Postdoctoral Fellowship: AAPF: From Dense Clusters to OB Associations: Tracing the Impact of Dynamics on Multiplicity beyond 10 AU in the Orion Complex

Matthew De Furio被授予NSF天文学和天体物理学奖学金，在德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校开展研究和教育计划。De Furio将在四个不同的恒星形成区域（从低密度非束缚到高密度束缚区域）观察数百颗恒星，以识别二元和高阶多重系统。这项工作的结果将告知我们对星星形成过程的理解，并探索恒星诞生环境的影响。De Furio还将设计和实施一项教育计划，专门针对智力残疾的儿童和成人，利用普通大学资源，如望远镜和天文馆。这项工作将利用盖亚天文台提供的地面和空间成像，描述两个低密度OB协会，一个高密度束缚星团和一个非常年轻的嵌入区域内的多重性，这些区域的质量为0.3 M。由于能够探测10 Au以上的伴星，该项目将：1）探索动力学对多系统形成和保持的影响，2）探索哪些类型的恒星形成区域对银河系的人口有重要贡献，和3）对我们理解多颗星星形成理论的基本限制，作为初级质量和轨道间隔的函数。基金会的使命是履行其法定使命，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。

Matthew De Furio is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the University of Texas at Austin. De Furio will observe hundreds of stars within four different star-forming regions (from low-density unbound to high-density bound regions) to identify binary and higher order multiple systems. Results from this work will inform our understanding of the star formation process and explore effects from the stellar birth environment. De Furio will also design and implement an educational program devoted to children and adults with intellectual disabilities using common university resources like telescopes and planetariums.This work will characterize the multiplicity within two low-density OB associations, one high-density bound cluster, and one very young embedded region for primary stars with masses 0.3 M⊙ using ground and space based imaging informed by the Gaia observatory. With the ability to detect companions beyond 10 au, this project will: 1) probe the impact of dynamics on the formation and retention of multiple systems, 2) explore which types of star-forming regions contribute significantly to the Galactic field population, and 3) place fundamental constraints on our understanding of multiple star formation theory as a function of primary mass and orbital separation.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.