“Millennium Nucleus for Galaxies (MINGAL)” is the title of the initiative in which the academic and researcher of the Institute of Astrophysical Studies UDP will work.
The academic and researcher of the Institute of Astrophysical Studies (IEA) of the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences at Diego Portales University, Manuel Aravena, will participate as a principal investigator in a new research project funded by the Millennium Nucleus of Natural and Exact Sciences of the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (ANID).
The “Millennium Nucleus for Galaxies”, or MINGAL, is a collaborative initiative that will unify the study of galaxies throughout their own internal evolution, together with the impact that the intergalactic environment has on them. In addition, it will put local astronomers in a privileged position to face the new challenges that astronomy will bring leading up to the year 2030, and will also contribute to the transfer of technology within various productive areas of the country. The project is led by Rodrigo Herrera-Camus (Universidad de Concepción), Yara Jaffé (Universidad Federico Santa María), as co-director, and 5 principal investigators, including Manuel Aravena (UDP), Guillermo Cabrera (Universidad de Concepción), Lucia Guaita (Universidad Andrés Bello), Eduardo Ibar (Universidad de Valparaiso), and Rory Smith (Universidad Federico Santa María). “This project will serve to not only support the research projects that each of the principal investigators are developing individually, but also to create a solid network of collaboration between the areas of galaxy formation/evolution and the large-scale structure of the Universe using advanced computational tools, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence,” says Manuel Aravena. “In this way, we can holistically address the different processes that affect galaxies throughout their evolution through cosmic time, developing computational tools that can be applied to other areas of science,” adds the IEA UDP specialist.
Aravena, also an associate researcher at the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technology (CATA), indicates that his particular interest in this project is in understanding how galaxies obtain and process gas, through feedback with the surrounding environment. To do this, he will use ALMA and JWST observations to measure the presence of different components such as stars, gas, dust, etc., that allow the study of these processes.
The Millennium Nucleus seeks to promote the creation and development of research groups with multi- and/or transdisciplinary approaches, that aim to provide solutions to complex questions, with the goal to generate cutting-edge scientific and technological research in the country based on four axes: 1) competitive research at an international level, 2) training of new scientists, 3) creation and maintenance of national and international networks of collaboration, and 3) dissemination and transfer of knowledge to other sectors of society.
Foundations for the future
For the MINGAL team, together with the research focus, three fundamental scenarios are generated for the development of astronomy in our country with these funds, particularly if they manage to extend the project coverage for a second period.
Firstly, the results will lay the foundations for the exploration that will begin with the ELT: Extremely Large Telescope at the ESO, a telescope that will begin operating in 2030, in northern Chile. Furthermore, this goes hand in hand with the objectives of the Millennium Nucleus by preparing the Chilean astronomical community, and a new generation of researchers, to be on the front line of the discoveries that are to come with this new facility.
Finally, another novel component comes with the use of artificial intelligence in techniques to facilitate research, placing our professionals at the level of the great powers in the development of such technology. If that was not enough, the completion of the project will also coincide with Chile hosting the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2030, a grand stage to expose many of the discoveries that are to come from this initiative.