Mass and Age Standard Stars - Studying Timing Reliability in Cluster Territory (MASS-STRICT)

在天文学中很难精确地确定年龄，部分原因是它不是可以直接测量的东西。恒星是最自然的计时器，而星星群为许多不同的年龄测定方法提供了试验场。这个研究小组将在星星群中选定轨道上的多星星群，作为确定年龄的精确标准。目标是在一个巨大的范围内将年龄的不确定性降低到10%以下，从年轻的1亿年到40亿年，就像太阳一样。年龄测量变得越来越重要，因为更大的望远镜使我们能够研究更遥远，更暗的恒星并了解它们的历史。调查人员更广泛的影响计划的重点是解决物理科学领域妇女和少数民族代表性持续不足的问题。研究者将促进其西班牙裔服务机构的活动。 他们计划积极招收少数民族学生（特别是早期本科生），定期进行学术指导和职业准备指导，以及全年的研究经验。 这些组成部分中的每一个对于建立学生进入物理科学职业并最终使他们做出“正常”选择都很重要。可靠的年龄是了解恒星运作和银河系聚集的重要因素。这项研究将使用双星的精确亮度，光谱速度和干涉位置测量来推断精确的年龄，目标是通常用于校准和测试最有效的年龄测量技术的星星集群。例如，星震学正在提供数千颗穿过银河系的振荡红巨星的年龄，但该技术目前存在系统误差，可以识别和纠正。根据个别主序星的自转周期计算出的年龄，需要用已知年龄的天体进行校准。冷却白色矮星的年龄关键取决于预测产生观测到的白色矮星的星星的初始质量并确定其年龄的能力。但在天文学中最常见的是，恒星群的亮度和颜色被用来估计年龄，这项研究将对附近的星团进行最精确的亮度测量。作为奖励，精确测量的质量将为测试恒星模型提供一个重要的和期待已久的新维度。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Age is very difficult to determine precisely in astronomy, partly because it is not something that can be directly measured. Stars are the most natural timers to use, and star clusters provide the testing ground for many different age dating methods. This research group will develop selected orbiting multi-star groups in star clusters as precise standards for age dating. The goal is to reduce age uncertainties to under 10% over a huge range, from a youthful 100 million years to 4 billion years, like the Sun. Age measurement is becoming more and more important as larger telescopes allow us to study more distant, fainter stars and to understand their histories. The investigators broader impact plan is centered on addressing the continuing underrepresentation of women and minorities within the physical sciences. The investigator will promote activities at their Hispanic-Serving Institution. They plan active recruitment of minority students (especially early undergraduates), regular academic mentoring and career preparation guidance, and full-year research experiences. Each of these components is important for establishing the flow of students into physical science careers and ultimately making them "normal" choices.Reliable ages are an important ingredient in understanding the workings of stars and the assembly of the Milky Way galaxy. This research will use precise brightness, spectroscopic velocity, and interferometric position measurements of binary stars to infer precise ages, targeting star clusters that are in common use for calibration and testing of the most impactful age measurement techniques. For example, asteroseismology is providing ages for thousands of oscillating red giant stars cutting through the Milky Way, but the technique is currently subject to systematic errors that can be identified and corrected. Ages from the rotation periods of individual main sequence stars require calibration with objects of known age. Ages from cooling white dwarfs depend critically on the ability to predict the initial mass of the star that produced an observed white dwarf and determine its age. But most commonly in astronomy, the brightness and colors of groups of stars are used to estimate age, and this research will examine nearby clusters with the most precise brightness measurements for many members. As a bonus, precisely measured masses will provide an important and long-awaited new dimension for testing models of stars.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.