Collaborative Research: Triangulating on the Ages of Stars: Using Open Clusters to Calibrate Stellar Chronometers from Myr to Gyr Ages

该奖项将支持一项观测计划，以比较确定附近几个星星团年龄的各种技术。 目前，许多不同的技术被用于聚类年龄，并且它们每个都遭受各种随机和系统误差，这些误差限制了它们用于寻找绝对（相对于相对）年龄的使用。 该小组将研究四种不同技术的准确性和误差大小：（1）恒星数据与理论模型的比较，（2）锂丰度的质量依赖性，（3）旋转速率随时间的下降，以及（4）年龄和磁活动之间的关系。 我们的目标是评估每种技术的准确性，并了解如何将一种技术的年龄转换为其他技术的年龄尺度。恒星年龄准确性的提高对理解恒星种群的历史和我们银河系的演化具有广泛的意义。 该项目将为本科生提供许多研究机会，特别是通过与菲斯克学院的持续合作。 该项目的数据也将用作未来望远镜测量的校准数据。

This award will support an observational program to compare various techniques for the determination of ages in several nearby star clusters. Currently, a number of different techniques are used for cluster ages, and they each suffer from various random and systematic errors that limit their use for finding absolute (as opposed to relative) ages. This group will investigate the accuracy and size of errors for four different techniques: (1) comparison of stellar data against theoretical models, (2) the mass-dependence of lithium abundances, (3) the decline of rotation rates with time, and (4) the relation between age and magnetic activity. The goal is to assess the accuracy of each technique and understand how to translate ages from one technique to the age scale from the others.Improvements in the accuracy of stellar ages should have broad implications for understanding the history of stellar populations and the evolution of our Milky Way Galaxy. This project will provide many research opportunities for undergraduate students, especially through an ongoing partnership with Fisk College. The data from this project will also be used as calibrating data for future telescope surveys.