| NSF Org: |
AST Division Of Astronomical Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 22, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 22, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1817100 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
ANDREAS BERLIND
aberlind@nsf.gov (703)292-5387 AST Division Of Astronomical Sciences MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $407,962.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $407,962.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1608 4TH ST STE 201 BERKELEY CA US 94710-1749 (510)643-3891 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Berkeley CA US 94704-5940 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | EXTRAGALACTIC ASTRON & COSMOLO |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
A key question for scientists is how galaxies - the building blocks of our Universe - were assembled. They must understand both how the various components of galaxies are physically organized currently, and how they have changed over time. This proposal seeks to understand the assembly of the most massive galaxies. The scientists are surveying the 100 most massive nearby galaxies to measure the detailed chemical composition and physical properties within each galaxy. They will create three-dimensional maps of the locations of stars and gas in each galaxy, how they are moving, and what their composition is. The velocities of the stars and gas will further enable the scientists to measure the amounts of invisible mass in black holes and dark matter in these galaxies. The combination of all this information provides important clues to when the galaxies started to form and how they changed over time. In addition, one PI is mentoring talented high school students and exposing them to cutting-edge science research. The other PI teaches inmates in New Jersey State Correctional Facilities through the Prison Teaching Initiative, providing basic math and science training to underserved incarcerated minorities.
This proposal seeks to elucidate the assembly history of massive galaxies. To achieve this goal, the proposers will investigate (1) the relationship of massive galaxies and their black holes and the possible black hole feedback; and (2) the stellar population properties, in particular the spread in initial mass function among the most massive galaxies. A robust way to study both questions is through stellar dynamical mass modeling. Existing uniform kinematics measurements from wide-format and sub-arcsec integral-field spectrographs will be used to model all of the dark components of the galaxies: their central black holes, dark matter halos, and low-mass stars. Additional extensive sets of multi-wavelength data will be used to study the galaxy profiles and their molecular gas, hot gas, and accretion onto the central black holes.
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.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project has investigated the major constituents -- stars, gas, dark matter, and black holes -- in some of the most massive galaxies in the local universe. These galaxies offer a unique perspective, having the oldest stellar populations, the most massive black holes, and the longest potential history for major and minor merger events. This project has enhanced the understanding of the formation of massive galaxies via a simultaneous study of the dark matter halo, stellar and gas contents, and the supermassive black holes residing at the galaxies' center.
The scientists have surveyed tens of massive nearby galaxies to measure the detailed chemical composition and physical properties within each galaxy. Using sensitive integral-field spectrographs on optical telescopes, they have acquired spatially resolved stellar spectra for each target galaxy and createed maps of the properties of stars and gas in each galaxy: how fast they are moving, and what their composition is. The velocities of the stars and gas had further enabled the scientists to discover new supermassive black holes with masses exceeding a billion suns and to quantify the amounts of invisible dark matter in these galaxies.
The combination of all this information provides important clues to when the galaxies started to form and how they changed over time. In addition, one PI is mentoring talented high school students and exposing them to cutting-edge science research. The other PI teaches inmates in New Jersey State Correctional Facilities through the Prison Teaching Initiative, providing basic math and science training to underserved incarcerated minorities.
Last Modified: 05/09/2023
Modified by: Chung-Pei Ma
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