Collaborative Research: Tests of Dark Matter physics with isolated dwarf galaxies in the Dark Energy Survey

宇宙的四分之一是由一种性质未知的物质--暗物质（DM）组成的。 对冷暗物质（CDM）范式最引人注目的预测是存在大量的小的暗物质云，称为晕。 小的“矮”星系预计将生活在这些小的DM晕中。通过使用矮星系的观测来计算晕，研究人员将测试CDM模型。 调查人员将完成对我们银河系附近矮星系的普查。 通过这些观测，研究人员将寻找星系和DM晕之间的联系。研究人员将通过与俄亥俄州州立大学的Slettebak天文馆合作开发的天文馆展览分享将星系与DM联系起来的激动人心的故事。 研究人员还将评估和改进一个早期开始的夏季计划，为本科生从代表性不足的群体。 研究人员将使用暗能量调查（DES）的光学数据和Parkes-IMAGINE原子氢调查的无线电数据相结合，以检测和表征附近的矮星系，这些矮星系的气体和恒星质量仅为100万个太阳。他们将利用这次矮星系普查建立理论模型，将矮星系与它们所居住的暗物质晕联系起来。 他们将探索孤立的矮星系和围绕更大质量星系运行的“卫星”星系。 由于目前关于矮星系和它们的DM晕之间的联系的研究主要集中在卫星星系上，我们必须确定卫星星系中恒星和气体的演化如何影响星系和它们的晕之间的匹配。研究人员将建立一个半经验的理论框架来解释CDM背景下的数据。研究人员将使用各种技术，包括宽视场成像数据的表面亮度波动距离测量，矮星系和球状星团的自动识别以及小星系的恒星和原子气体成分之间的交叉匹配。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

One-quarter of the Universe consists of a form of matter whose nature is unknown --- dark matter (DM). The most striking prediction of the leading cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm is the existence and abundance of small collapsed clouds of dark matter, called halos. Small “dwarf” galaxies are expected to live in these small DM halos. By using observations of dwarf galaxies to count halos, the investigators will test CDM models. The investigators will complete a census of dwarf galaxies near our Milky Way Galaxy. With these observations, the investigators will search for a connection between galaxies and DM halos. The investigators will share the exciting story connecting galaxies to DM through a planetarium show developed in collaboration with the Ohio State University’s Slettebak Planetarium. The investigators will also assess and improve an early start summer program for undergraduates from underrepresented groups. The investigators will use a combination of optical data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and radio data from the Parkes-IMAGINE atomic hydrogen survey to detect and characterize nearby dwarf galaxies that contain as few as a million solar masses in gas and stars. They will use this census of dwarf galaxies to build theoretical models connecting dwarf galaxies with the dark matter halos that they inhabit. They will explore both isolated dwarf galaxies and ``satellite” galaxies orbiting more massive galaxies. Because much of the existing work on the connection between dwarf galaxies and their DM halos focuses on satellite galaxies, we must determine how the evolution of the stars and gas in satellite galaxies affects the matching between galaxies and their halos. The investigators will build a semi-empirical theoretical framework to interpret the data in the context of CDM. The investigators will use a variety of techniques, including surface-brightness fluctuation distance measurements on wide-field imaging data, automated dwarf galaxy and globular cluster identification and cross-matching between the stellar and atomic gas components of small galaxies.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.