Astrophysical and Astrochemical Tests of Massive Star Formation Theories

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Stars with masses much greater than that of our Sun are the engines that drive the evolution of our galaxy; mixing the interstellar gas and dust with their winds, radiation, and eventually their violent deaths in supernova explosions. This project will improve our understanding of the way in which the most massive of these stars are formed. The project will develop new theoretical and computational models that simulate the formation of these massive stars from their beginnings as condensing core of interstellar hydrogen gas to their birth as the largest stars in our galaxy. These new simulations will include more physically realistic models of the evolution of the proto-stellar core, the surrounding region of rotating infalling matter, and the outflowing winds from the newly forming star. The project will test and verify these models of massive star formation with new observations with state-of-the-art facilities performed at millimeter, sub-millimeter, and mid-infrared wavelengths. The project will use existing Monte Carlo radiative transfer code for turbulent accreting cores, which the PI has modified to include both dust and gas opacities. These models will be used to extend the canonical evolutionary sequence for massive stars to systematically cover a much larger parameter space of initial core mass, core rotation, and environmental factors. The proposers will also incorporate new models for dust grain alignment and the effects of a binary companion to the current radiative transfer computations. The output of the radiative transfer calculations will consist of observables that can be compared with observations by facilities such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-millimeter Array (ALMA).This project will build upon previous efforts by the PI to train of a new generation of scientists, with a strong emphasis on students from underrepresented groups. The project will communicate its results to the public through the development of a presentation entitled ?Birth of the Giants ? the Most Massive Stars in the Universe? to be shown at local schools and at events organized through the Florida Museum of Natural History.