Submillimeter inteferometric studies of the fragmentation of high mass star forming regions

高质量恒星形成区域破碎的亚毫米干涉研究

• 批准号: 1108907
• 负责人: Jonathan Williams
• 金额: $ 28.69万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-15 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1108907&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Submillimeter; inteferometric; studies; fragmentation; mass

The PI and his team study how cold molecular material in high-mass star forming regions develops from the earliest, fragmentation and pre-stellar phases to an ionized region around massive stars. The recent surveys of the Galactic Plane at infrared and millimeter wavelengths allow an unbiased identification and classification of high mass star forming regions, including the infrared-dark, compact molecular clumps that are likely precursors to massive stars.A large systematic high-resolution study of the youngest phases of massive star formation will be done for about 40 high mass star forming regions over three years. Observations are done using the three submillimeter telescopes on Mauna Kea, the Submillimeter Array (SMA), James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), and Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO), through the share of time apportioned to the University of Hawaii. This work lays a foundation for early science observations with the NSF-funded Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). The results will place constraints on competing theoretical models for the formation of large stellar clusters and high-mass stars as the mechanisms how embryonic molecular clumps break down into star-forming cores, and the processes by which massive stars build up, are not yet well understood.This project has broader implications for studies of galaxy evolution and models of Solar System origins in a massive star environment. This project contributes to the education and training of a graduate student to the PhD level in observational and analytical techniques of (sub-)millimeter astronomy and interferometry . An undergraduate astronomy major from the minority-serving University of Hawaii at Hilo will also participate in the project by assisting on Mauna Kea observing runs, and learn about data reduction and analysis techniques.

首席研究员和他的团队研究了大质量恒星形成区域中的冷分子物质如何从最早的碎片阶段和前恒星阶段发展到大质量恒星周围的电离区域。最近在红外和毫米波长下对银河平面的调查可以对大质量恒星形成区域进行公正的识别和分类，包括可能是大质量恒星前身的红外暗致密分子团。将在三年内对大约 40 个大质量恒星形成区域进行大规模、系统的高分辨率研究，对大质量恒星形成的最年轻阶段进行研究。观测工作是使用莫纳克亚山上的三台亚毫米望远镜、亚毫米阵列 (SMA)、詹姆斯·克拉克·麦克斯韦望远镜 (JCMT) 和加州理工学院亚毫米天文台 (CSO) 完成的，并由夏威夷大学分配时间。这项工作为利用 NSF 资助的阿塔卡马大型毫米波阵列 (ALMA) 进行早期科学观测奠定了基础。这些结果将限制大型星团和大质量恒星形成的竞争理论模型，因为胚胎分子团如何分解成恒星形成核心的机制以及大质量恒星形成的过程尚未得到很好的了解。该项目对于研究大质量恒星环境中的星系演化和太阳系起源模型具有更广泛的意义。该项目有助于研究生在（亚）毫米天文学和干涉测量的观测和分析技术方面的博士水平教育和培训。来自少数族裔夏威夷大学希洛分校的天文学专业本科生也将参与该项目，协助莫纳克亚山观测运行，并学习数据简化和分析技术。