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

研究人员将对恒星周围的环境进行数值模拟，这些恒星在引力作用下相互束缚，而不是孤立地存在。这个问题很重要，因为大多数恒星是成对或多个恒星群发现的，而不是像我们的太阳那样孤立的。这位研究人员指出，我们最近的恒星邻居阿尔法、贝塔和比邻半人马座都在一个恒星群中。这项提议将探索这些恒星周围的任何行星由于恒星物质外流的相互作用而可能经历的条件。研究人员将对多恒星系统中的环境条件进行建模；这些模型可以通过对半人马座星系的适当观测来检验。调查员将把本科生与这个研究项目紧密联系起来。这位研究人员还将指导一年级本科生，他们将通过达特茅斯学院“女性参与科学项目”的赞助来参与这一项目。这项计划鼓励更多的女性通过早期接触实践研究经验、榜样和指导来追求STEM的职业生涯。研究人员将研究恒星风与周围星际介质相互作用的区域；研究人员将该区域称为“天体圈”。特别是，研究重点是双星的天体球体，它们具有两种恒星风之间的风-风相互作用的额外特征。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。研究人员S的中心主题是对任何可能与该系统有关的行星的影响。影响可能包括该行星的热和化学大气结构，以及该行星大气的长期侵蚀，就像人们认为在火星上发生的那样。磁化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曝光，这种影响对于塑造行星大气的预期性质很重要，在未来几年里，对这些大气的研究将变得重要，因为目前发现的系外行星名单将得到更详细的观察。

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.