PIRE: Southern Optical Astronomical Survey

0530095斯珀格尔这一国际研究和教育合作奖将支持普林斯顿大学、罗格斯大学、宾夕法尼亚大学、卡托利卡大学(智利)和夸祖鲁-纳塔尔大学(南非)之间的多机构合作伙伴关系，这将解决许多宇宙学中最深刻和最紧迫的问题：什么是神秘的暗能量，它是宇宙中占主导地位的能量形式？宇宙中的大多数原子在哪里？星系和它们的环境是如何相互影响的？这些问题将通过对南方天空100平方度的狭长地带进行详细研究来解决。我们的观测将聚焦于宇宙的年龄在20亿到60亿年之间。新的南部非洲大望远镜(SALT，在南非)将被用来拍摄该带的四色图像。智利的阿塔卡马宇宙学望远镜(ACT)将为这一带绘制微波地图。我们将在条带中识别星系团，然后使用盐分光谱仪获得星系团中星系的年龄和红移。同样位于智利的麦哲伦和布兰科望远镜将为引力透镜调查提供额外的高质量成像数据，直接探测调查区域的质量分布。通过将我们的微波地图与基于空间的X射线观测相结合，我们将能够测量气体的温度和分布，并将其与星系的空间分布进行比较。综合分析和数值模拟工作将结合所有数据集，提取对整个宇宙以及星系和星系团演化的约束。这一雄心勃勃的计划将建立在美国三大天文和物理项目(普林斯顿、罗格斯和宾夕法尼亚大学)以及两所南半球机构--卡托利卡大学(智利)和夸祖鲁-纳塔尔大学(南非)--的科学人才的基础上，建立强大的国际合作。这一新颖的跨国努力将为本科生、研究生、博士后研究人员和年轻教师提供一流的国际科学培训。本科生将在南半球的两个地点之一进行为期8周的国际研究体验。研究生将与其他合作机构的同龄人配对，并参加每周一次的视频和网络电话会议。半年一次的暑期学校和研讨会(在两个半球之间交替)将向研究生和博士后研究人员介绍尖端技术、新的科学成果和不同的文化。来自英国、墨西哥和加拿大其他ACT机构的学生、博士后研究人员和教师也将参加暑期班，从而扩大了国际合作网络。博士后研究人员和教职员工还将前往南非和智利，与他们的同事一起收集、分析和综合数据。该项目不仅将实现一个令人兴奋的科学研究计划，还将培养能够在全球科学环境中蓬勃发展的未来领导者。

0530095 SpergelThis Partnership for International Research and Education award will support a multi-institutional partnership between Princeton University, Rutgers University, the University of Pennsylvania, Catolica University (Chile) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) that will address many of the deepest and most pressing questions in cosmology: What is the mysterious dark energy that is the dominant form of energy in the universe? Where are most of the atoms in the universe? How do galaxies and their environments affect each other? These questions will be addressed by a detailed study of a 100 square-degree strip of the Southern sky. Our observations will focus on the universe when it was between 2 and 6 billion years old. The new Southern African Large Telescope (SALT, in South Africa) will be used to make four-color images of the strip. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT, in Chile) will make microwave maps of this strip. We will identify galaxy clusters in the strip and then use the SALT spectrograph to obtain ages and redshifts for galaxies in the clusters. The Magellan and Blanco telescopes, also based in Chile, will provide additional high-quality imaging data for a gravitational lensing survey, directly probing the distribution of mass in the survey region. By combining our microwave maps with space-based X-ray observations, we will be able to measure the temperature and distribution of gas and compare it to the spatial distribution of galaxies. An integrated analysis and numerical simulation effort will combine all of the data sets and extract constraints on the universe as a whole and on the evolution of galaxies and clusters.This ambitious program will build strong international collaborations based on the scientific talents of three major US astronomy and physics programs (Princeton, Rutgers, and the University of Pennsylvania) and of two Southern Hemisphere institutions, Catolica University (Chile) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). This novel multi-national effort will provide superb international scientific training for undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and young faculty. Undergraduate students will engage in an 8-week international research experience at one of the two Southern Hemisphere sites. Graduate students will be paired with their peers at other partner institutions and will participate in weekly video and web teleconferences. Semi-annual summer schools and workshops (alternating between hemispheres) will introduce graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to cutting-edge technologies, new scientific results, and different cultures. Students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty from other ACT institutions in the UK, Mexico, and Canada will also participate in the summer school, thus broadening the international collaborative network. Postdoctoral researchers and faculty will also travel to South Africa and Chile to work with their colleagues on data collection, analysis, and synthesis. This project will not only enable an exciting scientific research program but will also train future leaders that are able to prosper in the global scientific environment.