Collaborative Research: Finding the Double Sunsets - Stellar Multiplicity Across the Milky Way Halo

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Unlike our own Sun, many stars in the Milky Way have one or more companions. Not only do these multiple star systems make for the pretty double sunsets like that seen by Luke Skywalker in the film "Star Wars", they also help astronomers to learn how stars form from gas clouds. These stars change with time and affect their surroundings. Yet astronomers' understanding of stellar "multiplicity" is limited to just a few basic properties, like the fraction of stars that have companions within the Milky Way. The investigators will use already available data from two extensive astronomical surveys to learn much more about multiple star systems. The investigators will learn how the stellar sizes and masses depend on their ages, chemical composition and galactic environment. The investigators will develop a new statistical technique to glean this information from as few as 3-5 observations per star. The different data sets will span the entire Milky Way, from its disk to its halo and also to dwarf galaxy satellites. The program will be the first of its kind to learn the details of multiple star systems in so many different environments.The investigators will host workshops, aimed at middle- and high-school educators from local schools, to share the experience of research using on-line tools. Their efforts will enhance an educator-focused resource for teaching topics in mathematics, physics and computer science.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.