Turning up the Heat: Using Ram Pressure Stripping in Clusters to Understand Star Formation in Extreme Conditions

大型星系系统，如星系团，通常被卫星星系包围。当这些卫星在星系团周围移动时，它们通常会被剥离气体，导致可以转化为恒星的气体较少。然而，有证据表明，低质量星系可能不会像宇宙学模型所建议的那样迅速剥离，一些观测研究发现，这种剥离实际上导致了恒星的形成。该项目计划通过一组计算机模拟来了解卫星星系与其宿主之间的相互作用如何影响恒星的形成。该项目将支持哥伦比亚大学博士桥项目的一名学生，让该学生参与研究项目，并提供指导和培训。该团队将调查已经成为更大质量系统的卫星的星系的恒星形成特性。这些星系正在与宿主系统扩散的热晕气体相互作用，这一过程被称为冲压剥离。这些数值模拟的结果将被用来研究(1)低质量星系对冲压剥离做出反应的机制和它们是如何熄灭的，(2)最有可能导致诱导恒星形成而不是快速猝灭的条件，以及它们与越来越大的所谓水母星系的观测样本的比较，这些所谓的水母星系显示了冲压剥离的迹象，以及(3)使用高分辨率的ISM尺度模拟将详细地展示星际介质对冲压剥离的反应。这些问题的答案将有助于更好地理解恒星形成是如何在极端条件下运行的，并可能导致在所有条件下建立更好的恒星形成模型。这个项目将通过支持哥伦比亚大学成功的博士之桥项目中的一名少数族裔学生来解决博士项目中代表不足的少数族裔(URM)的问题。该奖项反映了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。

Large systems of galaxies, such as clusters, are usually surrounded by satellite galaxies. These satellites are often stripped of gas as they move around the cluster, resulting in less gas that can be converted to stars. However, there is evidence that low mass galaxies may not be stripped as quickly as suggested by cosmological models, and some observational studies have found that this stripping actually causes star formation. This project lays out a plan to understand how the interaction of a satellite galaxy with its host affects star formation by using a set of computer simulations. This project will support a student in Columbia University’s Bridge to the PhD program, involving the student in the research program and providing mentoring and training. The team will investigate the star formation properties of galaxies that have become satellites of more massive systems. These galaxies are interacting with the diffuse, hot halo gas of the host system, a process known as ram pressure stripping. The results of these numerical simulations will be used to address (i) the mechanisms by which low-mass galaxies respond to ram pressure stripping and how they quench, (ii) the conditions that are most likely to give rise to induced star formation versus rapid quenching, and how they compare to the increasingly large observational samples of so-called Jellyfish galaxies, which show signs of ram pressure stripping, and (iii) the use of high-resolution ISM-scale simulations will show, in detail, how the interstellar medium reacts to ram-pressure stripping. The answers to these questions will allow for a better understanding of how star formation operates in extreme conditions and may lead to better models of star formation in all conditions. The lack of underrepresented minorities (URM) in Ph.D. programs will be addressed in this project by supporting a URM student in Columbia’s successful Bridge to the Ph.D. program.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.