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

CepOB3b年轻星团：研究环境在行星形成和星团演化中的作用的新实验室

• 批准号: 1009564
• 负责人: S Thomas Megeath
• 金额: $ 38.29万
• 依托单位: University of Toledo
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-10-01 至 2016-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1009564&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CepOB3b; Young; Cluster; New; Laboratory

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.

这一奖项将支持对年轻的、相对较近的星团Cep OB3的详细研究。这个星系团是太阳附近仅有的两个大质量星系团之一。该星系团是在母体分子云中清除的一个大空穴中发现的，这表明Cep OB3b是气体扩散后期阶段的一个罕见的大质量星系团。该项目将支持地面观测和数值模拟，以了解这个庞大的年轻星系团的年龄、动力学和演化。这个项目的第一个目标是评估像CEP OB3b这样的大质量年轻星系团是否能够在气体扩散中幸存下来，并演化为束缚的疏散星系团。第二个目标是研究来自恒星周盘区域的辐射，以检查来自中央恒星和本地环境的辐射对这些盘的结构和生存能力的影响。该项目将帮助培养研究生和本科生。研究小组计划在CEP OB3b上建立一个易于获得的数据库，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有助于天文学家了解我们银河系中可能存在的行星系统的多样性，并了解导致我们自己太阳系形成的条件。