Understanding the Effect of Environment on Cluster Formation

研究人员使用望远镜拍摄了大麦哲伦星云附近分子云的红外图像，大麦哲伦星云是我们银河系的伴星。 由于这些云在红外图像中更加透明，研究人员发现许多恒星正在这些云中形成。 他们认为我们银河系中的大多数恒星都是在与这些非常相似的云中形成的。 这些恒星是如何形成的仍然是个谜。 研究人员将通过测量围绕我们银河系运行的伴矮星系中嵌入的星星团的特性，向解开这个谜团迈出重要一步。这一提议的更广泛影响是佛罗里达大学（UF）天文学桥梁计划和我们在当地小学推广计划的延续。该桥梁计划有利于代表性不足的西班牙裔学生在干领域从迈阿密-戴德学院，在佛罗里达最大的社区学院，通过提供学术活动，辅导，并与UF西班牙裔教师，UF学生在物理学和天文学的社会联系，四年制机构的转移，和UF高级转学生。该计划将包括关于物理学和天文学职业的多语言研讨会，在天文学研究和在科学会议上展示成果的机会，以及访问UF和西班牙裔-拉丁美洲文化研究所。这项推广计划将在全县范围内进行，目标是数学和科学成绩差的学校，其中大部分是少数民族学生比例高的地区。研究人员正在使用VISTA麦哲伦云调查数据对大麦哲伦云（LMC）中的嵌入式星团进行首次敏感，系统的红外成像调查。这些数据将用于识别LMC分子云中的年轻嵌入式星团，从而对银河系以外的星系中分子云中非常年轻的嵌入式星团进行最全面的调查。事实上，它将代表对星星中嵌入的星团进行的最大和最均匀的调查，这些星团形成了包括我们银河系在内的任何星系中的分子云。除了确定嵌入集群的数量外，拟议的数据还将用于表征它们的属性，例如它们的大小，总质量，总亮度，质量分布和出生率。

The investigators use telescopes to make infrared images of nearby molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a companion galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy. Since these clouds are more transparent in infrared images, the investigators have discovered many stars are forming in these clouds. They believe most of the stars in our galaxy were formed in clouds very similar to these. How these stars form remains a mystery. The investigators will make an important step towards unraveling this mystery by measuring the properties of embedded star clusters in this companion dwarf galaxy orbiting our Milky Way galaxy.The broader impact of this proposal is the University of Florida (UF) Astronomy BRIDGES program and the continuation of our outreach program in local elementary schools. The BRIDGES program facilitates the transfer of underrepresented Hispanic students in the STEM fields from Miami-Dade College, the largest community college in Florida, to four-year institutions by providing academic activities, mentoring, and social connections with UF Hispanic faculty members, UF students in physics and astronomy, and UF senior transfer students. The program will include multilingual workshops about careers in physics and astronomy, opportunities to do research in astronomy and present results at scientific meetings, and visits to UF and the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures. This outreach program will be conducted throughout the county, targeting schools with low performance in math and science, most of which are in areas with high percentage of minority students. The investigators are conducting the first sensitive, systematic, infrared imaging survey for embedded clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), using the VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey Data. The data will be used to identify young embedded clusters within the LMC molecular clouds and thereby create the most comprehensive survey of very young embedded clusters in molecular clouds in a galaxy other than the Milky Way. In fact, it will represent the largest and most uniform survey for embedded clusters in star forming molecular clouds ever done in any galaxy including our own. In addition to determining the number of embedded clusters the proposed data will be used to characterize their properties, such as their sizes, total masses, total luminosities, mass distribution and birthrate.