Collaborative Research: Full by Lunchtime -- a complete census of supermassive black holes and their massive host galaxies at Cosmic Noon with Subaru/PFS

This project will use the first three years of data from the new Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) Galaxy Evolution Survey to advance our understanding of how the universe's most massive galaxies and their central black holes formed and evolved during "Cosmic Noon," a period of rapid galaxy growth. By combining the wide-field capabilities of PFS with recent discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope, the project will test whether massive galaxies and black holes formed earlier than expected, investigate the relationship between galaxies and their central black holes, and connect these systems to the large-scale structure of the universe. The team will develop advanced software tools to analyze thousands of galaxy spectra, create a publicly available catalog of galaxy and active black hole properties, and release both the tools and data to the broader scientific community. Moreover, this project will create inquiry-based educational activities by developing lessons and “science kits” centered on LEGO spectrographs to bring the concept of light into K-12 class-rooms and extracurricular spaces in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The new Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph Strategic Survey Program is set to revolutionize wide-field galaxy evolution studies over the next decade. This proposal will utilize the first 3 years of deep sensitive PFS spectra taken in the 12 square degree region covered by the PFS Galaxy Evolution Survey to build new field-leading spectroscopic analysis tools for the community, construct the first public Value Added Catalog of galaxy and AGN properties from the PFS spectra, and investigate the evolution of the most massive galaxies and their black holes at Cosmic Noon. This project has three key scientific goals: (1) Exploring the connections between galaxies and the growth of their central black holes. (2) Testing the early formation of the most massive galaxies by characterizing their stellar ages when they should be growing maximally and (3) Placing galaxies and massive black holes into the cosmic web by connecting them to their dark matter halos. 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.