Galactic History- Old Stellar Populations in Edge-on Disk Galaxies

银河历史-边缘盘星系中的古老恒星群

• 批准号: 9624542
• 负责人: Heather Morrison
• 金额: $ 53.24万
• 依托单位: Case Western Reserve University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-08-01 至 2003-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9624542&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Galactic; History; Old; Stellar; Populations

9624542 Morrison The ability to study old stellar populations in galaxies, the results of which may be used to trace the formation and evolution of galaxies, has benefited in several ways from the advent of large-format Charge-Coupled-Devices (CCDs) and increased computing power. A major advance has been the development of techniques of using deep CCD imaging of galaxies, which allows one to study the old stellar populations of nearby galaxies in unprecedented detail. The observations to be carried out will reach more than 2 magnitudes fainter than previous observations. The results of the research will serve to delineate the older stellar populations of a representative sample of nearby disk galaxies, using recently developed techniques. A systematic investigation of the properties of 10 nearby edge-on disk galaxies with Hubble types ranging from Sc though Sa to S0 will be carried out. Of particular interest in this work are the properties of thick disks and stellar halos of these galaxies, when they exist. The study of the thick disks observed in the sample will able one to test the currently popular models of thick disk galaxy formation by satellite accretion. If the models predict successfully the thick disk properties of this sample, there is the possibility of using thick disks as tracers of the accretion history of galaxies. The characterization of thick disks and halos in this sample will allow us to test for the first time whether the Milky Way's old stellar populations are typical of nearby disk galaxies. Most of the observations will be taken on Case Western Reserve University's (CWRU) Burrell Schmidt telescope at Kitt Peak Natal Observatory (KPNO), to which CWRU has special access. An improved CCD system for the Schmidt, with a factor of 5 improvement in quantum efficiency, will be purchased. This upgrade of the CCD system will enable surface photometry observations in the blue region of the spectrum, and thus provide color (and hence a ge and metallicity) information on the thick disk and halo stellar populations. Teaching development activities will include involvement of undergraduate students in research and in course development of the "Introduction to Astronomy for Majors" course. This will closely tie what is taught to current research, using a thematic approach. Two major areas of current astronomical research, how the solar system was formed and the determination of the value of cosmic distance scale problem, will be used as recurring themes in the two-semester course. Other teaching-related activities will include several innovative ways of improving teaching, organized through CWRU's new teaching center (including active learning techniques and a strong use of the World Wide Web). A program to allow undergraduates to accompany the PI on observing trips to KPNO will be carried out. ***

9624542莫里森能够研究星系中旧的恒星种群的能力，其结果可用于追踪星系的形成和演化，从大幅面电荷偶联器（CCD）出现和增加计算能力的多种方式中受益。 主要的进步是开发了使用星系深的CCD成像的技术，这使人们可以以前所未有的细节研究附近星系的旧恒星种群。与以前的观察相比，要进行的观察结果将达到2个以上的幅度。 这项研究的结果将使用最近开发的技术来描述附近磁盘星系的代表性样本的较旧的恒星种群。 将对附近10个边缘磁盘星系的性质进行系统研究，其中Hubble类型从SC虽然SA到S0不等。 在这项工作中特别有趣的是这些星系的厚磁盘和出色的光晕的特性。 对样品中观察到的厚磁盘的研究将能够通过卫星积聚测试当前流行的厚盘星系形成模型。如果模型成功预测了该样品的厚磁盘特性，则可能会使用厚的磁盘作为星系吸积史的示踪剂。 该样品中厚磁盘和光晕的表征将使我们能够首次测试银河系的旧恒星种群是否是附近磁盘星系的典型特征。 大多数观察结果都将在Case Western Reserve University's（CWRU）的Burrell Schmidt望远镜（Kitt Peak Natal天文台（KPNO））上进行，CWRU可以特殊访问。 将购买改进的Schmidt的CCD系统，其量子效率提高了5倍。 CCD系统的这种升级将在频谱的蓝色区域中实现表面光度计观测值，从而在厚的磁盘和光晕恒星群体上提供颜色（因此提供GE和金属性）信息。 教学开发活动将包括本科生参与研究和“专业天文学概论”课程的发展。 这将使用主题方法将所教导的内容与当前的研究紧密联系。 当前天文学研究的两个主要领域，如何形成太阳系以及确定宇宙距离量表问题的价值，将用作两学期课程的重复主题。其他与教学有关的活动将包括通过CWRU的新教学中心组织的几种创新的改善教学方法（包括主动学习技术和强烈使用万维网）。 将进行一项允许本科生陪同PI进行观察到KPNO的计划。 ***