Extremely Close and Not Alone: Exploring the Habitability of M-dwarf Multi-planet Systems

Aomawa Shields女士获得美国国家科学基金会天文和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在加州大学洛杉矶分校和哈佛-史密森天体物理中心开展研究和教育项目。m型矮星比我们的太阳小得多，温度也低得多，是银河系中数量最多的恒星，已知它们拥有多颗行星的系统，这表明存在一种新的、主要的行星群。它们也是最有可能存在岩石行星的地方。由于这些原因，第一颗适合居住的类地行星很有可能会围绕一颗m矮星被发现。然而，到目前为止发现的围绕m矮星的行星是否适合居住的问题，由于它们与恒星的距离有多近，以及这些系统的紧密性，变得更加复杂。这种紧密的堆积会导致强烈的潮汐效应，包括行星自转速率的变化，而对气候的影响尚未被探索。希尔兹女士将对这些相互作用对m矮多行星系统的气候和可居住性的影响进行首次全面研究。这项工作最终将提供一个综合模型，用于评估由地面和太空望远镜发现的m矮星系统的可居住性潜力。希尔兹女士还将为加州洛杉矶和马萨诸塞州剑桥的有色人种中学女生开发并实施一项创新的、以科学交流为基础的天文学研讨会，名为“宇宙：比眼睛看到的更多”。她将培训高中女生作为未来研讨会的助教，并以研讨会为基础编写一份教学指南，为来自历史上在科学领域代表性不足的群体的女孩提供一种多层次、两岸的互动丰富天文学的方法。开展这项工作,女士盾牌将利用她的专长在M-dwarf行星的气候模型,观测数据和合作者在两个机构的行星动力学专业知识。她将对已确认的多行星系统Kepler-32、Kepler-42、GJ 667 C和Gl 581中的8颗已知可能适宜居住的行星进行n体和气候模拟。这将是第一次将n体动力学约束与全球气候模式相结合。她将把她的模型应用到新系统中可能适合居住的行星上，因为它们被发现了。她还将利用自己在天文学、戏剧和科学传播方面的背景，利用鼓励个人自我表达与科学参与和发现相结合的方法，在少数民族女孩发展的关键阶段，开展激发和吸引她们参与天文学领域的活动。她培训高中女生担任研讨会教师和初级导师的领导角色，将有助于赋予STEM领域的下一代年轻领导者权力。希尔兹女士将制作并传播一份教师指南，将这个研讨会的益处扩大到她直接接触的女孩之外。

Ms. Aomawa Shields is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. M-dwarfs, much smaller and cooler than our Sun, are the most plentiful stars in the Galaxy, and are known to host systems with multiple planets, suggesting a new, major planetary population. They are also the likeliest hosts for rocky planets. For these reasons, there is a strong likelihood that the first habitable, Earth-like planet will be found orbiting an M-dwarf star. However, the question of whether any of the planets discovered so far around M-dwarf stars are habitable is complicated by how close they are to their stars, and the tightly packed nature of these systems. This close packing can result in strong tidal effects, including changes in the rotation rate of a planet, and the effect on climate has not yet been explored. Ms. Shields will conduct the first comprehensive study of the effect of these interactions on the climate and habitability of M-dwarf multiple-planet systems. This work will ultimately provide an integrated model for assessing the habitability potential of M-dwarf systems discovered by ground- and space-based telescopes. Ms. Shields will also develop and implement an innovative, science communication-based astronomy workshop entitled, "The Universe: More Than Meets the Eye" for middle-school girls of color in Los Angeles, CA and Cambridge, MA. She will train high-school girls as teaching assistants for future workshop sessions, and create a teaching guide based on the workshop, providing a multi-tiered, bi-coastal approach to interactive enrichment in astronomy for girls from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences.To carry out this work, Ms. Shields will leverage her expertise in the climate modeling of M-dwarf planets, and the observational data and planetary dynamics expertise of collaborators at both institutions. She will run n-body and climate simulations for eight of the known potentially habitable planets in confirmed multiple-planet systems Kepler-32, Kepler-42, GJ 667 C, and Gl 581. This will be the first time that n-body dynamical constraints will be coupled to global climate models. She will apply her model to potentially habitable planets in new systems as they are discovered. She will also leverage her background in astronomy, theater, and science communication to create activities that excite and engage ethnic minority girls in the field of astronomy at a crucial stage in their development, using methods that encourage individual self-expression interwoven with scientific engagement and discovery. Her training of high-school girls to assume leadership roles as workshop teachers and junior mentors will help empower the next generation of young leaders in STEM fields. Ms. Shields will create and disseminate a teachers' guide that will expand the benefits of this workshop beyond the girls she works with directly.