The Physics of the Smallest Stars and the Planets That Orbit Them

伊丽莎白·牛顿被授予美国国家科学基金会天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在麻省理工学院开展研究和教育项目。牛顿将利用开普勒太空望远镜的数据和红外望远镜设施（IRTF）新的地面观测数据研究M矮星。M矮星是银河系中最小、最常见的恒星类型。对M矮星的详细了解本身就很重要，但也因为它们可能是发现类地行星的最佳地点：恒星的体积越小，轨道行星发出的信号就越强。有了这些详细的了解，牛顿将研究M矮星周围的行星系统。她还将为波士顿大学监狱教育项目（BUPEP）开发并教授一门天文学入门课程，目的是提高囚犯的数学技能、定量推理能力和科学素养，为出狱后的生活做好准备。牛顿将对M矮星进行多管齐下的观测研究，重点关注恒星和行星种群的进化趋势。该计划将包括：(1)利用开普勒巡天的光度测量来测量M场矮星的旋转周期，并分析它们的角动量演变；(2)与IRTF一起开展一项新的、广泛的活动，研究冷矮星的磁场强度。牛顿将以测量自转周期的M颗矮星为目标，研究磁力与自转之间的关系，并以测量半径的M和K颗矮星为目标，测试磁性是否会导致观测到的半径膨胀。最后，牛顿将利用关于低质量M矮行星宿主的质量、金属丰度和年龄的信息来研究紧凑轨道上多行星系统的起源。作为她教育计划的一部分，牛顿将开发并教授一门天文学入门课程，这将是通过BUPEP向囚犯提供的第一门科学课程，并将作为该计划中可持续天文学课程的基础。

Elisabeth Newton is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Newton will study M dwarf stars using data from the Kepler space telescope and new ground-based observations with the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). An M dwarf star is the smallest, most common type of star in the Galaxy. A detailed understanding of M dwarfs is important in its own right, but also because they are perhaps the best places to discover Earth-like planets: the smaller size of the star enhances the signal from an orbiting planet. Equipped with this detailed understanding, Newton will investigate planetary systems around M dwarfs. She will also develop and teach an introductory astronomy course for the Boston University Prison Education Program (BUPEP), with the goal of increasing the mathematical skills, quantitative reasoning, and scientific literacy of inmates in preparation for life outside prison. Newton will undertake a multi-pronged observational study of M dwarfs, with a focus on evolutionary trends in stellar and planet populations. The program will consist of (1) using photometry from Kepler surveys to measure rotation periods for field M dwarfs and analyze their angular momentum evolution; and (2) a new, extensive campaign with the IRTF to study magnetic field strengths in cool dwarfs. Newton will target M dwarfs with measured rotation periods to investigate the relation between magnetism and rotation, and M and K dwarfs with measured radii to test whether magnetism can be responsible for the observed radius inflation. Finally, Newton will use information on the masses, metallicities, and ages of low-mass M dwarf planet-hosts to investigate the origins of multi-planet systems in compact orbits. As part of her education plan, Newton will develop and teach an introductory astronomy course, which will be the first science course offered to inmates through BUPEP, and which will serve as the foundation for a sustainable astronomy curriculum within the program.