Revealed by Their Own Dust: Identifying the Missing Links in Massive Star Evolution

由它们自己的尘埃揭示：识别大规模恒星演化中缺失的环节

• 批准号: 1108687
• 负责人: Krzysztof Stanek
• 金额: $ 31.41万
• 依托单位: Ohio State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-01 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1108687&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Revealed; Their; Own; Dust; Identifying

The PI and his team will conduct a survey of luminous dusty massive stars in nearby galaxies in order to answer many questions of stellar evolution. The stars of interest are in the late stages of massive stellar evolution and are losing mass to their environment. They include objects known as luminous blue variables (LBV), supergiant B[e], some Wolf-Rayet stars and red supergiants. The main goal of this work is to better understand how massive stars lose mass, especially episodically, is one of the outstanding open problems in stellar evolution theory. The researchers will use archived images from the Spitzer Space Telescope and new ground-based spectroscopy and imaging at optical and near-infrared wavelengths to compile color-magnitude diagrams for relevant stars in at least 20 galaxies. The measurements will be used to answer many questions, including: is a mid-infrared excess is a good marker of an LBV; is mass loss from LBV?s mostly episodic; what is the frequency of major mass ejection events; and do all massive stars undergo such outbursts? Beyond the main science goals outlined above, the project will have broad impacts by involving a postdoctoral scholar, and graduate and undergraduate students who are already involved in the research. Also, the PI will release data to the public, and has a public outreach component that supports monthly public lectures at the Perkins Observatory. Results from this project will be of significant complementary value for astronomers once James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is operational.

PI和他的团队将对附近星系中发光的尘土飞扬的巨大恒星进行调查，以回答许多恒星进化的问题。 感兴趣的恒星处于巨大恒星进化的晚期，并且正在失去其环境。它们包括称为发光蓝色变量（LBV），Supergiant B [E]，一些狼射线星和红色超级巨人的对象。这项工作的主要目的是更好地了解大型恒星如何失去质量，尤其是情节性的是恒星进化论中杰出的开放问题之一。研究人员将使用来自Spitzer空间望远镜的存档图像，以及在光学和近红外波长处进行新的地面光谱以及成像，以在至少20个星系中编译相关恒星的颜色数字图。这些测量将用于回答许多问题，包括：是：中型超额是LBV的好标志； LBV的质量损失主要是偶发的；重大质量弹出事件的频率是多少？所有巨大的星星是否会发生这样的爆发？除了上面概述的主要科学目标外，该项目将通过参与博士后学者以及已经参与研究的研究生和本科生产生广泛的影响。此外，PI将向公众发布数据，并拥有公共宣传部分，以支持珀金斯天文台的每月公开演讲。一旦詹姆斯·韦伯（James Webb）太空望远镜（JWST）运作，该项目的结果将对天文学家具有显着的互补价值。