Scattered Light imaging of YSOs: Probing the Fundamental Stages of Planet Formation

行星和恒星同时在恒星周围温暖的尘埃盘中形成。 使用80小时的观测时间在8米望远镜双子座南在智利与双子座行星成像仪仪器，这些调查人员将图像的结构在一个尘埃盘具有非常高的分辨率。 随着行星的形成和成长，圆盘会发展出旋臂、间隙，最终形成中空的空腔--这是行星形成的标志。 研究人员将研究30个尘埃盘样本，涵盖行星形成的所有阶段。他们将继续使用望远镜仪器来研究恒星和圆盘的其他可观测特征。 行星形成的基本阶段可以在样本恒星周围的尘埃盘中确定。 该项目通过促进我们对其他恒星周围尘埃盘内行星形成阶段的理解来支持NSF的使命。 首席研究员将继续与安阿伯动手博物馆合作，通过巡回天文科学展览接触经常被忽视的密歇根州农村人口。双子座行星成像仪（GPI）仪器可以利用极端自适应光学，日冕照相术和差分偏振模式，以6 Au的空间分辨率成像尘埃结构。 拟议的对30个盘的观测调查均匀地从跨越行星形成所有已知阶段的中等质量年轻恒星物体样本中提取。 作为拟议研究计划的一部分，将继续使用毫米波和其他可见/红外高对比度仪器进行随访。 通过将新发现的盘结构与恒星年龄，光谱类型以及大量天体的盘光谱能量分布联系起来，可以从形态学上确定行星形成的基本阶段，然后通过拟议的辐射传输和流体动力学模型定量估计盘质量，盘尺度高度，尘埃大小，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。

Planets and stars form at the same time in warm, dusty disks surrounding the stars. Using 80 hours of observing time on the 8-meter telescope Gemini South in Chile with the Gemini Planet Imager instrument, these investigators will image the structure in a dust disk with very high resolution. As planets form and grow, disks develop spiral arms, gaps, and eventually hollow cavities -- signposts of planet formation. The investigators will study a sample of 30 dust disks covering all stages of the formation of planets. They will follow-up with telescopic instruments covering other observable traits of the stars and disks. The basic stages of planet formation can be determined structurally within the dust disks around the sample stars. This project supports the mission of the NSF by promoting our understanding of the stages of planet formation within dust disks around other stars. The lead investigator will continue his partnership with the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum to reach out to the often-overlooked rural population of Michigan through traveling astronomical science exhibits.The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) instrument can image dust structure with spatial resolution as small as 6 AU by exploiting extreme adaptive optics, coronagraphy, and a differential polarization mode. The proposed observational survey of 30 disks draws evenly from a sample of intermediate-mass young stellar objects spanning all the known stages of planet formation. Follow-up using the mm-wave and other visible/IR high-contrast instruments will be pursued as part of the proposed research plan. By linking newly discovered disk structures with stellar ages, spectral types, and the disk spectral energy distributions for a statistically-significant number of objects, the fundamental stages of planet formation can be determined both morphologically and then quantitatively through the proposed radiative transfer and hydrodynamical modeling to estimate disk masses, disk scale heights, dust sizes, and the radii of gaps and other structures.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.