RUI/Collaborative Research: A Spectroscopic Survey of Circumstellar Gas in Lambda Boo Stars

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This is part of a collaborative project with three universities to conduct a detailed study of circumstellar gas around rapidly rotating A-type dwarf stars. An A-type main-sequence star is burning hydrogen and ais distinguished by having spectra showing strong hydrogen absoprtion lines. Some of these A type stars also have low metal abundances in their surface layers and are sometimes referred to as "Lambda Boo" stars, after lambda Bootis, the first one to show these features. This project will focus on observing the gas emission in order to constrain models of accretion from disk to the star and to better understand planetary formation and evolution models. This project will have broader impacts of contributing to knowledge of stellar and planetary system evolution. These institutions will also add a significant undergraduate educational component, involving students in the data acquisition, reduction, analysis, and publication of results.