redshift quasars (Z ~5) and conduct a follow up analysis of these objects. The initial SDSS commissioning data have already been used to develop and prove the discovery technique and the final sample size is expected to be ~ 100 objects. These data open up a new regime and will allow the PI-CO-I's to study quasar demographics with redshift; the relationship between galaxy formation and quasar activity at high redshifts; and studies of intervening gas at high redshifts. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is an ambitious project involving a consortium of universities and institutions around the country and around the world, to develop an accurate and complete census of the heavens in three dimensions. Using a dedicated 2.5m telescope at Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico, it will survey the sky over the next five years, compiling detailed data on 100 million galaxies, stars, and quasars. Early results from the survey have shown its potential on many fronts, including the search for the most distant objects in the universe. Quasars, which appear as unresolved, exceedingly luminous points of light in the sky, are believed to be the result of the radiation given off as material falls into a black hole one billion times more massive than the sun. Their extreme luminosity allow them to be detected at very great distances. The Sloan Survey has allowed us to discover a great number of the most distant quasars yet known. We plan to do a number of investigations of these enigmatic objects over the next few years: a). Compile complete samples of distant quasars, to study theirtendency to cluster together and to understand their evolution with time. b). Study the physical properties of these systems with telescopes sensitive to a large range of wavelengths, to understand the processes by which they formed and how they generate their tremendous luminosities. c). Study the immediate environment of these quasars to learn about their effect on neighboring galaxies, and the diffuse gas which permeates the space between quasars. d). Discover new classes of quasars and other phenomena which our complete survey should bring to light. Funding for this project was provided by the NSF program for ExtragalacticAstronomy & Cosmology (AST/EXC).***