Collaborative Research: Placing High-Redshift Quasars in Perspective: a Gemini Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Survey

合作研究：透视高红移类星体：双子座近红外光谱巡天

• 批准号: 1815645
• 负责人: Michael Brotherton
• 金额: $ 37.58万
• 依托单位: University of Wyoming
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-07-01 至 2024-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1815645&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Placing; Redshift; Quasars

Part 1Shining brighter than a trillion suns, quasars are the most luminous persistentsources in the universe. These cosmic powerhouses form when gas is funneledtoward giant black holes at the centers of galaxies. Since quasars are thoughtto shape the growth of their galaxies, better understanding these sources is oneof modern astronomy's major goals. This project makes new telescopicobservations over several years to improve estimates of the most basicproperties of quasars, enhancing a wide range of astronomical studies.Some 350 hours of infrared observations of 400 distant quasars with theGemini-North telescope in Hawaii will produce the best and largest data set ofits kind. Studying the infrared light will lead to better estimates of themasses of the quasars' black holes, their fueling rates, and their distancesfrom Earth. These results will, in turn, help to develop improved equations forthese properties in the larger quasar population. Comparison with nearby quasarswill also show how these sources change over time, indicating how the galaxiessurrounding such quasars change as well. This project represents a steppingstone in understanding quasars which, in turn, will enable more in-depth projectsat the forefront of modern astronomy.Part 2Quasars are the most powerful objects in the universe. They greatly outshine allthe stars in the galaxies in which they reside. They consist of growing blackholes, millions to billions of times more massive than the sun. Betterunderstanding these most energetic of objects, their properties, their effectson the galaxies that surround them, and how they grow over time are importantquestions in modern astronomy. This project will use one of the world's largesttelescopes to better understand some of the most powerful and distant quasars inorder to help answer these questions. Additional related areas at the forefrontof modern astronomy will benefit as well.The main goal of this project is to substantially improve how we measure thefundamental properties of distant quasars. These properties include the blackhole mass, fueling rate, and distance. Another goal is to see how theseproperties have changed over time. To achieve these goals, the investigatorswill use the Gemini-North telescope in Hawaii to observe the infrared light frommore than 400 distant quasars, thereby creating the largest and best such dataset to date. This effort will take 350 hours of telescope time over severalyears. Analysis of certain features in the light of these sources will providethe best measurements yet of key quasar properties. The results of this projectwill yield new calibrations for quasars in general, and enable a wide range offollow-up studies.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.

第 1 部分 类星体比一万亿个太阳还要明亮，是宇宙中最明亮的持久光源。当气体流向星系中心的巨大黑洞时，这些宇宙发电站就形成了。由于类星体被认为影响了星系的生长，因此更好地了解这些来源是现代天文学的主要目标之一。该项目在几年内进行新的望远镜观测，以改进对类星体最基本属性的估计，从而加强广泛的天文学研究。使用夏威夷双子座北望远镜对 400 个遥远类星体进行约 350 小时的红外观测将产生最好和最大的数据其类型的集合。研究红外光将有助于更好地估计类星体黑洞的质量、它们的燃料供给率以及它们与地球的距离。这些结果反过来将有助于为更大的类星体群中的这些特性开发改进的方程。与附近类星体的比较还将显示这些源如何随时间变化，表明这些类星体周围的星系也如何变化。该项目是理解类星体的基石，这反过来又将使现代天文学最前沿的更深入的项目成为可能。第 2 部分类星体是宇宙中最强大的物体。它们的亮度远远超过它们所在星系中的所有恒星。它们由不断增长的黑洞组成，其质量是太阳的数百万至数十亿倍。更好地了解这些最具活力的物体、它们的特性、它们对周围星系的影响，以及它们如何随着时间的推移而增长，是现代天文学的重要问题。该项目将使用世界上最大的望远镜之一来更好地了解一些最强大和最遥远的类星体，以帮助回答这些问题。现代天文学前沿的其他相关领域也将受益。该项目的主要目标是大幅改进我们测量遥远类星体基本特性的方式。这些属性包括黑洞质量、燃料供给率和距离。另一个目标是了解这些属性随着时间的推移如何变化。为了实现这些目标，研究人员将使用夏威夷的 Gemini-North 望远镜观测来自 400 多个遥远类星体的红外光，从而创建迄今为止最大、最好的此类数据集。这项工作将花费 350 小时的望远镜时间，历时数年。根据这些来源对某些特征进行分析将提供迄今为止对关键类星体特性的最佳测量。该项目的结果将为一般类星体提供新的校准，并实现广泛的后续研究。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Quasar black hole masses and accretion rates across cosmic time

• DOI: 10.1017/s1743921320002392
• 发表时间: 2019-03
• 期刊: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
• 作者: M. Brotherton;J. Maithil;A. Myers;O. Shemmer;B. Matthews;C. Dix;P. Du;Jian-Min Wang

Prescriptions for Correcting Ultraviolet-based Redshifts for Luminous Quasars at High Redshift

• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ab77b6
• 发表时间: 2020-02
• 期刊: The Astrophysical Journal
• 作者: C. Dix;O. Shemmer;M. Brotherton;R. Green;M. Mason;A. Myers

Systematically smaller single-epoch quasar black hole masses using a radius–luminosity relationship corrected for spectral bias

使用校正光谱偏差的半径与光度关系系统地减小单历元类星体黑洞质量

• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac1748
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• 影响因子: 4.8
• 作者: Jaya Maithil;Michael S Brotherton;Ohad Shemmer;Pu Du;Jian-Min Wang;Adam D Myers;Jacob N McLane;Cooper Dix;Br;on M Matthews
• 通讯作者: on M Matthews

Placing High-redshift Quasars in Perspective: A Catalog of Spectroscopic Properties from the Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph–Distant Quasar Survey

• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4365/abc705
• 发表时间: 2020-11
• 期刊: The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
• 作者: B. Matthews;O. Shemmer;C. Dix;M. Brotherton;A. Myers;I. Andruchow;W. Brandt;G. Ferrero;S. Gallagher;R. Green;P. Lira;R. Plotkin;G. Richards;J. Runnoe;D. Schneider;Yue Shen;M. Strauss;Beverley J. Wills U. North Texas;U. Wyoming;U. L. Plata;Penn State;Western;U. Arizona;U. Chile;U. N. Reno;Drexel;Vanderbilt;U. I. Urbana-Champaign;Princeton;U. T. A. Austin