RUI: Vertical Structure of Gas and Dust in Debris Disks

碎片盘是围绕主星运行的尘埃和气体带，类似于我们太阳系的柯伊伯带。这些尘埃，以及至少部分气体，是由岩石之间的碰撞产生的，这些岩石的大小从微小的沙粒到冥王星的大小不等。这个项目将在无线电波长下描绘碎片盘的垂直结构，测量它们是蓬松的（像甜甜圈）还是平坦的（像煎饼），以帮助我们了解行星系统是如何演变的。垂直结构可以告诉我们像天王星和海王星这样的行星在其他恒星周围有多常见。它还可以告诉我们类似海王星的行星在尘埃盘中迁移的频率，它可以为行星系统演化最后阶段存在的气体数量和类型提供线索。Van Vleck天文台的公众外展计划将在2019冠状病毒病大流行中断后重新焕发活力。研究和公共宣传的组成部分都将允许学生深入参与卫斯理现有的硕士和附属的暑期研究项目，这些项目的明确目标是吸引具有非传统背景的学生参与天文学研究。研究者和她的学生将使用阿塔卡马大型毫米/亚毫米阵列（ALMA）对磁盘进行成像，以详细揭示气体和尘埃的分布，在每个系统的垂直维度上具有多个分辨率元素。这项工作是大型项目ARKS （ALMA调查以解决外柯伊伯带亚结构）的一部分，还包括后续项目，重点是在毫米波长范围内描述碎片盘中气体和尘埃的垂直结构。不同气体谱线之间以及多个毫米波波长和散射光数据之间的比较有望提供对碎片盘中难以捉摸的气体成分组成的深入了解，这对于理解晚期行星系统演化非常重要，包括系外行星大气的组成。为了重振范弗莱克天文台的公众推广计划，研究学生还将接受必要的技能培训，以有效地与各种对科学感兴趣的公众接触。专门的媒体实习生将提高公众对公共项目的认识，并重建与周围社区持续沟通的基础。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。

Debris disks are belts of dust and gas that orbit a host star, similar to the Kuiper Belt in our own solar system. The dust, and at least some of the gas, is generated through collisions between rocky bodies that range in size from tiny grains of sand to the scale of Pluto. This project will characterize the vertical structure of debris disks at radio wavelengths, measuring whether they are puffy (like a donut) or flat (like a pancake), to help us understand how planetary systems evolve. The vertical structure can tell us how common planets like Uranus and Neptune are around other stars. It can also tell us about how often Neptune-like planets migrate through their dusty disks, and it can provide clues to the amount and type of gas that is present during the last stages of planetary system evolution. Van Vleck Observatory’s public outreach program will be reinvigorated after the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. Both the research and public outreach components will allow deep involvement from students in Wesleyan’s existing masters and affiliated summer research programs, which are explicitly targeted at drawing students with non-traditional backgrounds into research astronomy.The investigator and her students will use the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to image disks to reveal the distribution of gas and dust in fine detail, with multiple resolution elements across the vertical dimension of each system. The work is part of the large program ARKS (the ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures), and also includes follow-up programs with a focus on characterizing the vertical structure of gas and dust in debris disks across a wide range of millimeter wavelengths. Comparisons between different gas spectral lines and between multiple millimeter wavelengths and scattered light data promise to provide insight into the elusive composition of the gas component of the debris disks, which is important for understanding late-stage planetary system evolution, including the composition of exoplanet atmospheres. In order to reinvigorate the Van Vleck Observatory’s public outreach program, research students will also be trained in the skills necessary to productively engage with a diverse science-interested public. A dedicated media intern will raise awareness of public programs and rebuild a base of sustained communication with the surrounding community.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.