The CepOB3b Young Cluster: A New Laboratory for Studying the Role of Environment in Planet Formation and Cluster Evolution

该奖项将支持对相对较近的年轻星团Cep OB3的详细研究。这个星团是仅有的两个靠近太阳的大质量星团之一。这个星团是在母体分子云中被清除的一个大空腔中发现的，这表明Cep OB3b是一个罕见的气体扩散后期大星团的例子。该项目将支持地面观测和数值模拟，以了解这个巨大的年轻星团的年龄、动态和演化。该项目的第一个目标是评估像Cep OB3b这样的大质量年轻星团是否能在气体扩散中幸存下来，并演化成受约束的疏散星团。第二个目标是研究星周盘区域的辐射，以检查来自中心恒星和当地环境的辐射对这些盘的结构和生存能力的影响。该项目将有助于培养研究生和本科生。研究小组计划建立一个易于获取的Cep OB3b数据库，这可能有助于未来对该地区的研究。这项研究和其他关于大质量星团中恒星形成的研究将帮助天文学家了解银河系中行星系统的可能多样性，并了解导致我们太阳系形成的条件。

This award will support a detailed study of the young, relatively nearby stellar cluster Cep OB3. This cluster is one of the only two massive clusters near the Sun. The cluster is found in a large cavity cleared in the parental molecular cloud, indicating that the Cep OB3b is a rare example of a massive cluster at the later stages of gas dispersal. This project will support ground-based observations and numerical simulations needed to understand the age, dynamics and evolution of this massive young cluster. The first goal of this project is to assess whether massive young clusters such as Cep OB3b can survive gas dispersal and evolve into bound open clusters. The second goal is to study emission from regions of circumstellar disks, in order to examine the impact of radiation from the central star and from the local environment on the structure and survivability of these disks. This project will assist the training of graduate and undergraduate students. The research team plans to create an easily-available database on Cep OB3b, which may facilitate future studies of this region. This and other studies of star formation in massive clusters will help astronomers understand the possible diversity of planetary systems in our galaxy and to understand the conditions that led to our own solar system.