Astronomy Research at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory

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This award supports the astronomical research, technological development, and student training carried out at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory (FCRAO). The research program includes studies of external galaxies, star formation, the dense interstellar medium, astrochemistry, the late stages of stellar evolution, and planetary science. The Observatory also plays a major role in education, with 45 graduate and undergraduate students from 13 universities having carried out research projects at the facility during the past three year period. FCRAO has recently brought into operation a focal plane array of receivers for use at a wavelength of 3 millimeters; the first of its kind on any telescope. Over the next three years this group will expand the spectroscopic capability of the array through construction of an autocorrelation spectrometer. As an initial step toward construction of larger focal plane arrays, development work on high electron mobility transister amplifiers will be carried out. Among the scientific programs to be carried out are maps of a large number of transitions of molecules to examine the coupled physics, chemistry and kinematics of the dense interstellar medium in our Galaxy; large scale, good angular resolution maps of molecular clouds to study the relationship of star formation to angular momentum content and structure on a heirarchy of scales; fully sampled maps of the molecular distribution in many spiral galaxies in order to study the process of star formation in these systems; and participation in VLBI experiments to probe the inner structure of quasars and active galactic nuclei.