Chemical Self-Enrichment in the Nearest OB Association

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Dr. Mamajek and his team will conduct an observational program to characterize variations in the chemical abundances among young stars in the Scorpius-Centaurus complex, a relatively nearby region of star formation. The principal goal of the effort will be to see if, when star formation began, a few supernovae exploded and altered the abundances in the gas out of which stars were later formed; in this case, there might be variations from place to place in the abundances of elements in stars we see today. The elements chosen for study are sensitive tracers of the mass of the progenitor stars of the supernovae.It is anticipated that results of the investigation may give insights into the process of star formation in general and of the solar system in particular. The team also plans to create and distribute animations depicting star formation and the history of the Scorpius-Centaurus complex.