Connecting clustered star formation with the origin of life.

恒星和它们的行星系统是如何形成的？生命是如何在地球上起源的，我们是唯一的吗？这些问题是紧密相连的。连接它们的弧线始于这样一个事实，即大多数恒星都是由数十到数百万颗恒星组成的星团的成员。星系团在大型（300光年）的丝状磁化巨分子云（GMCs）中形成，直径可达几光年。团块中密度过大的区域坍缩在原恒星气体/尘埃盘中产生恒星，现在阿塔卡马大型毫米波阵列（ALMA）可以在亚毫米波长下对其进行成像。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的行星和大气的种类——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。岩石星球上生命的起源不仅需要水，还需要在可以形成遗传聚合物的环境中提供生物分子构建块的来源。这些组成部分可以由陨石带来，也可以由某些行星大气中的特殊化学物质产生。我的研究计划的长期目标是将新形成的可居住行星上的遗传聚合物的起源与形成星团的主恒星的行星系统的化学，物理和动力学特性的起源联系起来。我们将使用最先进的辐射磁流体动力学（RMHD）代码对磁化星系进行全局模拟，以研究gmc及其大质量星团是如何形成的。通过使用放大技术，我们的RMHD模拟将首次探索磁化gmc中低至原行星盘尺度的星团形成特性。我们将确定其恒星的质量上限以及其磁化盘的物理性质分布，并将使用新颖的天体化学和n体动力学方法相结合来计算行星与磁盘之间的引力相互作用，并跟踪它们从磁盘吸积物质时的化学性质。行星也通过与气态盘交换角动量而迁移。新的进展强调，提供这些扭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个新的行星迁移理论。有了行星和大气的组成，我们就可以计算出RNA分子在行星大气中形成的化学条件。这为我们的实验提供了输入，研究第一个遗传聚合物（RNA）是如何在益生元行星条件下形成的（温暖的小池塘）——将在我们新完成的、CFI资助的生命起源实验室（OoL）中进行。这个独特的世界设施以行星模拟器为特色，它创造了广泛的行星环境，我们可以在其中研究聚合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.