Characterizing astrospheres created by winds from low-mass binaries interacting with the ISM

研究人员将用数值模型来模拟恒星周围的环境，这些恒星是相互引力联系在一起的，而不是孤立的。这个问题很重要，因为大多数恒星是成对或多星群发现的，而不是像我们的太阳那样孤立的。研究人员指出，我们最近的邻居，阿尔法星、贝塔星和比邻星都在一群恒星中。这个提议将探索这些恒星周围的任何行星由于恒星物质流出的相互作用而可能经历的条件。研究者将模拟多星系统的环境条件；这些模型可以通过对半人马座星群的适当观察来检验。研究者将把本科生与本研究项目紧密联系起来。研究者还将指导一年级本科生，他们将通过达特茅斯学院的“女性参与科学项目”来参与这个项目。该项目鼓励更多女性通过早期接触实践研究经验、角色示范和指导来追求STEM领域的职业生涯。研究者将研究恒星风与周围星际介质相互作用的区域；研究者称这个区域为“天体层”。特别地，研究重点是双星的天体球，它具有两颗恒星风之间的风相互作用的附加特征。风-风和风- ism相互作用都会产生激波和相关的辐射/粒子相互作用。侦探吗?S的中心主题是可能与该系统相关的任何行星的后果。影响可能包括行星的热和化学大气结构，以及行星大气的长期侵蚀，就像人们认为发生在火星上的那样。磁化的太阳风与行星磁场的相互作用也会影响宇宙射线的传输和暴露，这种影响对于形成行星大气层的预期特性很重要，在未来几年，当最近发现的系外行星的当前列表被更详细地观察时，对这些大气层的研究将变得重要。

The investigator will numerically model the environment around stars that are gravitationally bound to each other rather than in isolation. This question is important because most stars are found in pairs or multiple star groups, not isolated like our Sun. The investigator notes that our nearest stellar neighbors, Alpha, Beta and Proxima Centauri are in a group of stars. This proposal will explore the conditions that any planets around these stars may experience due to the interaction of the outflows of material from the stars. The investigator will model the environmental conditions in multiple-star systems; the models can be tested by appropriate observations of the Centauri group. The investigator will strongly connect undergraduate students with this research project. The investigator will also mentor first year undergraduate students, who will work on this project through the auspices of the "Women in Science Project" at Dartmouth College. This program encourages more women to pursue a career in STEM through early exposure to hands-on research experience, role modeling, and mentoring. The investigator will study the region of interaction of stellar winds with the surrounding interstellar medium; a region the investigator calls the 'astrosphere'. In particular, the research focuses on astrospheres of binary stars, which have the additional feature of wind-wind interactions between the two stellar winds. Both the wind-wind and the wind-ISM interactions produce shocks and associated radiation/particle interactions. The investigator?s central theme is the ramifications for any planets that might be associated with the system. Effects can include the planet's thermal and chemical atmosphere structure, and over the long-term erosion of the planet's atmosphere, as is thought to have happened with Mars. The interaction of magnetized solar winds with the planet's magnetic field also affects cosmic ray transport and exposure Such effects are important for shaping the expected properties of a planet's atmosphere, and studies of those atmospheres will become important during the coming years when current lists of recently discovered exoplanets will be observed in more detail.