Collaborative Research: White Dwarfs and the Age Distribution of the Disk, Thick Disk, and Halo

单位：亚利桑那大学api: James LiebertTITLE：合作研究：白矮星与盘、厚盘和光圈的年龄分布亚利桑那大学的詹姆斯·利伯特和德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的泰德·冯·希佩尔博士将进行一项计划，以确定圆盘、厚盘和银河系晕中白矮星的光度函数和空间密度。该团队将利用斯隆数字巡天（SDSS）提供的数万颗新白矮星。找到最低光度的白矮星将允许对盘的年龄进行改进，并且将首次使用白矮星冷却时间的方法获得厚盘和晕的年龄。此外，光度函数的形状应该允许重建恒星群的恒星形成历史。该计划的更广泛影响包括参与在麦克唐纳天文台举办的教师专业发展研讨会。这些讲习班是与一位合作者（哈里·希普曼博士）以及麦克唐纳天文台和亚利桑那大学的教育和外联工作人员合作举办的。课程内容和研讨会实践与国家科学教育标准以及德克萨斯州、亚利桑那州和特拉华州的科学标准保持一致。

AST-0607599INSTITUTION: University of ArizonaPI: James LiebertTITLE: Collaborative Research: White Dwarfs and the Age Distribution of the Disk, Thick Disk, and HaloABSTRACTDr. James Liebert, at the University of Arizona, and Dr. Ted von Hippel, at the University of Texas at Austin, will undertake a program to determine the luminosity functions and space densities of the white dwarfs in the disk, thick disk, and Galactic halo. The team will utilize the tens of thousands of new white dwarfs, made accessible in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Finding the lowest luminosity white dwarfs will allow for a refinement in the age of the disk to be made, and for the first time the ages of the thick disk and halo will be obtained using the method of white dwarf cooling times. Additionally, the shape of the luminosity functions should allow for the star formation history of the population to be reconstructed. The broader impacts of the program include participation in the teacher professional development workshops held at McDonald Observatory. The workshops are a collaboration with a collaborator (Dr. Harry Shipman) and the education and outreach staff at McDonald Observatory and the University of Arizona. Curriculum content and workshop practices align with the National Standards for Science Education and Texas, Arizona, and Delaware science standards.