Deep Wide-Field Surveys of Emission-Line Galaxies

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract AST 0606932 Veilleux The Principal Investigator and his team will carry out initial science verifications with two new instruments already funded by the National Science Foundation: The Maryland-Magellan Tunable Filter (MMTF, in the optical bands) on the Magellan 6.5m telescope and the NOAO (the National Optical Astronomy Observatory) Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Mosaic (NEWFIRM, in a near-infrared band) on the 4m telescope of NOAO. The project will also fund an upgrade in the form of implementing charge shuffling/frequency switching and provide stable user support for MMTF. After these instruments are commissioned the main science goal is to study distant line-emitting galaxies from redshift z~1-8, to measure the star-formation rate at these epochs. Both instruments enable narrow-band imaging in the optical and near-infrared bands, respectively, with a gain of nearly one order of magnitude in survey efficiency. The project will have a broad and long-term impact on the astronomical community. These unique instruments will benefit a significant part of the U.S. astronomical community including several PhD students. Potential discoveries of a star-forming population at redshift greater than 7 could have implications for the design of the next generation of ground- and space-based facilities. Undergraduate and graduate students at University of Maryland will benefit from this effort through direct involvement in all phases of this project.