Collaborative Research: A Panchromatic View of Normal Galaxies in the Early Universe

A tool to identify “normal” galaxies at high redshifts (large distances), not biased by their brightness, is the presence of Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) in spectra of background light sources. Studying DLAs is essential to further our understanding of galaxy evolution in the early Universe, but little is known about the galaxies associated with DLAs and the relation between them and those identified by other methods. This project will use the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to directly image DLA galaxies and aims to answer fundamental questions of galaxy formation. The project will also include a “Bridge” program (post-bachelors degree/pre-graduate school) to attract and retain talented students from traditionally underrepresented groups, with a goal of increasing their participation in STEM fields. The team has leveraged the power of ALMA to directly image HI-selected galaxies identified by DLAs. This project aims to answer fundamental questions of galaxy formation including: What are the luminosities, star formation rates, gas masses, and stellar masses of normal galaxies at high redshifts? What is the incidence of rotating disks and mergers? Do absorption-selection and emission-selection yield the same population of galaxies? The project also leverages the JVLA, NOEMA, VLT, GTC, and Keck observatories to dissect the galaxy population from the far-UV to radio wavelengths, accessing ionized gas, neutral gas, stellar, and dust diagnostics. The Maria Mitchell Observatory (MMO) Bridge program will provide students the opportunity to improve their hands-on research skills, gain first-hand knowledge of graduate-level research, and prepare for entrance into STEM graduate programs. The postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University will work directly with the MMO Bridge students, gaining valuable mentoring experience. 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.