Science Sampler

See the SWIFT Proposal for an in-depth discussion of the Science Drivers.

The following set of sample projects is intended to illustrate the general applicability of a spectroscopic facility like SWIFT.

Galactic Studies

  • White dwarf Lum. Funct. - age of disk, thick disk, and halo 
  • Solar metallicity anomaly - abundances of dwarfs in Bulge 
  • Structure and abundance patterns in the MW from K-giants 
  • GC kinematics (binaries) and abundances (lithium-rich stars) 
  • Kinematics of MW halo - identifying tidal and remnant tails of dSph's 
  • Open cluster Solar analogs - the "Sun's" behaviour for 100's yrs 
  • Identification of brown dwarfs in open clusters 

Resolved Stellar Populations

  • Abundances and kinematics of nearby galaxies (M31, dSphs, M81) from halo giants and PNe
  • dSph's - 3D kinematics when combined with space astrometry
  • LMC/SMC populations
    • age-metallicity relationship for field stars
    • kinematic signatures of LMC-SMC-MW interactions
    • spectroscopic binary distance to LMC/SMC
    • LMC foreground - an intervening population?

Low Z Extragalactic [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

  • Abundance gradients in many cluster spirals
  • Abundances and gradients in elliptical galaxies (PNe)
  • Cluster structure from intracluster PNe
  • GCs in ellipticals and spirals (abundances and kinematics)
  • Identification of primordial abundance galaxies like IZw18 - What is the density of these as a function of redshift?

High Z Extragalactic [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

  • Large scale structure - testing CDM scenarios
  • Cluster kinematics - when did they virialize? what is scale size?
  • QSO line absorbers - which galaxy do they belong to?
  • Testing cosmology (L, W) using Alcock-Paczynski method (does volume of space distort at high Z?).

Updated on May 25, 2022, 12:23 pm