Star Clusters as Laboratories for Measuring Stellar Mass Loss

PI和他的合作者计划收集和分析星星中白色矮星的数据，以研究星星形成中两个最重要的悬而未决的问题：作为初始质量函数的主序后质量损失量和将白色矮星与II型超新星分离的临界质量。 他们将观察星星团中的白色矮星，以控制恒星年龄的变量，从而控制恒星质量。研究人员将主要使用4米和8米级望远镜的测光进行这项工作。他们将涉及高中学生，约翰霍普金斯大学和博士后研究助理，并产生了重要的教育和公共宣传工作。该项目的科学成果将对天体物理学的其他领域具有重要意义，如恒星数量、星系质光比的解释、星系化学演化和恒星数量合成建模。

The PI and his collaborators plan to collect and analyze data of white dwarfs in star clusters in order to investigate two of the most important outstanding issues in star formation: the amount of post-main-sequence mass loss as a function of initial mass and the critical mass separating white dwarfs from Type II supernovae. They will observe white dwarfs in star clusters in order to control the variable of stellar age, and thus, stellar mass. The investigators will conduct the work primarily using photometry from 4-m and 8-m class telescopes. They will involve students from high school, Johns Hopkins University and a postdoctoral research associate and generate a significant educational and public outreach effort. The scientific results from this project will be important to other fields within astrophysics, such as stellar populations, interpretation of the mass-to-light ratio of galaxies, galactic chemical evolution and stellar population synthesis modeling.