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

这一奖项将支持一项观测计划，该计划将比较几个邻近星团中确定年龄的各种技术。目前，许多不同的技术被用于集群年龄，每种技术都受到各种随机和系统误差的限制，这些误差限制了它们在确定绝对(而不是相对)年龄方面的使用。这个小组将研究四种不同技术的精度和误差大小：(1)恒星数据与理论模型的比较，(2)锂丰度与质量的关系，(3)自转速度随时间的下降，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，并了解如何将年龄从一种技术转换为另一种技术的年龄尺度。恒星年龄精度的提高应该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。该项目的数据也将被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 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.