SIGNALS and SITELLE: Massive stars and HII regions in nearby galaxies with imaging Fourier transform spectroscopy

信号和站点：通过成像傅里叶变换光谱分析附近星系中的大质量恒星和 HII 区域

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05840
• 负责人: Drissen, Laurent
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: Université Laval
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=738539
• 关键词: SIGNALS; SITELLE; Massive; stars; HII

In response to CFHT's recent Call for Large Programs (2018B - 2022A semesters), an internatioal team I co-lead submitted a proposal to make use of its Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer SITELLE's unique capabilities to conduct a detailed survey of star-forming regions in nearby galaxies. SIGNALS, the Star formation, Ionized Gas, and Nebular Abundances Legacy Survey with SITELLE, will be based on a volume-limited sample of local extended galaxies (D = 10 Mpc) that are actively forming massive stars. SIGNALS, which has been awarded 50 nights of CFHT time over the next 4 years, will provide the largest, most complete, and homogeneous database of spectroscopically and spatially resolved extragalactic HII regions ever assembled. This will enable us to study small-scale nebular physics and many other phenomena linked to massive star formation in galaxies at a mean spatial resolution of ~20 pc. As is, our sample includes 39 spiral and irregular galaxies. HII regions present a wide variety of characteristics: morphology (from compact to extended shell), mass (where the low luminosity regime is not very well sampled), metallicity (where the rare metal-poor regions have been less studied), or age (following the diversity of their young stellar populations). They may be located in different galactic ecosystems and coexist with other sources of ionization (like shocks and AGN). The volume-limited sample will provide a statistically reliable laboratory, with over 50 000 resolved HII regions. By studying the spectra of spatially-resolved individual HII regions and their massive star content, SIGNALS aims at understanding how diverse local environments (nearby stellar population mass and age, gas density and chemical composition, dynamical structures, etc.) affect the star formation process. The legacy of our survey will reflect on many topics in astrophysics, from stars to very distant galaxies. Our primary immediate goals are to : 1) Quantify the impact of the near surrounding environment on the star formation process, 2) Link the feedback processes to the small-scale chemical enrichment and dynamics around star-forming regions, and 3) Measure variations of the resolved star formation rate with respect to indicators used for high-redshift galaxies. As PI of SITELLE and one of the five co-PIs of SIGNALS, I intend to devote most of my research time during the next five years to this Large Program. On the instrument side, I will play a leading role in the data reduction and quality assessment, software development and observational strategy, which will all likely evolve over the course of the survey. On the astronomical side, I will take this opportunity to come back to my main motivations behind the development of the imaging FTS technology, namely to study the influence of massive stars (and their core-collapse supernova descendants) on the kinematics and chemical enrichment of their immediate surroundings.

为了响应CFHT最近对大型计划的呼吁（2018b-2022a学期），一支国际团队I共同领导提交了一项建议，以利用其成像傅立叶变换光谱仪Sitelle独特的功能，以对附近的星际形成区域进行详细的调查星系。信号，恒星形成，电离气体和静脉丰富的遗产调查将基于一个积极形成巨大恒星的局部扩展星系（d = 10 MPC）的体积限制样本。信号在未来4年内获得了50晚的CFHT时间，将提供有史以来最大，最完整，最均匀的光谱数据库和空间分辨出的外层状HII区域。这将使我们能够研究小尺度的静脉物理学和许多其他现象，这些现象与星系中的大规模恒星形成有关，平均空间分辨率约为20 pc。与世一样，我们的样本包括39个螺旋和不规则星系。 HII区域具有多种特征：形态学（从紧凑到延伸的外壳），质量（低光度状态的采样不太好），金属性（在研究稀有金属贫困地区的研究较少）或年龄（年龄）或年龄（遵循年轻恒星种群的多样性）。它们可能位于不同的银河生态系统中，并与其他电离来源共存（例如冲击和AGN）。量有限的样本将提供一个统计上可靠的实验室，并具有超过50,000个已解决的HII区域。通过研究空间分辨的单个HII区域及其巨大的恒星含量的光谱，信号旨在了解各种本地环境（附近的恒星种群质量和年龄，气体密度和化学组成，动力学结构等）会影响星形形成过程。我们调查的遗产将反映出天体物理学的许多主题，从星星到非常遥远的星系。我们的主要直接目标是：1）量化近乎周围环境对恒星形成过程的影响，2）将反馈过程与围绕星形成区域的小规模化学富集和动态联系起来，以及3）测量的变化相对于用于高红移星系的指标，已解决的恒星形成速率。作为Sitelle的PI和五个信号的共同提示之一，我打算在接下来的五年内将大部分研究时间用于这个大型计划。在仪器方面，我将在减少数据评估，软件开发和观察策略中发挥领导作用，这些策略都可能在整个调查过程中发展。从天文学方面，我将借此机会回到成像FTS技术发展背后的主要动机他们的周围环境。