RUI: SHIELD: The Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarf Galaxies

星系拥有一系列令人震惊的物理性质，其中最基本的一项是总质量(由气体、尘埃、恒星和神秘的暗物质组成)。当人们考虑已知质量范围内的星系时，许多重要的物理性质都会发生变化。在这项本科生研究计划(RUI)中，研究人员和学生将使用美国国家科学基金会的卡尔·扬斯基甚大阵列(VLA)的数据来研究大多数极低质量星系的气体成分。这些三维数据产品同时告知这些系统中气体的数量、位置和运动。该团队将把这些VLA数据与一套全面的支持数据进行比较，以揭示这些暗星系的物理性质。本科生将在这个项目的各个方面发挥关键作用。这个RUI计划将研究低质量星系的物理性质，并支持“极低质量矮星的HI调查”(“Shield”)。Shield是一项对低质量矮星系群体的全面调查，该调查是由紫花苜蓿盲人HI星系外调查发现的。作为所有红移中数量最多的星系类型，低质量系统对于理解恒星形成、化学演化、基本标度关系和星系演化至关重要。与Macalester学院的本科生合作，P.I.将对82个盾牌星系和类似系统中的HI气体进行详细研究。利用丰富的多波长屏蔽数据套件，该程序将能够详细探索低质量星系的旋转动力学和恒星形成特性。多个基本星系尺度关系将扩展到盾牌星系所在的稀疏参数空间。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Galaxies harbor an astounding range of physical properties, one of the most fundamental of which is the total mass (made up of gas, dust, stars, and the mysterious dark matter). Many important physical properties change as one considers galaxies across the known range of masses. In this Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program, the investigator and students will use data from the NSF’s Karl Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to study the gaseous component of the most extremely low-mass galaxies. These 3-dimensional data products simultaneously inform upon the amount, the location, and the motion of the gas in these systems. The team will compare these VLA data with a comprehensive suite of supporting data to reveal the physical properties of these faint galaxies. Undergraduate students will play critical roles in all aspects of this program. This RUI program will investigate the physical properties of low-mass galaxies, and it supports the “Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs” (“SHIELD”). SHIELD is a holistic investigation of the low-mass dwarf galaxy population discovered by the ALFALFA blind HI extragalactic survey. As the most numerous types of galaxies at all redshifts, low-mass systems are critical for understanding star formation, chemical evolution, fundamental scaling relations, and galaxy evolution. Working with undergraduate students at Macalester College, the P.I. will undertake a detailed study of the HI gas in the 82 SHIELD galaxies and in similar systems. Using the rich multi-wavelength SHIELD data suite, this program will enable detailed exploration of the rotational dynamics and the star formation properties of low-mass galaxies. Multiple fundamental galaxy scaling relations will be extended into the sparsely populated parameter spaces that the SHIELD galaxies occupy.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.