Astronomy Research at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory

该奖项支持五校射电天文台（FCRAO）开展的天文学研究、技术开发和学生培训。研究项目包括研究外部星系、恒星形成、致密星际介质、天体化学、恒星演化的后期阶段和行星科学。天文台在教育方面亦担当重要角色，过去三年共有来自13所大学的45名研究生和本科生在天文台进行研究项目。FCRAO最近投入使用的接收器的焦平面阵列的波长为3毫米；这是所有望远镜上的第一次。在接下来的三年里，这个小组将通过建造一个自相关光谱仪来扩大阵列的光谱能力。作为构建更大焦平面阵列的第一步，高电子迁移率晶体管放大器的开发工作将进行。要进行的科学项目包括绘制大量分子跃迁图，以研究银河系中致密星际介质的耦合物理、化学和运动学；大尺度、角分辨率高的分子云图，在尺度层次上研究恒星形成与角动量含量和结构的关系；许多螺旋星系中分子分布的全采样图，以便研究这些星系中恒星形成的过程；参与VLBI实验，探测类星体和活动星系核的内部结构。

This award supports the astronomical research, technological development, and student training carried out at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory (FCRAO). The research program includes studies of external galaxies, star formation, the dense interstellar medium, astrochemistry, the late stages of stellar evolution, and planetary science. The Observatory also plays a major role in education, with 45 graduate and undergraduate students from 13 universities having carried out research projects at the facility during the past three year period. FCRAO has recently brought into operation a focal plane array of receivers for use at a wavelength of 3 millimeters; the first of its kind on any telescope. Over the next three years this group will expand the spectroscopic capability of the array through construction of an autocorrelation spectrometer. As an initial step toward construction of larger focal plane arrays, development work on high electron mobility transister amplifiers will be carried out. Among the scientific programs to be carried out are maps of a large number of transitions of molecules to examine the coupled physics, chemistry and kinematics of the dense interstellar medium in our Galaxy; large scale, good angular resolution maps of molecular clouds to study the relationship of star formation to angular momentum content and structure on a heirarchy of scales; fully sampled maps of the molecular distribution in many spiral galaxies in order to study the process of star formation in these systems; and participation in VLBI experiments to probe the inner structure of quasars and active galactic nuclei.