CAREER: Modeling the Evolution of Massive Galaxies with Enzo-E

职业：使用 Enzo-E 模拟大质量星系的演化

• 批准号: 2339916
• 负责人: Yuan Li
• 金额: $ 60.18万
• 依托单位: University of North Texas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-09-01 至 2029-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2339916&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Modeling; Evolution; Massive; Galaxies; CAREER; Modeling; Evolution; Massive; Galaxies

The past few decades have seen tremendous advances in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution using both observations and detailed computer simulations. However, many key questions are still not fully understood. For example, most massive elliptical galaxies, among the oldest and most massive structures in the universe and hosts of supermassive black holes (SMBH), cease forming stars and transition into passively evolving systems. While the precise mechanisms underpinning such "quenching" are unclear, SMBHs appear to play a key role by suppressing the infall of fresh gas - the raw material of star formation - from the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The PI will conduct a computer simulation of a massive galaxy's formation and evolution with spatial resolution sufficient to resolve the CGM's complex structure and the small-scale physical processes occurring there. This work will inform and complement large-scale cosmological simulations and will provide mentoring and training for three graduate students in cutting edge galaxy simulations. Undergraduate students will also be involved, and the investigator will engage in outreach to local high schools and public planetarium shows. To better understand the evolution of massive galaxies, the investigator and her group will conduct a very high- resolution numerical study using a cosmological-zoom simulation focusing on the formation of a single massive galaxy while following its evolution all the way down to the current epoch (z = 0). The major objectives of this work are to understand (1) how SMBHs form and grow in massive galaxies, (2) precisely how SMBH "feedback" leads to star formation quenching, (3) the structure and evolution the CGM, and (4) how the evolution of satellite galaxies is affected. The team will use the newly developed Enzo-E, which is a highly scalable redesign of the original Enzo code for the exascale era. They will develop a new state-of-the-art SMBH formation/feedback model, which will be added to the publicly available code and shared with the community. The proposed simulations will force enhanced refinement in the galaxy's CGM, providing unprecedented details of this major gas reservoir around massive galaxies, which likely plays a key role in regulating the fueling of both SMBHs and star formation. This research will provide insight into the complex interplay between SMBHs, the CGM, and star formation in a massive galaxy, and it will provide a framework for simulating the effects of (e.g.) cosmic rays, dust, and radiative transfer.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.

在过去的几十年中，我们使用观测值和详细的计算机模拟对我们对星系形成和进化的理解取得了巨大的进步。但是，许多关键问题仍然没有完全理解。例如，大多数巨大的椭圆星系是宇宙中最古老，最庞大的结构，以及超级质量黑洞（SMBH）的宿主，停止形成恒星并过渡到被动发展的系统。虽然尚不清楚这种“淬火”的精确机制，但SMBH似乎通过抑制新鲜气体（CGM）的新鲜气体（恒星形成的原料）来起关键作用。 PI将通过足以解决CGM的复杂结构和在那里发生的小规模物理过程的空间分辨率进行大规模星系的形成和进化的计算机模拟。这项工作将为大规模的宇宙学模拟提供信息和补充，并将为三位尖端银河模拟的三名研究生提供指导和培训。本科生也将参与其中，调查员将与当地的高中和公共天文馆展览进行宣传。为了更好地理解大型星系的演变，研究者和她的小组将使用宇宙学 - Zoom模拟进行非常高分辨率的数值研究，该模拟着重于单个大型星系的形成，同时一直遵循其当前时期（Z = 0）。这项工作的主要目的是了解（1）SMBHS如何形成和生长在大型星系中，（2）SMBH“反馈”如何导致星形形成淬火，（3）CGM的结构和演变，以及（4）卫星星系的进化如何影响。该团队将使用新开发的Enzo-E，这是对Exascale时代原始ENZO代码的高度可扩展的重新设计。他们将开发一种新的最先进的SMBH编队/反馈模型，该模型将添加到公开可用的代码中并与社区共享。拟议的模拟将迫使银河系CGM的改进，从而为大型星系提供了前所未有的细节，这可能在调节SMBHS和恒星形成的加油方面起着关键作用。这项研究将洞悉SMBHS，CGM和Star形成之间的复杂相互作用，并将提供一个框架，以模拟（例如）宇宙射线，尘埃和辐射转移的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过评估范围来反映了众所周知的Infectia Meria and Intelligia and Intelligia and Intellitial的支持。