Collaborative Research: Observations and Theory of the Most Powerful Gravitational Lensing Telescopes

宇宙的一个大谜团是第一批恒星和星系是如何形成的。 天体物理学家可以通过检查宇宙中一些最遥远的星系来回顾过去，这些星系的光线需要数十亿年才能到达地球。 对这些非常遥远的星系进行详细、仔细的研究，对于理解第一批恒星和星系是如何形成的至关重要。 不幸的是，识别这些星系非常具有挑战性。 该项目旨在使用一种新技术，利用前景星系团的引力透镜放大这些遥远的星系，主要研究人员（PI）分析多透镜平面的新理论框架揭示了由沿着视线的多个结构和大的综合质量组成的质量分布，透镜z ~7源的数量成倍增加，特别是在星系光度函数的暗端。 这些光束是有效的，因为它们在大面积上产生显著的放大率或高光学扩展量。 宇宙学模拟表明，它们是罕见的，但通过选择跟踪致密结构的星系的最高综合光度的视线来识别，即，明亮的红色星系 PI现在已经在斯隆数字巡天（SDSS）中确定了40条这样的视线。 前七个望远镜的光谱学证实了它们可能是天空中最强大的引力透镜望远镜。 该项目将使用一个全面的观测和理论方案，以实现对透镜z ~ 7至10源的高效地基和天基跟踪调查。 利用星系光谱学和透镜弧成像来约束每个视线质量分布，再加上理论建模来生成精确的透镜放大图，PI将首次限制最遥远星系的暗端光度演化。这项工作将促进亚利桑那大学和罗格斯大学研究生的培训，使他们能够与前沿领域的高级人员合作观察分析和理论建模。 合作PI Zablujie参与了亚利桑那大学的妇女在科学和工程（WISE）章，在那里她讨论了她的研究，在他们的讲习班为十几岁的女孩。 她还将与Tohono O 'odham Nation的成员和当地学校的学生讨论天文学研究和职业。 Co-PI Keeton是罗格斯大学本科生Aresty研究中心的教师主任，该中心是一个私人捐赠的中心，每年支持大约200个学生研究项目。 该项目将通过共同主要研究者的伙伴关系加强研究和教育的基础设施，促进教师的教学以及学生的培训和学习，通过公开发布透镜建模软件扩大知识的传播，并可能通过外联活动增加代表性不足的妇女和美洲土著人的参与。

A great mystery of the Universe is how the first stars and galaxies formed. Astrophysicists can virtually look back in time by examining some of the most distant galaxies in the Universe, whose light has taken billions of years to reach Earth. Detailed, careful study of these very distant galaxies is critical to understanding how the first stars and galaxies formed. Unfortunately, it is very challenging to identify these galaxies. This project aims to use a new technique that exploits gravitational lensing by foreground clusters of galaxies that magnify these distant galaxies, making them easier to detect.The principal investigators' (PIs') new theoretical framework for analyzing multiple-lensing planes reveals that there are mass distributions consisting of multiple structures along the line-of-sight and large integrated masses that produce a many-fold increase in the number of lensed z ~7 sources, particularly at the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function. These beams are effective because they create significant magnification over a large area, or high etendue. Cosmological simulations suggest that they are rare but identifiable by choosing lines-of-sight with the highest integrated luminosities of galaxies that trace the densest structures, i.e., luminous red galaxies. The PIs have now identified 40 such lines-of-sight in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Spectroscopy of the first seven confirms that they are likely the most powerful gravitational lens telescopes in the sky. This project will use a comprehensive observational and theoretical program to enable highly efficient ground- and space-based follow-up surveys for lensed z ~ 7 to 10 sources. Using galaxy spectroscopy and lensed arc imaging to constrain each line-of-sight mass distribution, coupled with theoretical modeling to generate a precise lensing magnification map, the PIs will place the first limits on the faint end luminosity evolution of the most distant galaxies.This work will advance the training of graduate students at The University of Arizona and Rutgers University by allowing them to work with senior personnel on forefront observational analyses and theoretical modeling. Co-PI Zabludoff is involved in The University of Arizona's Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) chapter, where she discusses her research in their workshops for teenage girls. She will also talk about astronomy research and careers with members of the Tohono O'odham Nation and with students in local schools. Co-PI Keeton is the Faculty Director of the Aresty Research Center for Undergraduates at Rutgers, a privately-endowed center that supports approximately 200 student research projects each year. This project will enhance the infrastructure for research and education via the co-PI's partnership, advance the teaching of faculty and the training and learning of students, broaden the dissemination of knowledge through the public release of the lens modeling software, and may increase the participation of underrepresented women and Native Americans through outreach.