CAREER: Dwarf Galaxies in Clusters: their structure, globular clusters and dark matter content

尽管“暗物质”在星系的形成和复杂动力学中起着重要作用，但预测的暗物质数量与观测到的暗物质数量之间仍然存在差异。PI将对在星系团中发现的矮星系的暗物质含量进行详细研究。她将使用复杂的计算机模拟来改进目前使用的球状星团观测方法。这些结果将有助于解决关于宇宙中暗物质数量的争议。PI将在加州河滨市为初高中学生和他们的老师组织和开展一个年度STEM教学项目。该教学将基于对天文图像的“动手”分析。预计将有4000多名初高中学生参加该项目。这项研究将使用Illustris/TNG套件进行详细的流体动力学模拟，以确定矮星系在高密度环境中开始/停止恒星形成的几种路径，恒星形成的相关时间尺度及其与星系团的轨道、质量和坠落特性的关系。它将通过与孤立模拟的矮星系的控制样本进行群和星团的比较，确定驱动矮星系恒星大小差异的物理过程。它还将对星系团中矮星与孤立场星系的暗物质含量进行研究，并确定这种差异是否可以追溯到球状星系团的动力学。最后，用不同的分辨率和恒星形成反馈对选定的星团进行后续放大运行，将允许评估结果对数值选择的稳健性。这些模拟的结果将用于为球状星团的观测提供信息，以便在使用它们来确定矮星系暗物质时纠正星团环境的影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Although “dark matter” plays an important role in the formation and the complex dynamics of galaxies, there remains a discrepancy between the amount of dark matter predicted versus the amount observed. The PI will conduct a detailed study of the dark matter content of dwarf galaxies found in galaxy clusters. She will use sophisticated computer simulations to improve on current methods, which use observations of globular clusters. These results should lead to insights that could help resolve the controversy concerning the amount of dark matter in the universe. The PI will organize and conduct an annual program on STEM instruction for middle and high school students and their teachers in the Riverside, CA. The instruction will be based upon “hands-on” analysis of astronomical images. Over 4000 middle and high school students are expected participate in this program. This research study will perform detailed hydrodynamical simulations using the Illustris/TNG suite to determine the several paths through which dwarf galaxies start/stop star formation in high density environments, the associated time scales for quenching star formation and its relation to the orbits, mass and in-fall properties of their Galactic Clusters. It will identify the physical processes that drive the differences of dwarf galaxies stellar sizes by comparison with groups and clusters with a control sample of dwarf galaxies simulated in isolation. It will also perform a study on the dark matter content of dwarfs in clusters versus isolated field galaxies and determine if the differences may be traceable to the dynamics of Globular clusters. Finally follow-up zoom-in runs of selected clusters with different resolution and star formation feedback will allow the evaluation of the robustness of the results to numerical choices. The results of these simulations will be used to inform the observations of Globular clusters to correct for the cluster environmental effects when using them to to determine dwarf galaxies dark matter.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.