In the quest to develop a fundamental understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, observations of dusty star-forming galaxies (dsfgs) promise significant progress this decade. The importance of…

This is a $167,612.86 grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) to conduct research on understanding the interstellar medium (ISM) of high-redshift starburst galaxies. The project involves analyzing archival data from the Herschel Space Observatory's Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) instruments. This data will be used to study the fine-structure emission lines and molecular hydrogen in a sample of 25 strongly gravitationally lensed dusty star-forming galaxies at redshifts greater than 1. The analysis aims to gain insights into the properties of the ISM in these high-redshift starburst galaxies, which are crucial for understanding galaxy formation and evolution. The grant does not have a set-aside designation, as UC Irvine was selected for this award based on its research capabilities and expertise in astrophysics and cosmology.

In the quest to develop a fundamental understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, observations of dusty star-forming galaxies (dsfgs) promise significant progress this decade. The importance of dsfgs is highlighted by the fact that half of the energy emitted by extragalactic sources emerges as dust-reprocessed light at infrared (IR) to sub millimeter wavelength. In the post-\herschel\ ERA, we are now at a unique position to tackle some of the key questions on galaxy formation and evolution because of the large area herschel's key project surveys (hermes and h-atlas). In particular those surveys have allowed US to identify a sample of 250 strongly gravitationally lensed dsfgs at z>1. They give US a unique opportunity to dissect the detailed structures and kinematics of dsfgs. The herschel science archive also contains individual follow up data on 44 and 25 of the brightest sources with spire-FTS and pacs, respectively, in the spectroscopy mode, taking over 250 hours in four open-time programs. Only one of the 44 spire FTS targets has yet to appear in the published literature. One of the four include an open-time 2 pacs spectroscopy program that was led at UCI by a former postdoc from the PI's group. That program was initially approved at priority 2 in 2011, but was triggered in late 2012 and achieved 100% completion during the last two weeks of herschel lifetime in may 2013. This archival analysis, interpretation, and modeling program involves two parts: (i) pacs spectroscopy in 50 to 200 microns of 25 lensed galaxies in the fine-structure emission lines [siii]34, [siii]33, [OIV]26, [oiii]52, [niii]57 and [OI]63, and the molecular hydrogen h_2 s(0) and s(1). (II) spire FTS spectroscopy of 44 lensed galaxies, including above 25, over the wavelength range of 200 to 600 microns targeting [CII]158, [oiii]88, [OI]63/145, and [NI]122. The analysis will lead to a better understanding of the ISM of starbursting galaxies that span 1