RII Track-4:@NASA: Bluer and Hotter: From Ultraviolet to X-ray Diagnostics of the Circumgalactic Medium

RII Track-4：@NASA：更蓝更热：从紫外到 X 射线对环绕银河系介质的诊断

• 批准号: 2327438
• 负责人: Joseph Burchett
• 金额: $ 22.69万
• 依托单位: New Mexico State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-01-01 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2327438&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RII; Track; NASA; Bluer; Hotter

The brilliant spiral appearances of galaxies have dazzled humanity since their discovery through the first telescopes. However, this picture of galaxies is highly incomplete, containing only their starlight. Those stars, like our Sun must form out of an enormous gas supply, both inside and outside the galaxy, that cannot be seen in light visible by human eyes. Thus, understanding how and why new generations of stars may or may not form (i.e., whether galaxies 'live' or 'die') requires observations over an enormous range of wavelengths, as the gas reservoirs in and around galaxies may span a factor of 100,000 in temperature. We now know that gas flows in and out of galaxies engage in a complex interplay, like ecosystems often encountered in nature. The mechanics of these ecosystems lies at the core of our own cosmic origins. The National Academy of Sciences has set these 'cosmic ecosystems' as a key national priority for astrophysics research over the next decade and beyond. The Principal Investigator's (PI) research group has been focused on the cooler gas in cosmic ecosystems, those detectable at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths, but the hotter phases requiring X-rays to observe play a critical role. This fellowship will equip the PI's research group at New Mexico State University to address this national priority from a comprehensive multi-wavelength perspective. The project will leverage the X-ray expertise at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to train the PI and a graduate student in X-ray astronomical observations. The research team will engage in three key investigations that couple our current expertise with the newly acquired X-ray techniques while employing X-ray facilities receiving substantial U.S. investment.The gas permeating cosmic ecosystems has been primarily characterized observationally at ultraviolet (UV) and optical wavelengths, which are sensitive to cool (10^4 K) and warm-hot (10^5−10^6 K) gas. However, galaxy formation theory is increasingly pointing towards the hotter phases ( 10^6 K) observed in X-rays as holding the answers to the critical processes within cosmic ecosystems. We stand at an exciting juncture with the imminent data release of the eROSITA All Sky Survey (eRASS), the U.S.- and Japanese-led high spectral resolution XRISM X-ray telescope launching in 2023, and the X-ray community tirelessly developing mission concepts for the next X-ray space telescope to be launched by the U.S. within the next decade (another National Academy recommendation). In partnership with astrophysicists at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the research team will build the necessary research infrastructure at New Mexico State University (NMSU) to seize these emerging opportunities. Towards this end, we will conduct research projects that involve the key facets of X-ray analysis. 1) We will employ the eRASS X-ray imaging to unveil the interactions between the hot intragroup and circumgalactic medium (IGrM; CGM) in galaxy groups. 2) After the launch of XRISM, we will measure precise hot intracluster medium velocities within galaxy clusters and compare with the cool-phase H I velocity distribution from existing UV absorption line observations to characterize high-velocity, multiphase gas flows. 3) Looking towards the future, we will employ state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulations to generate mock X-ray microcalorimeter spectra and mock UV absorption and emission spectra of spatially coincident regions in the CGM. We will then propagate this expertise back through our NMSU Astronomy Department, as X-ray observations are used in every subfield of astronomy studied by the NMSU faculty, but X-rays are missing from our observational skill portfolio.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.

自从通过第一批望远镜发现星系以来，星系的辉煌螺旋外观一直让人类眼花缭乱。然而，这张星系图片非常不完整，只包含它们的星光。这些恒星，比如我们的太阳，必须由内部和外部的巨大气体供应形成。因此，了解新一代恒星可能会或不会形成的方式和原因（即星系是“存活”还是“死亡”）需要对大范围的观测进行观测。波长，因为星系内部和周围的气体储层的温度可能达到十万倍。我们现在知道，流入和流出星系的气体会发生复杂的相互作用，就像自然界中经常遇到的生态系统一样，这些生态系统的机制是核心。美国国家科学院已将这些“宇宙生态系统”设定为未来十年及以后国家天体物理学研究的重点。一直专注于宇宙生态系统中较冷的气体，这些气体可在紫外线和可见光波长下检测到，但需要 X 射线观察的较热阶段发挥着关键作用，这项奖学金将为新墨西哥州立大学的 PI 研究小组解决这个问题。从全面的多波长角度来看，该项目将利用美国宇航局戈达德太空飞行中心的 X 射线专业知识来培训 PI 和一名研究生进行 X 射线天文观测。该研究团队将从事三项关键研究。将我们目前的专业知识与新获得的 X 射线技术结合起来，同时使用获得美国大量投资的 X 射线设施。气体渗透的宇宙生态系统主要在紫外线 (UV) 和光学波长下进行观测，这些波长对冷 (10 ^4 K）和暖热（10^5−10^6 K）气体然而，星系形成理论越来越倾向于在 X 射线中观察到的较热阶段（10^6 K）作为答案。我们正处于一个激动人心的时刻，即将发布 eROSITA 全天巡天 (eRASS) 数据、美国和日本主导的高光谱分辨率 XRISM X 射线望远镜将于 2023 年发射，以及 X 射线望远镜。射线社区孜孜不倦地为美国在未来十年内发射的下一个 X 射线太空望远镜开发任务概念（另一项与天体物理学家合作的建议）。在 NASA 戈达德太空飞行中心，研究团队将在新墨西哥州立大学 (NMSU) 建立必要的研究基础设施，以抓住这些新兴机遇，为此，我们将开展涉及 X 射线分析关键方面的研究项目。 1）我们将利用eRASS X射线成像来揭示星系团中热团内介质（IGrM；CGM）之间的相互作用。2）XRISM发射后，我们将精确测量热团内介质。星系团内的中等速度，并与现有紫外吸收线观测的冷相 H I 速度分布进行比较，以表征高速、多相气流 3) 展望未来，我们将采用最先进的星系形成。模拟生成 CGM 中空间重合区域的模拟 X 射线微量热计光谱和模拟 UV 吸收和发射光谱，然后我们将把这些专业知识传回我们的 NMSU 天文学系，因为 X 射线观测被用于 CGM。 NMSU 教师研究的天文学的每个子领域，但我们的观测技能组合中缺少 X 射线。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。