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，以比较测定附近几个星团年龄的各种技术。目前，有许多不同的技术被用于计算集群年龄，它们都存在各种随机和系统误差，这限制了它们在寻找绝对年龄（而不是相对年龄）方面的应用。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)自转速率随时间的下降，以及(4)年龄与磁活动之间的关系。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应该会对理解恒星群的历史和银河系的演化产生广泛的影响。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。这个项目的数据也将被用作未来望远镜调查的校准数据。

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 historyof 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.