Investigating the Formation of Small Protostellar Clusters

恒星是在气体和尘埃的冷密凝聚中诞生的，这些凝聚被称为致密核心，而致密核心通常形成在更大的星系团或星团中。尽管大多数恒星，包括我们的太阳，都是以星团形式形成的，但由于所需观测的更具挑战性，我们对这种形成模式的了解比孤立形成的恒星要少得多。理解恒星是如何在星团中形成的影响了一系列科学问题，包括像我们自己的太阳系是否能够形成。随着新的望远镜，如阿塔卡马大毫米阵列(ALMA)和詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜(JWST)的上线，提供了关于恒星形成星团的壮观新景象，是时候在这一领域进行详细研究了。*我的研究计划集中在测量星团形成的初始条件以及星团成员如何形成和增加质量。为了准备我的NSERC资助，我正在开发一个新的星系团目录，这些星系团是在恒星开始诞生之前捕捉到的。这些密集的核心星团是通过詹姆斯·克莱克·麦克斯韦望远镜的古尔德带调查发现的，这是这项工作的首要调查。这个非常年轻和邻近的星系团的独特样本构成了我的团队对星系团形成的更广泛研究的起点。*我的建议的第一个方面是描述与形成星系团相关的气体的运动。观测结果将由最近完成的绿岸氨调查(GAS)提供，这是第一批详细测量稠密气体在大片天空中运动的数据之一。结合GAS和GBS的数据将使我的团队能够充分描述这些年轻的星系团形成系统的性质。*该提案的第二个方面是测试一个流行的星系团形成模型，在该模型中，丝状结构负责提供形成星系团成员所需的大部分材料。使用GBS和GAS数据集的组合，以及一些额外的观测，将有可能对该模型进行系统验证。这将是第一次围绕这样年轻和较小的星系团进行此类分析。我的建议的第三个方面通过深入研究更高角度分辨率的星系团形成区域来加强前两个方面。将使用Jansky甚大阵列和ALMA来测量星系团形成系统子集的细微尺度细节。这些观察将揭示结构中的特征，这些特征反映了难以衡量的集群环境的属性。例如，致密核心内的子结构水平(平滑与多峰)反映了存在多少湍流运动，以及核心如何能够获得质量。通过这三个方面的综合结果，将更好地了解小型致密核心星团的形成和演化。这些结果还将指导未来对更大、更复杂的星系团的分析，大多数恒星都是在这个星系团中形成的。

Stars are born within cold, dense condensations of gas and dust, known as dense cores, which in turn usually form within larger associations or clusters. Despite most stars, including our Sun, having formed in clusters, we know much less about this formation mode than stars forming in isolation, due to the more challenging nature of the observations required. Understanding how stars form in clusters impacts a variety of science questions, including whether solar systems like our own would be able to form. With new telescopes such as the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) coming online and offering spectacular new views on star-forming clusters, the time is right to pursue a detailed study in this area. ******My research program centres on measuring the initial conditions for cluster formation and how cluster members form and gain mass. In preparation for my NSERC grant, I am developing a novel catalogue of clusters caught before they begin birthing stars. These clusters of dense cores are identified using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope's Gould Belt Survey, the premier survey for this work. This unique sample of very young and nearby clusters forms the launching point of my group's broader investigation into cluster formation.******The first prong of my proposal is to characterize the motions of the gas associated with forming clusters. Observations will be provided by the recently completed Green Bank Ammonia Survey (GAS), which is providing one of the first detailed measurements of dense gas motion across large areas of the sky. Combining the GAS and GBS data will allow my group to fully characterize the properties of these young cluster-forming systems.******The second prong of the proposal is to test a popular model of cluster formation wherein filamentary structures are responsible for supplying most of the material needed to form the cluster members. Systematic verification of this model will be possible, using a combination of the GBS and GAS datasets, along with some additional observations. This analysis will be the first of its kind around such young and small clusters.******The third prong of my proposal augments the first two prongs by delving into the cluster-forming regions at higher angular resolution. The fine scale details of a subset of the cluster forming systems will be measured using the Jansky Very Large Array and ALMA. These observations will reveal features in the structures that reflect difficult to measure properties of the cluster environment. For example, the level of substructure within a dense core (smooth versus multi-peaked) reflects how much turbulent motion is present and how the core is able to gain mass.******Through the combined results of these three prongs, the formation and evolution of small dense core clusters will be better understood. The results will additionally guide future analyses of larger and more complex clustered systems, within which the majority of stars formed.**