Unlocking the Potential of Speckle Binary Stars for Stellar and Galactic Astronomy

AST 0307450 Horch，Elliott P.由于计划中的太空任务，对恒星距离的了解即将经历前所未有的改善。这些任务为更好地了解恒星天体物理学提供了广泛的机会。 近距离双星将在这里发挥重要作用。为了帮助实现这一科学，一个系统的计划，地面测光，天体测量和光谱观测正在进行中。多种颜色中可靠的星等差异产生准确的分量光度和有效温度，现在正在通过散斑光度学来完成。完整的光谱信息提供了径向速度转换成质量分数，因此，个别质量时，结合视觉轨道。这项研究使观测结果与恒星演化模型和重要的统计研究（例如对该星系区域化学演化的研究）之间的比较变得更加强大。 观测数据将大大改善质量-光度关系，包括研究金属丰度和年龄等效应的能力，并将为未来的观测提供一个天体物理学上有趣的双星列表。更广泛的影响。 著名的天文学家正在被带到马萨诸塞州东南部达特茅斯的马萨诸塞州大学进行公开讲座，一门基础天体物理学课程正在以在线学习版本提供。第二个新的成像课程将有利于科学和工程专业的大学，并有一个跨学科的方面，希望他们未来的雇主。

AST 0307450Horch, Elliott P.Knowledge of the distances to stars is about to experience an unprecedented improvement due to planned space-based missions. These missions present broad opportunities to gain a better understanding of stellar astrophysics. Close binary stars will play a significant role here. To aid in the realization of this science, a systematic program of ground-based photometric, astrometric, and spectroscopic observations is underway. Reliable magnitude differences in multiple colors produce accurate component luminosities and effective temperatures and is now being done by speckle photometry. Complete spectroscopic information provides radial velocities for conversion into mass fractions, and therefore individual masses when combined with the visual orbit. This research enables robust comparisons between the observations and stellar evolution models and important statistical studies, such as a study of the chemical evolution of this region of the galaxy. The observational data will lead to a much improved mass-luminosity relation, including the ability to study such effects as metallicity and age, and it will provide a list of astrophysically interesting binaries for future observations. Broader Impacts. Noted astronomers are being brought to the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth in the Southeastern Massachusetts region for public lectures, and an elementary astrophysics course is being made available in an online learning version. A second new course in imaging will benefit science and engineering majors at the University and have a cross- disciplinary aspect desirable to their future employers.