Rotational and Orbital Angular Momentum Evolution: From Self-Embedded Protostars to T-Tauri Stars

理解恒星和行星形成的过程仍然是天文学和天体物理学的基本目标之一。尽管这一过程的大致轮廓已经变得清晰，但仍有许多事情没有得到解释，特别是关于年轻恒星对象在主序前寿命期间的自转和轨道角动量演化。多个系统是如何以及为什么从一个信封中形成的？是什么物理机制控制着年轻恒星物体的自转速度？旋转速度是如何随前主序演化状态而演化的？PI将执行两个主要项目来解决这些问题：1)一个专门的、全面的计划，用于通过近红外光度监测来确定原恒星的自转周期，以获得光曲线；2)对单个恒星形成星云中嵌入的年轻恒星对象进行系统的近红外和中红外、高角度分辨率的调查，以发现和描述双星/多系统在10万至100万年的时间尺度上的演化。***

AST 0206146PI: Mary BarsonyAn understanding of the processes by which stars and planets form remains one of the fundamental goals of astronomy and astrophysics. Although the broad outline of the process has become clear, much remains unexplained, particularly concerning rotational and orbital angular momentum evolution during the pre-main-sequence lifetime of young stellar objects. How and why do multiple systems form from a single infall envelope? What physical mechanisms regulate the rotation rates of young stellar objects? How do rotational velocities evolve with pre-main-sequence evolutionary state? The PI will carry out two major projects to address these questions: 1) a dedicated, comprehensive program for the determination of protostellar rotational periods via near-infrared photometric monitoring to obtain lightcurves, and 2) a systematic near-and mid-infrared, high angular resolution survey of embedded young stellar objects in a single star-forming cloud to discover and characterize the evolution of binary/multiple systems over timescales of 100,000 to 1 million years. ***