Two up-and-coming astronomers received the Young Scientists’ Award of the 2023 Commendations for Science and Technologies by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technologies (MEXT) for their observational study applying the Subaru Telescope. The award winners are Dr. Hideki Umehata (Assistant Professor in Nagoya University) and Dr. Yuichi Harikane (Assistant Professor in the University of Tokyo).
The Young Scientists’ Award is awarded to researchers below the age of 40 (or 42 if the researcher has been unable to devote himself/herself to study for a period of time due to childbirth or childcare) who have created outstanding study achievements. Dr. Umehata was recognized for his “study on the cosmic net filaments linking active galaxies in a protocluster,” even though Dr. Harikane was awarded for his “study on distant galaxies applying massive observational datasets from the Subaru Telescope and other telescopes.”
Dr. Umehata has been conducting observations applying the Subaru Telescope and the Atacama Huge Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), to investigate the formation and evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes at nodes of the massive-scale structure of the Universe 11.five billion years ago. In certain, applying the wide-field camera Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope, he found an substantial structure of hydrogen gas connecting huge galaxies and supermassive black holes, confirming the existence of “cosmic net” filaments that had extended been predicted by theory and simulations (Note 1). These final results recommend that gas provide by means of the cosmic net plays a essential function in fueling the higher activity of huge galaxies and supermassive black holes in the early Universe.
Figure 1: Dr. Hideki Umehata (Assistant Professor in Nagoya University), who received the Young Scientists’ Award. (Credit: Nagoya University)
“I am thrilled and honored to get such a great award,” Dr. Umehata says. “I would like to take this chance to express my gratitude to all these who have been involved in this study, like my fellow collaborators. In this study, information obtained by Suprime-Cam played a considerable function in the discovery of the cosmic net. Now, applying its successor, Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), we are exploring bigger structures in the cosmic net. With the upcoming launch of PFS (Prime Concentrate Spectrograph) and leveraging the strengths of the Subaru Telescope, I aspire to continue advancing research of the early Universe.”
Dr. Harikane has focused on observational study of distant galaxies and led the evaluation of massive observational datasets from the Subaru Telescope to construct the world’s biggest sample of distant galaxies, consisting of four million objects, in the Universe ten to 13 billion years ago, which had not been previously studied in detail. He also answered the extended-standing query as to the physical origins of the star formation history of the whole Universe and identified a primordial galaxy cluster 13 billion years ago, the farthest on record at the time (Note two). Whilst generating various vital discoveries, he has led the field of distant galaxy observation. He has also led teams of international researchers and has been awarded several observing instances on competitive telescopes such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s very first-year operations system and ALMA.
Figure two: Dr. Yuichi Harikane (Assistant Professor in the University of Tokyo), who received the Young Scientists’ Award. (Credit: Institute for Cosmic Ray Study, the University of Tokyo)
On getting the award, Dr. Harikane says, “I am honored to get such a prestigious award this time. The study applying Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) on the Subaru Telescope, which is recognized by the award, could not have been realized without having the help of the researchers at NAOJ, who have contributed to the improvement and operation of HSC and the Subaru Telescope. I would like to express my gratitude to all of my co-researchers and all these involved with the Subaru Telescope and HSC. I appear forward to additional building our study with PFS. I hope to have enjoyable top cutting-edge study projects.”
Dr. Harikane comments on the function of the Subaru Telescope in their study of the early Universe, “The Subaru Telescope is equipped with one of a kind wide-field cameras that are not discovered on other eight-meter-class telescopes. Thanks to their wide-field capabilities, each Dr. Umehata and I have succeeded in constructing an overwhelmingly massive sample of galaxies, discovering a uncommon primitive galaxy cluster, and exploring the cosmic net in the early Universe. From such observations, we discovered that the partnership amongst galaxies and gas in the massive-scale structure of the Universe has played an vital function in the formation and evolution of galaxies. Hunting ahead, we have higher expectations that observations with the upcoming PFS, as properly as the subsequent-generation Thirty Meter Telescope, will reveal the physical properties of person galaxies and shed light on the formation of galaxies in the early Universe.”
(Note 1) Enormous Filaments Fuel the Development of Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes (Subaru Telescope October three, 2019 Press Release)
(Note two) Oldest Galaxy Protocluster types “Queen’s Court” (Subaru Telescope September 26, 2019 Press Release)
