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The Detailed Science Case of the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer

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The Detailed Science Case of the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer The Detailed Science Case of the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer The MSE Science Team April 9, 2019 2 i Contents Preface to Version 2 of the Detailed Science Case, 2019 vii Preface to Version 1 of the Detailed Science Case, 2016 xi 1 Executive Summary 1 2 The scientific landscape of the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer 5 2.1 The composition and dynamics of the faint Universe . 6 2.2 MSE and the international network of astronomical facilities . 13 2.2.1 Optical imaging of the Universe . 14 2.2.2 Wide field optical and infrared science from space . 16 2.2.3 Multi-messenger and time-domain astronomy . 17 2.2.4 The era of Gaia . 18 2.2.5 Synergies at long wavelengths . 21 2.2.6 30m-class telescopes and MSE . 25 2.3 From science cases to facility requirements . 26 2.4 From science cases to a science platform . 28 2.5 The science capabilities of MSE . 30 2.5.1 Key capability 1: survey speed and sensitivity . 31 2.5.2 Key capability 2: spectral performance and multiplexing . 32 2.5.3 Key capability 3: dedicated and specialized operations . 33 2.5.4 Development of the multi-object IFU mode . 34 2.6 Competition and synergies with future MOS . 35 2.7 A scientific priority for the coming decade of discovery . 36 3 Exoplanets and stellar astrophysics 39 3.1 Introduction . 40 3.2 Information content of MSE stellar spectra . 40 ii 3.3 Exoplanets and substellar mass objects . 42 3.3.1 Radial velocity surveys . 42 3.3.2 Characterization of transiting exoplanets . 45 3.3.3 Characterisation of exoplanet and brown dwarf atmospheres . 45 3.3.4 Exoplanet host stars and proto-planetary disks . 48 3.3.5 Planetary systems around white dwarfs . 50 3.4 Stellar physics with star clusters . 52 3.4.1 Pre-main sequence stars . 53 3.4.2 Open clusters . 54 3.4.3 Globular clusters . 57 3.4.4 White dwarfs . 58 3.5 Asteroseismology, rotation, and stellar activity . 59 3.5.1 Solar-like oscillations . 59 3.5.2 Stellar activity and rotation . 61 3.5.3 Opacity-driven pulsators . 62 3.6 Stars in multiple systems . 63 3.6.1 The binary census in the Milky Way and Local Group galaxies . 64 3.6.2 Eclipsing binaries . 66 3.6.3 Wide binaries as probes of post-main sequence mass loss . 66 3.6.4 Compact white dwarf binaries . 67 3.6.5 Massive stars as progenitors of compact object mergers . 68 3.7 Asymptotic giant branch evolution . 69 3.8 Very metal-poor stars . 71 4 Chemical nucleosynthesis 73 4.1 Motivation: From BBN to B2FH . 74 4.2 Metal-poor stars and the first chemical enrichment events in the Universe . 75 4.3 The cosmological lithium problem . 76 4.4 The promise and potential of chemical tagging to probe the origin of the elements . 78 4.5 Sites of i-process and the origin of the CEMP-r/s stars . 80 4.6 Studying AGBs and their progeny . 81 4.7 Survey of r-process elements . 83 4.8 Nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution in dwarf galaxies . 85 5 The Milky Way and resolved stellar populations 89 5.1 Context: Galactic archaeology in the era of Gaia . 90 iii 5.2 The chemodynamical evolution of the Milky Way . 95 5.2.1 The Galactic disk . 95 5.2.2 The Galactic bulge . 96 5.2.3 The stellar halo . 97 5.3 In-situ chemical tagging of the outer Galaxy . 98 5.4 First stars and the progenitors of the Milky Way . 101 5.5 The Local Group as a time machine for galaxy evolution . 105 5.5.1 The chemodynamical deconstruction of the nearest L* galaxy . 108 5.5.2 Dwarf galaxies . 112 5.5.3 Globular clusters . 115 5.6 The interstellar medium . 