Collaborative Research: A Multiscale Approach to Understand Outflows During High-Mass Star Formation

银河系中的大多数恒星都像我们的太阳，但也有质量高出100倍的恒星。这些大质量恒星输出巨大的能量，在以超新星的形式结束生命之前，它们的寿命只有几百万年。天体物理学的一个主要挑战是了解这些恒星是如何形成的。研究人员将使用美国国家科学基金会的大型射电望远镜观测年轻的大质量恒星，这些恒星仍在成长，因为周围的物质福尔斯落在它们上面。在这个过程中，一些物质以喷射和热气体流出的形式排出。为了在我们对大质量星星形成的科学理解上取得进展，下一步是了解这些恒星附近的物质流动。因此，迫切需要对外流和喷流进行系统的研究。利用这些射电望远镜，研究人员将绘制这些恒星附近物质流动的图表。具体来说，研究人员将每隔几个月进行一次新的观察，并绘制出这些物质随时间的运动图。该项目是新墨西哥州一所主要为西班牙裔的大学和伊利诺斯州农村一所主要为本科生的大学之间的合作。学生参与计划的观察提供了各种教育水平的动手STEM教育。学生还将参加由主要研究人员领导的机构交流和公共宣传活动。因此，该项目将促进妇女和少数群体参与科学，电离喷流和分子外流通常存在于大质量原恒星中。该项目将进行多尺度观测研究，解决关于物质外流物理学的基本未解问题。该项目的目标是：1）通过高质量的动量率测量将电离喷流与大尺度分子流联系起来，2）通过自行和谱线观测直接测量电离喷流运动，3）利用水和甲醇脉泽观测研究喷流发射机制，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Most stars in the Milky Way Galaxy are like our Sun, but there are also stars with masses up to 100 times higher. These high-mass stars output enormous amounts of energy and live only for a few million years before ending their life as a supernova. A major challenge in astrophysics is to understand how these stars are formed. The investigators will use the National Science Foundation's large radio telescopes to observe young high-mass stars, which are still growing as surrounding matter falls onto them. During this process some of the matter is expelled in the form of jets and outflows of hot gas. To make progress in our scientific understanding of high-mass star formation, the next step is understanding the flow of material near these stars. A systematic study of outflows and jets is thus urgently needed. With these radio telescopes, the investigators will chart the flow of matter near these stars. Specifically, the investigators will make new observations every few months and map the motion of the clumps of material over time. The project is a collaboration between a primarily Hispanic serving university in New Mexico and a primarily undergraduate institution in rural Illinois. Student involvement in the planned observations provide hands-on STEM education on a variety of educational levels. Students will also take part in institutional interchanges and public outreach activities lead by the principal investigators. This project will thereby promote the participation of women and minorities in science.Ionized jets and molecular outflows are commonly present in high-mass proto-stars. This project will carry out a multiscale observational study which addresses fundamental unanswered questions on the physics of the mass outflows. The goals of the project are 1) to connect the ionized jets to the large scale molecular flows with high quality measurements of the momentum rates, 2) to directly measure the ionized jet motion via proper motion and spectral line observations, and 3) to use water and methanol maser observations to study the jet launching mechanism, as well as the momentum transfer between ionized and molecular gas.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.