Submillimeter Astronomy with the Chicago Camera/Polarimeter

恒星形成的过程是天文学研究中一个非常有趣的领域。最近，随着观测仪器和技术的发展，人们对这一领域的兴趣有所增强。由于存在遮蔽物质，恒星形成区域的深度只能通过亚毫米和远红外光谱区域的观测来探测。这笔拨款支持了一个亚毫米波观测项目，该项目使用了一种多功能相机/偏振计。芝加哥大学的希尔德布兰德和哈珀。观测将主要在位于夏威夷莫纳克亚山的加州理工学院亚毫米望远镜上进行。这些观测的主要科学领域是：(1)恒星和星周盘的形成和演化；(2)星系演化；(3)星际云磁场结构；(4)星际尘埃的内在特性和排列机制。这笔拨款还将支持对相机/偏振计的持续改进，以确保操作特性保持在最先进的水平。

The process of star formation is an area of great interest in astronomical research. It is an area in which the interest has been recently enhanced with developments in instrumentation and techniques for observations. Because of the presence of obscuring material, the depths of star forming regions can only be probed with observations in the submillimeter and far infrared regions of the spectrum. This grant supports a program of submillimeter wavelength observations using a versatile camera/polarimeter which has been developed by Drs. Hildebrand and Harper at the University of Chicago. The observations will be carried out primarily at the California Institute of Technology Submillimeter Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The principal scientific areas of interest for these observations are: (1) the formation and evolution of stars and circumstellar disks; (2) the evolution of galaxies; (3) the magnetic field structure of interstellar clouds; and (4) the intrinsic properties and alignment mechanisms of interstellar dust. The grant will also support continuing improvements to the camera/polarimeter to ensure that the operating characteristics are maintained at a state-of-the-art level.