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，但也有质量比太阳高100倍的恒星。这些大质量的恒星输出巨大的能量，在以超新星的形式结束生命之前只能存活几百万年。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来观察年轻的大质量恒星，这些恒星在周围物质的作用下仍在生长。在这个过程中，一些物质以喷射和热气流出的形式被排出。为了使我们对大质量恒星形成的科学理解取得进展，下一步是了解这些恒星附近的物质流动。因此，迫切需要对流出和喷射进行系统的研究。通过这些射电望远镜，研究人员将绘制出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，并绘制出物质团块随时间的运动图。该项目是新墨西哥州一所主要为西班牙裔服务的大学和伊利诺斯州农村一所主要为本科院校的合作项目。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众宣传活动。因此，该项目将促进妇女和少数民族参与科学。电离喷流和分子外流通常存在于大质量的原恒星中。该项目将开展一项多尺度观测研究，以解决质量流出的基本物理问题。该项目的目标是：1)通过高质量的动量率测量将电离射流与大尺度分子流连接起来；2)通过固有运动和谱线观测直接测量电离射流的运动；3)利用水和甲醇脉泽观测研究射流的发射机理，以及电离气体和分子气体之间的动量传递。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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.