A Census of Starburst Regions in Luminous Infrared Galaxies as Unveiled by the Jansky VLA

星系碰撞是本地宇宙中最具能量的事件之一。它们是研究星星形成的强烈爆发和巨型中心黑洞的进食的理想实验室。它们还代表了银河系未来的预览，银河系将在50亿年后与仙女座星系相撞。碰撞过程产生的碎片掩盖了光学望远镜的大部分活动。在这项研究中，一个最极端的邻近碰撞星系的子集被升级的超大型阵列观测到，以创建其隐藏的恒星形成区域的详细无线电地图。这些区域的测量特性将与正常星系中的特性进行比较。这将允许确定使星系碰撞中的星星形成如此极端的物理条件。与上述研究同时，PI将领导成功的国家天文学联盟（NAC）的夏洛茨维尔部分。NAC是一个本科课程，旨在增加STEM领域代表性不足的群体的数量。参与的学生从事研究项目，并接受长期的职业指导。低红移亮红外星系（LIRGs）是富气体星系相互作用和合并的场所，也是研究极端星暴和新生活动星系核（AGN）环境的主要系统。这两种现象都发生在致密的尘埃覆盖区域，这些区域占LIRGs辐射热光度的99%。目前的建议利用高分辨率，2-37 GHz的观测与升级的Jansky VLA（JVLA）的一个完整的样本的IRAS RBGS LIRGs在赤道范围内decliter = +20至-20度。这些数据将被用来隔离它们的致密、高能区域，并描述它们相对于附近正常恒星形成星系中恒星形成区域的物理特性。样本的decompression范围确保了数据集的旧值。数据产品将主要通过美国航天局河外数据库传播。国家天文学联盟（NAC）是一个旨在增加来自代表性不足和服务不足群体的学生数量的计划，以及那些被传统学术管道忽视的学生进入STEM或STEM相关职业的计划。除了研究机会外，NAC还为其参与者提供职业发展和全年指导。PI将担任NAC项目科学家，并运行Charlottesville NAC研究中心。在PI的研究监督下工作的NAC学生将从事LIRGs的JVLA观测。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Galaxy collisions are among the most energetic events in the local Universe. They are ideal labs for studying strong bursts of star formation and the feeding of giant central black holes. They also represent a preview to the future of the Milky Way Galaxy, which will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in 5 billion years. The collision process produces debris that hide much of the activity from optical telescopes. In this study, a subset of the most extreme nearby colliding galaxies are observed with the upgraded Very Large Array to create detailed radio maps of their hidden star-forming regions. The measured properties of these regions will be compared with those in normal galaxies. This will allow a determination of the physical conditions that make star formation in galaxy collisions so extreme. Concurrent with the above study, the PI will lead the Charlottesville part of the successful National Astronomy Consortium (NAC). The NAC is an undergraduate program designed to increase the number of underrepresented groups in STEM fields. Participating students work on research projects and receive long-term career mentoring. Low-redshift luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) are the sites of gas-rich galaxy interactions and mergers, and are prime systems for studying the environments of extreme starbursts and nascent active galactic nuclei (AGN). Both phenomena occur in compact, dust-enshrouded regions that are responsible for up to 99% of the bolometric luminosity of LIRGs. The present proposal makes use of high- resolution, 2-37 GHz observations with the upgraded Jansky VLA (JVLA) of a complete sample of IRAS RBGS LIRGs in the equatorial range declination = +20 to -20 degrees. These data will be used to isolate their compact, energetic regions and to characterize their physical properties relative to star-forming regions in nearby normal star-forming galaxies. The declination range of the sample ensures the legacy value of the dataset. Data products will primarily be disseminated through the NASA Extragalactic Database. The National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) is a program designed to increase the number of students from underrepresented and underserved groups and those otherwise overlooked by the traditional academic pipeline into STEM or STEM-related careers. In addition to research opportunities, the NAC provides career development and year-round mentorship of its participants. The PI will take on the role as NAC Project Scientist and run the Charlottesville NAC site. NAC students working under the research supervision of the PI will work on JVLA observations of LIRGs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.