Collaborative Research: K-KIDS -- A Reconnaissance of the 5000 Nearest K Dwarfs

我们将探索距离我们最近的5000个K矮星系统的环境，以回答这样一个问题：我们的太阳与其他恒星相比如何？将进行调查，以提供对恒星和行星形成过程的详细了解。它将描述我们的太阳是多么独特，告诉我们我们的太阳(G矮星)与其他G、K、M矮星相比是什么样子，提供基本的统计数据，将推动恒星和行星形成的理论工作，并提供可能发现其他太阳系的恒星的列表，使未来的天体生物学家能够评估这些恒星周围的环境。学生将参与这项研究，并通过参与这项研究计划获得STEM在科学、数学、计算机科学和工程方面的专业知识。南康涅狄格州立大学将为本科生开发新的双星观测计划。这个名为K-Cys的项目是对5000颗距离最近的K矮星的侦察，它将通过三次调查来研究K矮星。为确定伴星的特征进行了广泛的野外观测，进行了高分辨率散斑成像观测，以在类似太阳系的空间尺度上将单星一分为二和更高阶倍星，并进行了高分辨率光谱分析，以揭示近距离恒星双星，发现低质量棕矮星和木星，估计恒星的金属度和年龄。这将使我们能够发现我们的太阳是多么不同寻常，为恒星和行星形成的理论研究提供G、K和M矮型恒星的基本统计数据，并为定位银河系附近的其他太阳系提供候选名单。这一奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定任务，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 environments of the 5000 nearest K Dwarf star systems will be explored to answer the question, "How does our Sun compare to other stars"? Surveys will be carried out to provide a detailed understanding of star and planetary formation processes. It will characterize how unique is our Sun and tell us how our Sun (a G Dwarf star) compares to other G,K,M Dwarf stars, provide fundamental statistics that will drive theoretical work on star and planet formation and provide a list of stars where other solar systems may be found, allowing future astrobiologists to evaluate the environment around these stars. Students will be involved in this research and gain STEM expertise in science, mathematics, computer science, and engineering through their participation in this research program. Novel observing programs on binary stars will be developed for the undergraduate students at Southern Connecticut State University. This program K-KIDs, a reconnaissance of the 5000 nearest K Dwarfs, will study the K Dwarf stars using three surveys. A wide field survey to characterize companion stars, a high resolution speckle imaging survey to split single stars into doubles and higher order multiples at spatial scales similar to our Solar System, and a high resolution spectroscopic survey to reveal close stellar binaries and discover low mass brown dwarfs and Jovian planet companions and estimate metallicities and ages for the stars. This will allow the discovery of how unusual our Sun is, provide fundamental statistics on G,K and M Dwarf type stars for theoretical studies on star and planet formation, and provide a candidate list for locating other nearby solar systems in the galaxy.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.