MilkyWay@home: Difference between revisions
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== Methods == | == Methods == | ||
MilkyWay@home studies the history of our galaxy by analyzing the stars in the Milky Way galaxy's '''''[[wikipedia:Galactic_halo|Galactic Halo]]'''''. This includes searching for elusive '''''[[wikipedia:Dark_matter|dark matter]]'''''. This research is done by mapping structures of stars orbiting the Milky Way - many these structures are actually "tidal debris streams," or dwarf galaxies that are being pulled apart by our Galaxy's superior gravitational field. The orbits, shapes, and compositions of these dwarf galaxies provide vital clues to the history of our Galaxy, as well as to the distribution of dark matter. | MilkyWay@home studies the history of our galaxy by analyzing the stars in the Milky Way galaxy's '''''[[wikipedia:Galactic_halo|Galactic Halo]]'''''. This includes searching for elusive '''''[[wikipedia:Dark_matter|dark matter]]'''''. This research is done by mapping structures of stars orbiting the Milky Way - many these structures are actually "tidal debris streams," or dwarf galaxies that are being pulled apart by our Galaxy's superior gravitational field. The orbits, shapes, and compositions of these dwarf galaxies provide vital clues to the history of our Galaxy, as well as to the distribution of dark matter. The "N-body" project of MilkyWay@home creates simulated dwarf galaxies and "shoots" them into the Milky Way's gravitational field. We allow the simulated dwarf galaxy's initial conditions to vary until the final simulated dwarf matches what we see in actual halo structures. In other words, we are trying to match dwarf galaxy models to real data, in order to learn more about what is (and what isn't) possible for our Galaxy. We use data from the '''''[[wikipedia:Sloan_Digital_Sky_Survey|Sloan Digital Sky Survey]].[https://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/science.php]''''' | ||
Using stellar data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Dark Energy Camera (DEC), we were able to use MilkyWay@home's N-body project to generate a mass estimate of the Orphan-Cehnab's original progenitor dwarf galaxy, the first time such an estimate has ever been made from tidal debris alone. The Orphan-Chenab Stream (OCS) is a tidal stream that was discovered in 2006 while examining the Sagittarius Stream. Because no progenitor core could be detected within the stream, it was originally named the 'Orphan Stream'. However, in 2018, the southern half of the stream was detected and named Chenab. Thus, the stream was renamed 'Orphan-Chenab'. | Using stellar data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Dark Energy Camera (DEC), we were able to use MilkyWay@home's N-body project to generate a mass estimate of the Orphan-Cehnab's original progenitor dwarf galaxy, the first time such an estimate has ever been made from tidal debris alone. The Orphan-Chenab Stream (OCS) is a tidal stream that was discovered in 2006 while examining the Sagittarius Stream. Because no progenitor core could be detected within the stream, it was originally named the 'Orphan Stream'. However, in 2018, the southern half of the stream was detected and named Chenab. Thus, the stream was renamed 'Orphan-Chenab'. | ||