Collaborative Research: The Virgo Cluster as a Testbed for the Study of Galaxy Formation and Evolution

合作研究：处女座星团作为星系形成和演化研究的试验台

• 批准号: 2206328
• 负责人: Puragra Guha Thakurta
• 金额: $ 27.91万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Cruz
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2206328&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Virgo; Cluster; Testbed

Galaxies and clusters of galaxies are visible because of the light emitted by stars and hot gas. However, the mass of stars and gas in these structures is greatly exceeded by the mass of dark matter. Dark matter cannot be observed directly, but the gravitational effects of dark matter can be observed in the distribution and motion of stars, gas, and stellar clusters such as globular clusters (GCs). A team from the University of the Pacific and the University of California Santa Cruz will use spectroscopic observations of GCs to probe the dark matter content of the nearby Virgo cluster of galaxies with the goal of understanding the assembly history of massive galaxy clusters. The team will continue working with high school students through the Science Internship Program (SIP) at UC Santa Cruz. In addition, they will involve undergraduates from both the University of the Pacific and the University of California Santa Cruz in research relating to this project. Finally, they will participate in traditional outreach events such as public talks and workshops, with special emphasis on reaching Hispanic and Latino communities.The project will use GCs to study the assembly of structures in the Virgo cluster. This takes advantage of the large numbers of GCs, their relatively high surface brightness, and their extended radial distribution. The main scientific goals include: (i) determining the dark matter content of dwarf early-type and ultra-diffuse galaxies; (ii) testing the dynamical friction scenario for the formation of galaxy nuclei from mergers of GCs; and (iii) understanding the effects of the cluster environment through analysis of clustering, substructures, and asymmetries found in the GC population, and the study of cluster-centric radial trends of the stellar populations of Virgo dwarf ellipticals.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.

由于恒星和热气体发出的光，星系和星系团是可见的。然而，这些结构中恒星和气体的质量大大超过了暗物质的质量。暗物质无法直接观察到，但可以在恒星、气体和球状星团（GC）等星团的分布和运动中观察到暗物质的引力效应。来自太平洋大学和加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的一个团队将利用GC的光谱观测来探测附近处女座星系团的暗物质含量，目的是了解大质量星系团的组装历史。该团队将继续通过加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的科学实习计划 (SIP) 与高中生合作。此外，他们还将让太平洋大学和加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的本科生参与与该项目相关的研究。最后，他们将参加传统的外展活动，例如公开演讲和研讨会，特别注重影响西班牙裔和拉丁裔社区。该项目将使用 GC 来研究处女座星团中的结构组装。这利用了大量 GC、其相对较高的表面亮度以及其扩展的径向分布。主要科学目标包括：（i）确定矮早型和超漫射星系的暗物质含量； (ii) 测试由 GC 合并形成星系核的动态摩擦场景； (iii) 通过分析 GC 星团中发现的星团、子结构和不对称性，以及研究室女座矮椭圆星系星团以星团为中心的径向趋势，了解星团环境的影响。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，并被认为值得支持。