Volatiles in Disks Around Young Stars: Disentangling Our Origins

University Of Missouri-Saint Louis, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Dr. Erika Gibb will investigate how volatile molecules such as water, carbon monoxide, and simple organic molecules evolved through the collapse of a dark cloud into a protoplanetary disk and eventual incorporation into protoplanets or comets. This proposal will support a high-resolution, near-infrared spectroscopic study of numerous disks and envelopes surrounding very young stars to discern the chemical composition of these objects. A major goal of the program will be to explore how the formation environment and viewing geometry affect the measured composition of gas and dust in star forming regions. The results will be used to test models of chemical evolution of clouds and disks. This project is expected to have a broad impact on studies of origins of life and the evolution of young stars, and will contribute to a better understanding of interstellar and disk chemistry and will significantly impact chemical modeling of disks. Dr. Gibb and her team will integrate their research into secondary school education by educating teachers in the metropolitan St. Louis area. They will develop a summer workshop, in collaboration with the College of Education at her institution, to train teachers in the St. Louis area in the effective classroom use of astronomy-based activities. The activities will enhance conceptual understanding of science and teach the fundamental importance of scientific inquiry. The workshop will address key components of the Missouri Science Grade Level Expectations for secondary students through an interdisciplinary approach to science. A similar workshop, focusing on comet science, will be developed by Dr. Gibb and a collaborator for the Washington, DC metropolitan area.