Completing the Massive Star Population in Galaxies: The Field Stars

完成星系中的大量恒星种群：场恒星

• 批准号: 0907758
• 负责人: Sally Oey
• 金额: $ 46.15万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-15 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0907758&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Completing; Massive; Star; Population; Galaxies

Dr. Oey will investigate the population of massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) by examining stars in the general field, rather than the more commonly studied star clusters. She will use the multi-object spectrograph at the 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes to take spectra of the 400 or so known stars in the OB class, which contains the hottest and most massive stars. The motion of the stars towards or away from the observer can be measured directly from the spectra; their temperature and mass can be estimated by comparison with models. She will then estimate how many stars were formed at each mass (the field star initial mass function). She will examine whether the high-mass stars now in the general field might have been born in star clusters, exploring the distribution of radial velocities to constrain the numbers of both runaway stars and binary stars, and estimating the time required for a star cluster to dissolve into the field.Both undergraduate and graduate students will be trained through their involvement in the research. Dr Oey will lead a number of outreach programs at the University of Michigan, including a Theme Semester for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. She will partner with the historic Detroit Observatory on campus, to update exhibits, provide scientific training for the docents, and collaborate with a science historian to document the Observatory's historic role.

Oey博士将通过检查一般领域中的恒星，而不是更常见的恒星簇来研究小麦芽云（SMC）中巨大的恒星的人群。 她将在6.5米麦哲伦望远镜上使用多对象光谱仪，以摄取OB类中400颗或众所周知的恒星的光谱，其中包含最热，最庞大的恒星。 可以直接从光谱中测量恒星向观察者的运动或远离观察者的运动。它们的温度和质量可以通过与模型进行比较来估计。 然后，她将估计每个质量处形成了多少颗恒星（田间恒星初始质量函数）。 她将检查现在的一般领域的高质量恒星是否可能是在星团中诞生的，探索径向速度的分布，以限制失控的恒星和二进制恒星的数量，并估算出恒星群以溶解到现场所需的时间。 OEY博士将在密歇根大学领导许多外展计划，其中包括2009年国际天文学年度的主题学期。她将与校园里的历史悠久的底特律天文台合作，更新展览，为文书提供科学培训，并与科学历史学家合作，以记录天文台的历史作用。