Collaborative Research: Unveiling Dark Matter in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

合作研究：揭示矮球状星系中的暗物质

• 批准号: 0507511
• 负责人: Edward Olszewski
• 金额: $ 9.2万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-07-01 至 2009-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0507511&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Unveiling; Dark; Matter

AST-0507511OlszewskiThough it permeates the entire Universe, dark matter (DM) remains as elusive today as when its gravitational signature was first noted. Fortunately, dwarf galaxies continue to offer a unique window into the nature of DM, as they are host to the smallest known DM structures and may represent the survivors of a vast primordial population. Unfortunately, dwarf galaxy studies rely on observing the motions of individual stars and their interpretation by models, and this is flawed both by having only small samples for any one galaxy, and by requiring highly restrictive assumptions to obtain an answer. It is now possible to obtain samples of thousands of stars in nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies, where it was previously usual to have only tens of stars. At the same time, new, far more sophisticated non-parametric statistical techniques are being developed, which not only include tests of some of the standard dynamical assumptions, but also may offer ways to relax some of those assumptions. The ultimate goal of this research is a kinematical model with the fewest possible assumptions being confronted with the maximum number of discrete velocities in all of the nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies.This close collaboration between astronomers and statisticians links researchers at two universities, including students who can continue this collaborative tradition, and serves the entire astronomical community through the provision of new equipment and the widespread availability of the data and the statistical methods. The results will feed into public and K-5 outreach, which are already a regular part of each researcher's activities.

AST-0507511Olszewski 尽管暗物质 (DM) 遍布整个宇宙，但今天仍然像其引力特征首次被发现时一样难以捉摸。 幸运的是，矮星系继续为了解 DM 的本质提供了一个独特的窗口，因为它们拥有已知最小的 DM 结构，并且可能代表着大量原始种群的幸存者。 不幸的是，矮星系研究依赖于观察单个恒星的运动及其通过模型的解释，这是有缺陷的，因为任何一个星系只有小样本，并且需要高度限制性的假设才能获得答案。 现在可以获得附近矮球状星系中数千颗恒星的样本，而以前那里通常只有数十颗恒星。 与此同时，新的、更加复杂的非参数统计技术正在开发中，这些技术不仅包括对一些标准动力学假设的检验，而且还可能提供放松其中一些假设的方法。 这项研究的最终目标是建立一个运动学模型，以尽可能少的假设来面对所有附近矮球状星系中最大数量的离散速度。天文学家和统计学家之间的密切合作将两所大学的研究人员联系在一起，其中包括能够继续这种合作传统，并通过提供新设备以及广泛提供数据和统计方法来服务整个天文学界。 研究结果将反馈给公众和 K-5 外展活动，这已经成为每位研究人员活动的常规部分。