Uncovering the Seeds of Star Clusters across the Galaxy

在我们的太阳形成之前，其他恒星创造了重元素，这些重元素构成了我们的星球，对生命的化学反应很重要。为了更好地了解我们的宇宙起源，研究人员将研究这个过程在银河系不同部分的变化。他们将使用阿塔卡马大型毫米/亚毫米阵列（ALMA）望远镜对银河系恒星形成区域的调查数据。这项名为ALMAGAL的调查让我们更好地了解了恒星是如何在银河系中诞生的。研究人员将通过开发一个名为“放大银河系恒星形成”的教育之旅，并使用基于网络的全球望远镜（WWT），扩大这项科学调查的范围。将这些新数据整合到WWT中可以确保广泛、持久地访问社区，教育工作者可以轻松地将这些项目纳入课程计划。宇宙中的大多数恒星都是在星团环境中形成的。然而，空间分辨率的缺乏限制了我们观察年轻星团中单个恒星形成核心的能力。了解致密的原星团分裂成恒星形成核心的过程以及银河系环境和进化阶段所起的作用是至关重要的。研究人员寻求发展一种可以应用于整个宇宙的恒星形成预测理论。ALMAGAL的调查将揭示整个银河系在核心尺度（0.01 pc）上的云碎片。ALMAGAL调查结合了高角度分辨率（1000天文单位或更高）和大样本量（超过1000个密集的团块），需要了解整个银河系环境和进化阶段的原始团块碎片。研究人员将使用这个前所未有的样本来测量恒星形成过程是否随着银河系环境或进化阶段的变化而变化。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Before our Sun was formed, other stars created the heavy elements that make up our planet and are important for the chemistry of life. The investigators will study how this process varies in different parts of our galaxy in order to better understand our cosmic origin. They will use data from a survey of star forming regions in our galaxy obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope. This survey, called ALMAGAL, gives us a better view of how stars are born across our Galaxy. The investigator will expand the reach of this scientific investigation by developing an educational tour entitled Zooming in on Star Formation across the Galaxy and by using the web-based World Wide Telescope (WWT). Incorporating these new data into WWT ensures broad, long-lasting access to the community, and educators can easily incorporate these items into lesson plans. Most stars in the Universe formed in a clustered environment. However, lack of spatial resolution has limited our ability to observe the individual star-forming cores within young star clusters. Understanding the process by which dense proto-clusters fragment into star-forming cores and the role that Galactic environment and evolutionary stages plays is of utmost importance, The investigators seek to develop a predictive theory of star formation that can be applied throughout the cosmos. The ALMAGAL survey will reveal cloud fragmentation on core scales (0.01 pc) across the Galaxy. The ALMAGAL survey, which combines the high angular resolution (1000 AU or better) and large sample size (more than 1000 dense clumps) required to understand proto-cluster fragmentation across Galactic environment and evolutionary stage. The investigator will use this unprecedented sample to measure whether the star formation process varies as a function of Galactic environment or evolutionary stage.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.