Collaborative Research: Peering to the Heart of Massive Star Birth

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Massive stars much larger than the sun affect the evolution of galaxies through their powerful winds and the intense radiation they produce. When they explode as supernovae, massive stars throw heavy elements into the surrounding interstellar medium. Yet despite their importance, little is known about how they are formed. In this project, over 100 very young, massive stars will be observed with radio telescopes in New Mexico and Chile. Computer models will be used to interpret the observational data and to develop a better understanding of massive star formation as a whole. Graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in this project. The proposers also plan on developing an existing outreach program, Star Hunt, that involves middle school children and their teachers in an astronomy research exercise. Star Hunt Plus will be deployed to schools in New Mexico, Virginia and eventually nationwide.This collaborative project, between teams in Virginia and New Mexico, will investigate the nature and origin of massive young stars. A combined theoretical and observational approach is proposed: a grid of model Spectral Energy Distributions and synthetic images will be produced. Over 100 massive protostars will then be observed in cm continuum emission with the Very Large Array and in mm/sub-mm emission with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. The observational data will be used to test the models, illustrate the presence of lower-mass companions and radio jets, and characterize inflow and outflow properties. Infall velocities and mass flow rates will be compared to the values expected from the SED-fitted core accretion models. Similarly, the molecular outflow properties will be compared to those of the radio jets and predictions of the models.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.