The Origin and Evolution of Extragalactic Radio Sources and their Impact on Galaxy Formation and Evolution

河外射电源的起源和演化及其对星系形成和演化的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-04128
• 负责人: ODea, Christopher
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of Manitoba
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=763058
• 关键词: Origin; Evolution; Extragalactic; Radio; Sources

Supermassive black holes located in the center of a galaxy (an Active Galactic Nucleus, AGN) can be fueled by the accretion of gas, producing extremely energetic phenomenon such as luminous hot disks of accreting gas and powerful outflows of relativistic plasma and magnetic fields, called jets.  The observed relation between mass of the supermassive black hole and the host galaxy  indicates that galaxies and their central black holes must co-evolve under the influence of a feedback mechanism which creates the proportionality in their masses.  It has been recently recognized that powerful AGN-driven outflows directly affect the evolution of galaxies, with the kinetic energy in the jets heating the galaxy's gas and expelling it from the central bulge regions. This in turn influences galaxies star formation histories, mediating the relationship between host galaxy and central supermassive black hole shaping the high luminosity end of the galaxy luminosity function. The "AGN feedback effect" is now routinely incorporated into numerical simulations of galaxy evolution. However, major uncertainties remain about how AGN interact with the forming and evolving host galaxies and their environments, including the time scales and energetics of the feedback. It is important to resolve these uncertainties if we are to truly understand the links between galaxy evolution and AGN activity, and thereby accurately incorporate the AGN feedback effect into galaxy formation and evolution models. This question has been identified as a critical issue for astronomy and astrophysics by the most recent decadal surveys in both Canada and the USA. My long term goals are to understand the physical processes through which energy is deposited in the host galaxy due to the expanding radio source, including the spatial scales, time scales, and total energy. Our short term goals for this proposal are to investigate compact radio sources to probe interactions between jets and their interstellar medium (ISM) on sub-kpc to kpc scales. These radio sources are well matched to the size of the ISM and should have maximum impact on the star formation of the host galaxy in either a positive or negative sense. My previous work has shown that the jets in compact radio sources interact strongly with gas clouds, can trigger star formation in some cases, and can also drive shocks into the hot component of the ISM. Thus, the CSS sources probe the time scales and energetics which are needed to understand radio source feedback. The impact of this research will be to greatly improve our understanding of how the formation and evolution of galaxies is affected by their supermassive black holes. The requested funding will provide support for two graduate students and summer research for an undergraduate at U Manitoba for 5 years. The students will develop the skills necessary to work in teams, think independently, communicate effectively, and carry out front-line scientific research.

位于星系中心（活跃银河核，AGN）的超大质量黑洞可以通过气体吸积来提供燃料，产生极其高能的现象，例如吸积气体的发光热盘以及相对论等离子体和磁场的强大流出，称为观测到的超大质量黑洞和主星系质量之间的关系表明，星系及其中心黑洞必须在产生喷流的反馈机制的影响下共同演化。最近人们认识到，活动星系核驱动的强大外流直接影响星系的演化，喷流中的动能加热星系的气体并将其从中央核核区域排出，这反过来又影响星系恒星的形成。历史上，调解宿主星系和中心超大质量黑洞之间的关系，塑造星系光度函数的高光度端，“AGN反馈效应”现在通常被纳入星系演化的数值模拟中。然而，活动星系核如何与形成和演化的宿主星系及其环境相互作用仍然存在重大不确定性，包括反馈的时间尺度和能量学，如果我们要真正了解星系演化和活动星系核之间的联系，解决这些不确定性非常重要。活动，从而准确地将 AGN 反馈效应纳入星系形成和演化模型中，加拿大和美国最近的十年调查已将这个问题确定为天文学和天体物理学的关键问题。由于空间膨胀的射电源而在主星系中沉积能量的物理过程，包括尺度、时间尺度和总能量，我们这项提议的短期目标是研究紧凑的射电源以探测喷流和射流之间的相互作用。它们在亚 kpc 到 kpc 尺度上的星际介质（ISM）与 ISM 的大小非常匹配，并且应该对宿主星系的恒星形成产生最大的影响，无论是积极的还是消极的。已经表明，喷气机在紧凑型射电源与气体云发生强烈相互作用，在某些情况下可以触发恒星形成，并且还可以将冲击驱动到ISM的热成分中，因此，CSS源探测了解射电源反馈所需的时间尺度和能量。这项研究的影响将极大地提高我们对超大质量黑洞如何影响星系的形成和演化的理解。所要求的资金将为马尼托巴大学的两名研究生和一名本科生为期 5 年的暑期研究提供支持。 .学生将培养团队合作、独立思考、有效沟通和开展一线科学研究所需的技能。