117 5.6.1 3D mapping the Galactic ISM . 117 5.6.2 Three-dimensional ISM mapping: MSE perspectives . 119 5.6.3 Targetted studies of the ISM . 122 6 Astrophysical tests of dark matter 127 6.1 Motivation . 128 6.2 How can astrophysics probe the particle nature of dark matter? . 130 6.2.1 Dark matter physics . 130 6.2.2 Observables . 133 6.2.3 The impact of baryons . 134 6.3 Stars and stellar streams in the Milky Way . 135 6.3.1 Mapping the Milky Way’s gravitational potential with stars, dwarf galaxies, and stellar streams . 136 6.3.2 Dark matter halo distortions from the LMC in the MW halo . 138 6.3.3 Identifying the dark sub-halo population with stellar streams . 142 6.3.4 Local dark matter distribution and kinematics for direct detection . 145 6.3.5 Dark matter distribution in the Galactic Center for indirect detection 146 6.4 Dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way and beyond with resolved stars . 147 6.4.1 Luminosity function of Milky Way satellites in the era of LSST . 149 6.4.2 Precise determination of the J-factor of nearby ultra-faint dwarf galaxies151 6.4.3 Controlling systematics with spatial and temporal completeness at high resolution . 152 6.5 Galaxies in the low redshift Universe . 155 6.5.1 The faint end of the galaxy luminosity function . 155 6.5.2 Satellite populations in Milky Way analogs . 157 6.5.3 Local galaxies as gravitational lenses . 159 iv 6.5.4 Ultra diffuse galaxies . 160 6.6 Galaxies beyond the low redshift Universe . 162 6.6.1 Quasar lensing: flux ratio anomalies due to low mass dark matter halos163 6.6.2 Galaxy-galaxy lensing: image perturbations by low mass dark matter halos . 166 6.6.3 Wobbling of the brightest cluster galaxies . 168 7 Galaxy formation and evolution 171 7.1 Extragalactic surveys with MSE . 172 7.1.1 Local Universe wide-field surveys . 175 7.1.2 High redshift surveys . 176 7.1.3 Ancillary surveys . 179 7.2 Large scale structure and galaxy halos . 181 7.2.1 IGM tomographic mapping . 181 7.2.2 Halo occupation modelling in the Local Universe . 182 7.2.3 Galaxy groups/clusters at z ∼ 2 − 3 ................... 185 7.2.4 Satellite planes in the nearby universe . 185 7.3 Massive galaxies . 188 7.3.1 Mapping giant galaxy assembly at z ∼ 0 with compact stellar systems 188 7.3.2 A census of massive galaxies at cosmic noon . 190 7.3.3 Star formation & stellar assembly histories . 191 7.3.4 Environment & mergers . 192 7.4 M?galaxies (Milky Way analogues) . 194 7.4.1 Star formation/stellar assembly histories . 194 7.4.2 Co-evolution of AGN and galaxies . 196 7.5 Dwarf galaxies . 198 8 Active Galactic Nuclei and Supermassive Black Holes 203 8.1 Context . 204 8.2 The central engine: supermassive black holes and accretion . 204 8.2.1 How are SMBHs seeded in galaxies? . 204 8.2.2 Measuring SMBH masses: Reverberation Mapping the Inner Regions of Quasars . 206 8.2.3 How do SMBHs grow? AGN triggering mechanisms and different fuelling/accretion modes . 207 8.2.4 Measuring accretion in real-time: extreme variability, tidal disruption events and changing-look AGN . 209 v 8.2.5 Binary SMBHs . 210 8.2.6 Outflows from SMBHs as traced through BALs and intrinsic NALs . 211 8.3 AGN host galaxies . 212 8.3.1 AGN host galaxies and type-2 AGN . 212 8.3.2 From the epoch of re-ionization – high-z AGN and their hosts . 215 8.3.3 AGN feedback . 216 8.4 Beyond the host galaxy – cosmological aspects and applications of AGN and SMBHs . 218 8.4.1 AGN clustering and demography . 218 8.4.2 Gravitational lensing applications . 219 8.5 QSO (intervening) absorption line applications . 222 9 Cosmology 227 9.1 Motivation . 228 9.1.1 Background cosmology . 228 9.1.2 The role of galaxy redshift surveys . 229 9.2 A high redshift cosmology survey with MSE . 231 9.2.1 Survey baseline . ..
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