Simulating the life cycle of star clusters: from birth to death in a cosmological galactic context

我们的太阳是银河系中数千亿颗恒星之一。这些恒星中的大多数，包括太阳，可能形成于一个被称为星星团的密集恒星集合中。星星团形成于巨大的冷而致密的气体云中。研究人员将通过星系数值模拟来研究星星团在这些大星云中形成的位置、时间和方式。这些模拟包括物理成分-重力，压力，能量-以产生现实的星星形成和大规模的结构，如螺旋臂。研究人员将跟踪这些螺旋臂如何随时间变化，并将其与模拟中形成的星星团联系起来。 研究人员将建立在现有的Cal-Bridge计划，以提高代表性不足的学者的研究经验。 研究员将让学生参与她的研究项目，并指导学生的研究经验和职业发展。大多数星星团形成于旋臂内部，但尚不清楚团中恒星释放的能量是否会在短时间内摧毁旋臂。 一些理论认为，星团中的恒星通过超新星爆炸、风和高能光的能量输入，极大地重塑了旋臂中的气体。 研究人员正在研究这些形式的能量是如何一起工作的，或者彼此对抗，以塑造气体螺旋结构。 研究人员将测试物理现象，如磁流体动力学湍流和宇宙射线，如何影响星系模拟中螺旋结构的形成和持久性。研究人员将通过将大尺度星系结构的寿命与其中小尺度星星团的数量、性质和物理分布联系起来，来统一跨尺度的分析。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Our Sun is one of several hundred billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Most of these stars, including the Sun, likely formed inside a dense collection of stars called a star cluster. Star clusters form within massive clouds of cold, dense gas. The investigators will study where, when, and how star clusters form inside these large clouds, by using galaxy numerical simulations. These simulations include the physical ingredients - gravity, pressure, energy - to generate both realistic star formation and large-scale structures like spiral arms. The investigators will track how these spiral arms change over time and connect this to the star clusters that form in the simulations. The investigator will build on the existing Cal-Bridge program to enhance research experiences for underrepresented scholars. The investigator will involve the students in her research projects and mentor the students in research experience and career development.Most star clusters form inside spiral arms, but it is unknown if the energy released by stars in clusters destroy spiral arms in a short period of time. Some theories suggest that stars in clusters dramatically reshape gas in spiral arms through the input of energy from supernovae explosions, winds, and high energy light. The investigator is studying how these forms of energy work together, or against one another, to sculpt the gaseous spiral structure. The investigators will test how physical phenomena, like magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and cosmic rays, impact the formation and persistence of spiral structure in galaxy simulations. The investigators will unite analyses across scale by connecting the longevity of large-scale galactic structures to the number, properties, and physical distribution of small-scale star clusters within them.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.