U.S.-Japan Cooperative Research: Studies in Astrochemistry

该奖项支持马萨诸塞州大学的威廉·M·欧文教授、保罗·F·戈德史密斯教授和F·彼得·施洛布教授与日本名古屋大学的斋藤修二教授以及名古屋大学、富山大学和野山射电天文台的其他日本研究人员在天体化学方面的合作。研究人员将合作进行几项研究，旨在利用高频射电天文学和现代实验室分子光谱学技术，增加对星际分子云中化学成分和过程的了解。实验室工作将主要在名古屋大学天体物理系进行，而天文观测将在由马萨诸塞大学运营的五所大学射电天文台和野山射电天文台进行。化学在研究重要的天文环境方面发挥着越来越广泛的作用，包括被认为是恒星形成的星际分子云、年轻恒星和进化恒星所驱逐的包层，以及彗星。在这个项目中，汇集了三个研究机构的优势，一个在美国，两个在日本。美国和日本的调查人员都为这一努力带来了丰富的天体化学经验和专业知识。FCRAO直径14米的射电望远镜是北美最大的单碟式毫米波长望远镜。它与FCRAO开发的各种最先进的接收器结合使用，在这些研究中感兴趣的几个频谱频率区域提供极高的灵敏度。位于Nobeama的45米射电望远镜是世界上最大的毫米波长射电望远镜，因此在这些波长上提供了任何单个碟形天线所能提供的最高分辨率。名古屋天体物理系分子光谱小组的成员在高活性、不稳定的分子物种的实验室研究方面处于世界领先地位。这三个小组之间的合作已经存在了几年，这一奖项将使合作得到加强和扩大。建议研究的具体项目包括：对冷的、静止的星际云进行光谱测量，以更好地确定它们的化学成分；调查星际颗粒上可能的分子形成或平衡；研究不同环境中的化学饱和程度；以及确定密切相关的分子物种的相对丰度，以便调查反应路径。

This award supports collaboration in astrochemistry between Professors William M. Irvine, Paul F. Goldsmith, and F. Peter Schloerb, of the University of Massachusetts; and Professor Shuji Saito, Nagoya University, Japan, as well as other Japanese investigators at Nagoya University, Toyama University, and the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. The researchers will cooperate in several studies aimed at increasing understanding of the chemical composition and processes in interstellar molecular clouds, using the techniques of high-frequency radio astronomy and modern laboratory molecular spectroscopy. The laboratory work will be carried out primarily in the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Nagoya, while astronomical observations will be made at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory (FCRAO), which is operated by the University of Massachusetts, and at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. Chemistry plays an increasingly well-recognized role in the study of important astronomical environments, including the interstellar molecular clouds where stars are believed to form, the envelopes expelled by both young and evolved stars, and cometary comae. In this project, the strengths of three research facilities are brought together, one in the U.S. and two in Japan. Both the U.S. and Japanese investigators bring significant experience and expertise in astrochemistry to this effort. The 14-meter diameter radio telescope of the FCRAO is the largest single-dish millimeter wavelength telescope in North America. Used in conjunction with various state-of-the-art receivers developed at FCRAO, it provides extremely high sensitivity in several spectral frequency regions of interest in these studies. The 45-meter radio telescope at Nobeyama is the largest radio telescope in the world for observations at millimeter wavelengths, and so offers the highest resolution at these wavelengths available with any single dish antenna. Members of the Molecular Spectroscopy Group in the Department of Astrophysics at Nagoya are among world leaders in the laboratory study of highly reactive, unstable molecular species. Cooperation among these three groups has existed for several years, and this award will permit the collaboration to be strengthened and expanded. Specific projects proposed for study include spectral surveys of cold, quiescent interstellar clouds to better determine their chemical composition, investigations of possible molecular formation or equilibration on interstellar grains, studies of the degree of chemical saturation in different environments, and determination of the relative abundance of closely related molecular species in order to investigate reaction pathways.