Chemical Probes of Disk Accretion and Planet Formation

伯金博士，沿着一位博士后研究员和学生，将利用化学作为工具来探索星星和行星形成的物理学。 年轻的恒星通常被物质盘所包围，这些物质通过吸积过程为恒星提供质量。 这些盘也包含了行星形成的物质。这项工作的主要目标是：（1）探索星周盘内部区域的碳颗粒破坏;（2）确定宇宙射线穿透这些盘的特征;（3）确定通过分子发射探测系外行星的方法;以及（4）以确定年轻恒星天体中偶发性吸积的时间尺度。该项目的结果将纳入纽约大学的课程。年轻的研究人员将接受分子天体物理学的培训。 这个项目也是跨学科的性质，与化学，物理学，天体物理学和天体生物学方面。

Dr. Bergin, along with a postodoctoral fellow and students, will use chemistry as a tool to probe the physics of star and planet formation. Young stars are usually surrounded by disks of material that contribute mass to the stars through the process of accretion. These disks also contain the material out of which planets are formed. The main goals of the effort are (1) to explore carbon-grain destruction in the inner regions of circumstellar disks; (2) to characterize cosmic-ray penetration in these disks; (3) to identify ways of detecting exoplanets through molecular emission; and (4) to determine the time scales for episodic accretion in young stellar objects.Results from this project will be incorporated into the curriculum at the University of Michigan, and young researchers will be trained in the science of molecular astrophysics. This project is also interdisciplinary in nature, with aspects of chemistry, physics, astrophysics, and astrobiology.