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 investigation employing 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 investigation for a period of time due to childbirth or childcare) who have created outstanding investigation achievements. Dr. Umehata was recognized for his “investigation on the cosmic net filaments linking active galaxies in a protocluster,” even though Dr. Harikane was awarded for his “investigation on distant galaxies employing substantial observational datasets from the Subaru Telescope and other telescopes.”

Dr. Umehata has been conducting observations employing 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 substantial-scale structure of the Universe 11.five billion years ago. In certain, employing 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 benefits recommend that gas provide via the cosmic net plays a important part 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 investigation, such as my fellow collaborators. In this study, information obtained by Suprime-Cam played a considerable part in the discovery of the cosmic net. Now, employing 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 investigation of distant galaxies and led the evaluation of substantial 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). Though generating quite a few crucial discoveries, he has led the field of distant galaxy observation. He has also led teams of international researchers and has been awarded many observing occasions on competitive telescopes such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s initially-year operations plan 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 Analysis, the University of Tokyo)

On getting the award, Dr. Harikane says, “I am honored to get such a prestigious award this time. The investigation employing Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) on the Subaru Telescope, which is recognized by the award, could not have been realized with out the assistance 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 establishing our investigation with PFS. I hope to have exciting top cutting-edge investigation projects.”

Dr. Harikane comments on the part 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 identified on other eight-meter-class telescopes. Thanks to their wide-field capabilities, each Dr. Umehata and I have succeeded in constructing an overwhelmingly substantial sample of galaxies, discovering a uncommon primitive galaxy cluster, and exploring the cosmic net in the early Universe. From such observations, we identified that the connection amongst galaxies and gas in the substantial-scale structure of the Universe has played an crucial part in the formation and evolution of galaxies. Seeking ahead, we have higher expectations that observations with the upcoming PFS, as effectively 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)