Connecting clustered star formation with the origin of life.

恒星及其行星系统是如何形成的？地球上的生命是如何起源的，我们是孤独的吗？这些问题是紧密相连的。连接它们的弧形始于这样一个事实，即大多数恒星都是由几十到数百万颗恒星组成的星团。星系团在大型(300里尔)丝状、磁化的巨型分子云(GMC)内形成，直径可达几光年。团块中的过高密度区域坍塌，在原恒星气体/尘埃盘中产生恒星，现在可以由阿塔卡马大毫米阵列(ALMA)在亚毫米波长下成像。这些不断演化的圆盘的性质和化学成分反过来决定了形成行星和大气的种类--将行星的形成与观测到的系外行星种群的化学和动力学特性联系起来。岩石星球上的生命起源不仅需要水，还需要生物分子积木的来源，在遗传聚合物形成的环境中。这些积木可以由陨石输送，也可以由某些行星大气中的奇异化学物质制造。 我的研究计划的长期目标是将新形成的宜居行星上的遗传聚合物的起源与其宿主恒星形成星团的行星系统的化学、物理和动力学性质的起源联系起来。我们将使用最先进的辐射磁流体力学(RMHD)程序对磁化星系进行全球模拟，以研究GMC和它们的大质量星团是如何建立的。通过使用放大技术，我们的RMHD模拟将首次探索磁化的GMC中星团形成的特性，精确到原行星盘尺度。我们将确定它们恒星的质量上限以及它们的磁化盘的物理性质的分布。我们将使用新的天体化学和N体动力学方法相结合的方法来计算行星和盘之间的引力相互作用，并跟踪它们从盘中吸收物质时的化学性质。行星的迁移也是通过与气态盘交换角动量来实现的。新的进展强调，提供这些力矩的是磁化的圆盘风，而不是圆盘湍流。我将在这个概念的基础上发展一种新的行星迁移理论。掌握了行星和大气的组成后，我们将计算在行星大气中形成RNA分子构件的化学条件。这为我们关于第一批遗传聚合物(RNA)如何在生命前行星条件(温暖的小池塘)中形成的实验提供了投入--将在我们新建成的、由CFI资助的生命起源实验室(OOL)进行。这一独特的世界设施以行星模拟器为特色，它可以创建广泛的行星环境，在其中我们可以研究聚合反应和由此产生的分子进化的速度。

How do stars and their planetary systems form? How did life originate on Earth, and are we alone? These questions are deeply linked. The arc that connects them begins with the fact that most stars form as members of clusters containing dozens to millions of stars. Clusters arise in clumps of up to a few light years across within large (300 lyrs) filamentary, magnetized giant molecular clouds (GMCs). Over-dense regions in clumps collapse to produce stars within protostellar gas/dust disks, which can now be imaged at submillimeter wavelengths by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). The properties and chemical composition of these evolving disks in turn determine the kinds of planets and atmospheres that form - connecting planet formation with the observed chemical and dynamical properties of exoplanetary populations. The origin of life on rocky worlds requires not just water, but a source of biomolecular building blocs in environments in which genetic polymers can form. These building blocks can be delivered by meteorites or made by exotic chemistry in certain kinds of planetary atmospheres. The long-term objective of my research program is to link the origin of genetic polymers on newly formed habitable planets to the origin of the chemical, physical and dynamical properties of the planetary systems of their host stars in forming star clusters. We will perform global simulations of magnetized galaxies using state of the art radiative magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) codes to study how GMCs and their massive star clusters are built. By using zoom in techniques, our RMHD simulations will, for the first time, explore the properties of cluster formation in magnetized GMCs down to protoplanetary disk scales. We will determine the upper mass limit of their stars as well as the distributions of physical properties of their magnetized disks A combination of novel astrochemistry and N-body dynamics methods will be used to compute the gravitational interactions between planets and the disks, and track their chemical properties as they accrete material from their disks. Planets also migrate by exchanging angular momentum with gaseous disks. New advances emphasize that magnetized disk winds - not disk turbulence - provide these torques. I will develop a novel theory of planetary migration based on this concept. With the composition of planets and atmospheres in hand, we will then compute the chemical conditions under which the building blocks of RNA molecules can form in planetary atmospheres. This provides input for our experiments on how the first genetic polymers (RNA) formed in prebiotic planetary conditions (warm little ponds) - to be carried out in our newly completed, CFI funded, Origins of Life Laboratory (OoL). This unique world facility features a planetary simulator that creates a wide range of planetary environments in which we can study the rate at which polymerization and resulting molecular evolution can occur.