Review of Progress in Astronomy and Astrophysics Toward the Decadal Vision Letter Report (2005) / Chapter Skim
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This discussion was prompted by the substantial programmatic changes at NASA and issues raised by the Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos report, and then grew to include the scientific and technological breakthroughs made since AANM was released in 2000. Following consultations with NASA and National Science Foundation officials, the NRC decided to convene a committee with the following charge: An NRC committee will prepare a short report reviewing the scientific discoveries and technical advances in astronomy and astrophysics over the 5 years since the publication of the decadal survey, Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium (AANM)
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One example is the recent confirmation that the universe is not just expanding, but is doing so at an increasing rate. Evidence of dark energy was discovered as the Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee was beginning its deliberations, and it was independently confirmed only in the years after the release of the AANM report.
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This theoretical picture, first established with COBE, has now been confirmed in much greater detail with WMAP observations of tiny variations in the cosmic microwave background. New computational simulations follow the growth of these variations into the large structures seen in today's universe -- mapped in 6National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Beyond Einstein: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, NASA, Washington, D.C., January 2003.
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The amount of dark matter and the properties of dark energy dictate the size and earliest emergence of the largest clusters of galaxies, which are permeated with hot gas and thus are being discovered and observed at radio and X-ray wavelengths. Chandra XRO and XMM-Newton have also shown that hot cluster gas is roiled by bubbles and jets, echoing ancient growth spurts of the supermassive black holes in galaxy nuclei within the clusters.
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An array of satellites that accurately monitors space weather is rapidly improving understanding of the Sun's effects on the developing Earth and on current space activities. Observations of the Sun at several length scales and wavelengths show that the emergence of small-scale magnetic fields all over the solar surface can transfer mass and energy to larger-scale magnetic structures, energizing the corona and occasionally leading to coronal mass ejections that have a powerful impact on Earth's magnetosphere.
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In new deep surveys their host galaxies have been detected with HST, allowing researchers to determine their locations and ages, and Spitzer has detected the energy re-radiated from the X-ray-heated accreting gas, confirming the strongest prediction of this picture and providing a quantitative measure of the total mass accreted onto black holes. Deeply hidden black holes not yet detected will be mapped throughout the cosmos with future AANM priority missions like EXIST or an equivalent Black Hole Finder Probe.9 Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxy Nuclei Discoveries made in the 1990s showed that virtually every galaxy has at its center a supermassive black hole, and we know that the black hole has a mass proportional to the mass of stars in the bulge of the host galaxy, implying a physical connection between the formation of galaxies and the growth of supermassive black holes.
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; · Bolometric arrays that will enable the next generation of cosmic microwave background experiments (Einstein Inflation Probe) ; · Spacecraft ranging and formation flying techniques for space-based arrays (LISA, TPF)
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How did stars and galaxies form and evolve? Powerful clues to the answers to these fundamental questions are imprinted on the spatial patterns of the glow from the Big Bang -- the cosmic microwave background radiation -- the universe's expansion, and the structure of clusters of galaxies.
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For example, the confirmation that supermassive black holes lie at the heart of galaxies -- including our own -- resulted from Chandra, HST, Spitzer, and groundbased telescope observations. The combination of HST and ground-based studies of supernovae yielded the first hint of dark energy and the accelerating expansion of the universe, confirmed shortly thereafter by WMAP observations of the cosmic microwave background and now being constrained in an independent way by the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories.
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.15 Implementation of these probes is to be carried out in a competitive environment designed to yield the best science. As stated in Beyond Einstein, "For these missions, the science question is defined strategically but the science approach and mission concept will be determined through peer review." The concept of the Einstein Probes builds on the legacy of the Explorer line of missions, which have continually been endorsed in decadal surveys and which are among the most successful, most cost-effective of NASA's programs.
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NASA's Science Mission Directorate has chosen to advance the design and construction of a new telescope designed to accomplish the goals of the Terrestrial Planet Finder mission.17 This decision appears to be contributing to the delays to the Beyond Einstein projects mentioned above. The committee is very concerned that these selective impacts will adversely affect NASA's ability to generate the kind of transformative science that is the hallmark of the past decades.
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Sincerely, /s/ C Megan Urry, Chair Committee to Review Progress in Astronomy and Astrophysics Toward the Decadal Vision cc: Ghassem Asrar, Deputy Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Anne L
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