Collaborative Research: The End of Star Formation: Gauging the Impact of Feedback on Dense Gas

数十亿颗恒星追踪着整个可见宇宙中整个星系的结构。研究人员的目标是改进恒星形成过程的模型。稠密的气核是星际气体云的一部分，它们是单个恒星或一小群恒星的诞生地。然而，人们经常观察到，岩心受到外部压力和自身重力的束缚很弱。恒星形成的星云很容易受到周围环境的影响。研究人员将对发现核心的环境范围进行观察和建模，并将描述这些环境和恒星形成核心的特征。此外，该计划将支持AstroTROUP计划，在学年期间为STEM-未被充分代表的少数民族天文学专业学生提供付费研究经验，并聘请同行导师帮助他们的课程。该计划将支持一系列项目，利用现有的区域图像系统地分析当地分子云环境。首先，基于概率密度函数和功率谱的分析，对气体结构和湍流条件进行约束。其次，研究人员将从磁流体动力学模拟结果中创建一个受反馈影响的分子气体的合成红外观察库。他们将使用这个库来训练机器学习算法，以系统地绘制出反馈影响。最后，调查人员计划对从调查员的云到核心遗产调查得出的核心属性进行全面分析，作为气体属性和反馈条件的函数。这一裁决反映了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。

Stars by the billions trace the structures of entire galaxies throughout the visible universe. The investigators aim to improve models of the star formation process. Dense gas cores are the parts of interstellar gas clouds that are the birth sites of individual stars, or small groups of them. However, cores are often observed to be weakly bound by external pressure and their own gravity. Star forming clouds are very vulnerable to external influences from their surroundings. The investigators will observe and model the range of environments where cores are found, and they will characterize those environments and the star forming cores. In addition, this program will support the AstroTROUP initiative to provide paid research experiences during the academic year to STEM-underrepresented minority student majors in Astronomy, as well as to hire peer tutors for help in their coursework.This program will support a series of projects to analyze local molecular cloud environments in systematic ways using already available images of the regions. First, gas structure and turbulent conditions will be constrained based on analysis of the probability density functions and power spectra. Second, the investigators will create a library of synthetic infrared observations of feedback-influenced molecular gas from magnetohydrodynamic simulation results. They will use this library to train a machine learning algorithm to systematically map out feedback influences. Finally, the investigators plan to perform a comprehensive analysis of core properties, derived from the investigator’s Clouds to Cores Legacy Survey as a function of gas properties and feedback conditions.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.