High-precision Optical Long-baseline Interferometry and Physics of Active Massive Stars

这个项目将研究B型恒星，它比太阳大得多，生存时间相对较短，周围有盘状特征。这些恒星向星际空间喷射出大量的质量。因此，它们对于了解我们的银河系是如何随着时间的推移而变化的很重要。研究人员将使用亚利桑那州的海军精密光学干涉仪(NPOI)，它结合了来自六个望远镜的数据，以创建非常详细的图像。它们将产生空间分辨的恒星表面，并在圆盘中寻找缝隙和环状结构。该团队还将使用附近的约翰霍尔望远镜来测量发生在圆盘中的化学成分和物理过程。本科生和研究生将参与这项研究。PI将与中央密歇根大学S STEM教育卓越中心合作举办教师工作坊。NPOI设施对氢-阿尔法线的光很敏感，这是与这些盘相关的高温产生的最突出的发射线之一。这些数据将使我们有可能对其中35颗恒星的温度、密度、总质量和角动量施加强有力的约束。时间分辨的数据还将使研究任何双星伴星对恒星周盘的影响成为可能。PI将在本科生和研究生的观测天文学课程中教授学生数据简化技术。研究生。

This project will study B-type stars, which are much more massive than the Sun, live for relatively short time, and have disk-like features around them. These stars expel a great deal of mass to interstellar space. Thus, they are important to understanding how our Galaxy has changed over time. The researchers will use the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer (NPOI) in Arizona, which combines data from six telescopes to create highly detailed images. They will produce spatially resolved stellar surfaces and search for gaps and ring-like structures in the disks. The team will also use the nearby John Hall telescope to measure the chemical composition and physical processing occurring in the disks. Undergraduate and graduate students will participate in the research. The PI will work with Central Michigan University?s Center for Excellence in STEM Education to conduct a teacher workshop.The NPOI facility is sensitive to the light of the hydrogen-alpha line, which is among the most prominent emission lines produced by the high temperatures associated with these disks. These data will make it possible to place strong constraints on temperature, density, total mass, and angular momentum of 35 of these stars. The time-resolved data will also make it possible to investigate the effects of any binary companions on the circumstellar disks. The PIWill teach students data reduction techniques in an Observational Astronomy course for undergraduate and graduate students. graduate students.