Following the Turbulent Enrichment of the High-Redshift Universe

今天观测到的所有恒星都富含由前几代恒星形成的重元素（比氢或氦重）。该项目将使用研究小组开发的新的、极其精确的数值技术来跟踪元素富集的过程，并为首次创造碳、氮、氧和许多其他生命必需元素的恒星生成提供新的线索。这项研究将由研究生推动，为他们提供天文学和计算物理方面的严格训练。此外，研究结果将通过公开讲座广泛传播，帮助更大的群体参与到令人兴奋的天文学和正在进行的寻找失踪的第一代恒星的工作中来。为了研究第一代无重元素（III星族，Pop III）恒星的演化，研究小组开发了一种独特的、经过仔细测试的亚网格混合模型，该模型可以跟踪三个数量：(i) Pop III恒星产生的重元素，（ii）随后恒星群产生的重元素，以及（III）未污染气体的比例。该项目将建立在这一能力的基础上，开发同时模拟混合、化学和辐射转移的宇宙学模拟，并开展一套这样的模拟，涵盖Pop III恒星的未知特性。与观测专家合作，该团队将应用这些结果来深入了解如何利用在银河系中观测到的贫金属恒星和在高红移观测到的贫金属星系来限制未知的Pop III属性。这些预测不仅有助于解释当前的数据，还将推动下一代地面和太空望远镜的任务规划。

All stars observed today are enriched with heavy elements (heavier than hydrogen or helium) made by previous stellar generations. This project will track the process of element enrichment using new and extremely accurate numerical techniques developed by the research team and shed new light on the stellar generation that first created carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and many of the other elements necessary for life. The research will be driven by graduate students, providing them with rigorous training in astronomy and computational physics. Furthermore, the results will be disseminated broadly through the presentation of public lectures, helping to engage a larger community in the excitement of astronomy and the ongoing search for the missing first generation of stars.To study the evolution of the first generation of heavy-element free (Population III, Pop III) stars, the research team has developed a unique, carefully tested subgrid mixing model that tracks three quantities: (i) the heavy elements generated by Pop III stars, (ii) the heavy elements generated by subsequent stellar populations, and (iii) the fraction of unpolluted gas. The project would build upon this capability to develop cosmological simulations that simultaneously model mixing, chemistry, and radiative transfer and to carry out a suite of such simulations that spans the unknown properties of Pop III stars. Working with observational experts, the team will apply these results to provide insights into how unknown Pop III properties can be constrained using metal-poor stars observed in the Milky Way and metal-poor galaxies observed at high-redshift. These predictions will not only help interpret current data but will also drive mission planning for the next generation of ground- and space-based telescopes.