RUI: Probing CDM's Missing Satellite Problem with a Sample of Local Groups

该奖项由本科院校研究项目资助。该研究项目的目标是本星系群中的矮星系。目前测得的矮星系的人口丰度小于从冷暗物质晕的质谱预测。理论上的解释预测了不同形状的光度函数的暗端，使其成为星系形成理论之间的判别式。首席研究员将仔细测量15个贫穷星系团或星系群的成员资格，最远距离约为2.6亿光年。他开发了新的技术和算法，用于从斯隆数字巡天的测光和模板光谱中排除背景物体，在足够大的体积内达到比银河系暗1000倍的星系，以建立宇宙的代表性样本。该方案于2005年4月开始在托洛洛山美洲天文台的4米望远镜上进行观测，并于2005年9月在加拿大-法国-夏威夷望远镜上进行观测。这一研究对星系演化、结构形成和暗物质等领域具有重要意义。本科生和研究生正在使用0.9米望远镜进行一项重要的辅助计划。未来的观测将成为弗朗西斯科州立大学下一代学生的终极体验，这是一所以本科教学为主的大学。这种动手，合作研究经验是大学天文学计划的重要组成部分，该计划为旨在从事天文学，公立学校教学和工业职业的学生提供服务。

AbstractAST-0607866MarzkeThis award is funded under the Research in Undergraduate Institutions program. The research project is aimed at dwarf galaxies in the local group. The current measured population abundance of dwarf galaxies is less than what is predicted from the mass spectrum of cold-dark-matter halos. Theoretical explanations for this predict different shapes of the faint end of the luminosity function making this a discriminant between theories of galaxy formation. The Principal Investigator will carefully measure the membership of 15 poor clusters or groups up to a distance of ~260 million light years. He has developed new techniques and algorithms for rejecting background objects from photometry and template spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, reaching galaxies 1000 times fainter than the Milky Way over a large enough volume to establish a representative sample of the universe. The program began observations at the 4m telescope of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in April 2005 and at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in September 2005. This research will be of importance to the fields of galaxy evolution, structure formation and dark matter. An important auxiliary program is being carried out by undergraduate and graduate students using a 0.9m telescope. Future observations will serve as the culminating experience for the next generation of students at the San Francisco State University, a predominantly undergraduate teaching university. This hands-on, collaborative research experience is an essential part of the university's astronomy program, which serves a diverse group of students aiming for careers in astronomy, public school teaching, and industry.