Precise Stellar Parameters in the Era of Planet Formation

研究人员试图了解恒星和行星的形成。天文学家通过观察形成这些太阳系的物质的组成和速度来研究行星的形成。第一个阶段是星系中巨大的气体云的坍塌。这种气体收缩，加热，形成一个围绕密度最高的区域旋转的圆盘。行星是在恒星还很年轻的时候形成的。圆盘分裂成团块，这些团块形成行星。在我们的太阳系中有许多类型的行星，从像地球这样的岩石行星到像木星这样的气态巨行星。研究人员试图更好地理解是什么导致了这些类型的行星的形成。形成的行星的类型取决于初始崩塌开始时云中存在的磁场和元素。研究人员将专注于行星形成的一个关键方面，即In分解成行星之前的物质盘的寿命。研究人员设计并建造了一种特殊用途的装置，以精确测量年轻恒星物体(YSO)形成时的性质。研究人员建造的设备是一种非常灵敏的光学光谱仪，称为浸没光栅红外光谱仪(IGRINS)。研究人员在金牛座和蛇夫座恒星形成区观测到了数百个YSO。他们的IGRINS装置已经安装在世界上许多最灵敏的望远镜上。他们的观测同时非常准确地确定了温度、磁场强度、表面重力和自转速度。调查人员将分析整个IGRINS YSO调查，并创建一个减少光谱的公共档案。研究人员计划始终如一地校准和处理他们的观测结果，并将其放入恒星和行星形成过程的有用测量库中。研究人员将使最广泛的受众更容易接触到天文概念。通过与北亚利桑那大学的通用设计专家合作，以及德克萨斯盲人和视障人士学校(TSBVI)的合作，他们将使用触觉图形设备来充实天文学课程计划。这项努力将包括研究生志愿者，并将在TSBVI教室和奥斯汀公立小学实施。学生对这些工具的可获得性和采用将被记录下来，并在国家会议上公布。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The investigators seek to understand the formation of stars and planets. Astronomers study planet formation by observations of the composition and speed of material forming these solar systems. The first stage is the collapse of a vast cloud of gas in a galaxy. This gas contracts, heats up and forms a disk rotating around the densest regions. The planets form while the stars are still young. The disk breaks up into clumps and the clumps form planets. In our solar system there are many types of planets, from rocky planets like the Earth to gas giant planets like Jupiter. The investigators seek to better understand what causes these types of planets to form. The type of planets formed depends on the magnetic fields and elements present in the clouds when the initial collapse begins. The investigators will focus on a key aspect of planet formation, the lifetime of the disk of material before in breaks up into planets. The investigators have designed and constructed a special purpose device to precisely measure the properties of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) as they form. The device the investigators built is a very sensitive optical spectrometer, called the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrometer (IGRINS). The investigators have observed hundreds of YSOs in the Taurus and Ophiuchus star forming regions. Their IGRINS device has been installed on many of the most sensitive telescopes in the world. Their observations simultaneously determine the temperature, magnetic field strength, surface gravity, and rotation rates with great accuracy. The investigators will analyze the entire IGRINS YSO Survey and create a public archive of reduced spectra. The investigators plan to consistently calibrate and process their observations into a library of useful measurements of the process of star and planet formation.The investigators will make astronomical concepts more accessible to the broadest audience. By working with an expert in Universal Design at Northern Arizona University, in collaboration with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI), they will augment astronomy lesson plans with tactile graphical devices. This effort will include graduate student volunteers and will be implemented in TSBVI classrooms and at Austin public elementary schools. The accessibility and adoption of these tools by students will be documented and presented at national conferences.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.