Collaborative Research: Stellar Clouds as New Probes of the Milky Way's Accretion History and Mass Distribution

合作研究：恒星云作为银河系吸积历史和质量分布的新探测器

• 批准号: 1312863
• 负责人: Steven Majewski
• 金额: $ 7.94万
• 依托单位: University of Virginia Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1312863&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Stellar; Clouds; New

What are the radial profiles, shapes, extents and orientations of the dark matter halos that surround galaxies? This fundamental question is particularly difficult to address in the outskirts of galaxies where there are few visible tracers. Perhaps the most promising approach is to use stellar debris from the destruction of satellite galaxies, and the most promising place to try this approach is the Milky Way - the one galaxy in the Universe where a halo's 3-dimensional structure (rather than a 2-dimensional projection) can be directly probed.This award will support a combined observational and theoretical approach to providing a new and powerful perspective on accreted halo substructures, and, in particular, poorly-studied stellar clouds. The observational program focuses on obtaining radial velocities for stars in known stellar clouds, and making connections between debris structures - from the Solar vicinity to the outer Galaxy, and from one side of the Galaxy to another. Such connections will yield the first comprehensive maps of these stellar debris structures on Galactic scales. Interpreting these maps with a systematic suite of simulations will fill in our missing knowledge of the Galaxy's accretion history and matter distribution.This award will support the training of one minority student in their transition from undergraduate to graduate school through participation in Columbia's "Bridge to the PhD" program. It will also enable the PIs to actively engage students, amateur astronomers and the general public in building an understanding of the history of our home galaxy.

围绕星系的暗物质光环的径向轮廓，形状，范围和方向是什么？这个基本问题在很少有可见的示踪剂的星系郊区尤其难以解决。也许最有前途的方法是利用卫星星系破坏而造成的恒星碎片，尝试这种方法的最有前途的地方是银河系 - 宇宙中的一个星系，其中一个光环的三维结构（而不​​是2--而不是2--可以直接探测维度的投影。该奖项将支持一种合并的观察和理论方法，以提供有关积聚的光晕子结构的新的和有力的观点，尤其是尤其是研究不善的恒星云。观察程序的重点是在已知恒星云中获得恒星的径向速度，并在碎屑结构之间建立连接 - 从太阳附近到外星系，从星系的一侧到另一侧。这样的连接将产生银河尺度上这些恒星碎片结构的第一本综合图。用系统的模拟来解释这些地图将填补我们对银河系的积聚历史和物质分布的缺失。该奖项将支持一名少数族裔学生从本科生到研究生院的培训，这是通过参加哥伦比亚的桥梁的“博士学位“计划。这也将使PI能够积极吸引学生，业余天文学家和公众，以建立对我们家庭银河历史的理解。