Research
Star & Planet Formation
Star formation is central to a broad range of astrophysical problems, essential for explaining not only the distribution and types of stars we see around us today but also providing the concrete underpinnings for understanding the history and nature of of the very first stars in the early universe. The results of star formation studies are applied on both the largest scales in theories of galaxy formation and the tiniest scales in circumstellar disks where planets are expected to form.
Research in the Department cover the full range of topics and disciplines, including gas dynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, dust properties, chemistry in disks and the interstellar medium, and stellar physics, and employs a wide range of instruments including the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, ground-based photometry and spectroscopy using Magellan and other telescopes, the long-baseline infrared CHARA and Keck Interferometers, and mm and sub-mm wave data from the Submillimeter Array and other radio telescopes. In addition, extrasolar planets are being investigated both theoretically through dynamical simulations and observationally through precision radial velocity surveys and long-baseline interferometric techniques.
A local computer cluster is devoted to performing improved numerical simulations of star-forming regions and protoplanetary disks, and these simulations are linked to observations through 3-dimensional radiative transfer models. Major open questions that we are trying to address include what determines the masses of stars, why do star clusters form, are all stars formed with potential protoplanetary disks, and how and why do these disks evolve and form planets.
This page was current on 8/21/07
The People involved
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