Astrophysical and Cosmological Information Content in Anisotropies of the Near and Far-IR Background and Intensity Fluctuations of Atomic and Molecular Lines

该奖项将支持理论和数据分析研究，以了解未解决的宇宙近红外和远红外背景的空间波动以及原子和分子线的强度映射。在光学到近红外波长的红外背景是来自星系的直接星光发射，而远红外背景主要是由于干预尘埃的再处理光。这项工作将使我们能够更好地了解晕内光，晕内尘埃和微弱的再电离星系的红移大于6通过测量涉及各向异性的近和远红外背景。研究小组将（1）测量或改进现有的测量，（2）解释斯皮策，哈勃和CIBER数据中未解决的波动，（3）进行0.5至4.5微米的多波段研究，以测量波动的光谱能量分布。理解高红移宇宙是当代天文学最紧迫的优先事项之一。这项工作具有重要意义，因为我们对红外背景知识的进一步理解将对我们了解星系如何形成和演化产生重大影响。这项工作的更广泛的影响包括正在进行的研究计划，涉及本科生。宇宙学的研究计划和其他主题也将被整合到加州大学欧文分校的计算物理课程中。

This award will support theoretical and data analysis studies to understand the spatial fluctuations of the unresolved cosmic near and far-infrared backgrounds and the intensity mapping of atomic and molecular lines. The infrared background at optical to near-IR wavelengths is the direct starlight emission from galaxies, while the far-infrared background is mainly due to reprocessed light by the intervening dust. The work will enable us to better understand intrahalo light, intrahalo dust and faint reionizing galaxies at redshifts greater than 6 through measurements involving anisotropies of the near and far-infrared backgrounds. The research team will (1) measure or improve the existing measurements, (2) interpret unresolved fluctuations seen in Spitzer, Hubble, and CIBER data, and (3) conduct a multiband study from 0.5 to 4.5 microns to measure the spectral energy distribution of the fluctuations. Understanding the high-redshift universe is one of the most pressing priorities in contemporary astronomy. This work has great significance because an improved understanding in our knowledge of the infrared background will have significant consequences for our knowledge of how galaxies form and evolve. The broader impacts of this work include an ongoing research program that involves undergraduate students. The research program and other topics in cosmology will also be integrated into a Computational Physics course at UC Irvine.