Collaborative Research: A Multiscale Approach to Understand Outflows During High-Mass Star Formation

Western Illinois University, Macomb IL

Investigators

Abstract

Most stars in the Milky Way Galaxy are like our Sun, but there are also stars with masses up to 100 times higher. These high-mass stars output enormous amounts of energy and live only for a few million years before ending their life as a supernova. A major challenge in astrophysics is to understand how these stars are formed. The investigators will use the National Science Foundation's large radio telescopes to observe young high-mass stars, which are still growing as surrounding matter falls onto them. During this process some of the matter is expelled in the form of jets and outflows of hot gas. To make progress in our scientific understanding of high-mass star formation, the next step is understanding the flow of material near these stars. A systematic study of outflows and jets is thus urgently needed. With these radio telescopes, the investigators will chart the flow of matter near these stars. Specifically, the investigators will make new observations every few months and map the motion of the clumps of material over time. The project is a collaboration between a primarily Hispanic serving university in New Mexico and a primarily undergraduate institution in rural Illinois. Student involvement in the planned observations provide hands-on STEM education on a variety of educational levels. Students will also take part in institutional interchanges and public outreach activities lead by the principal investigators. This project will thereby promote the participation of women and minorities in science. Ionized jets and molecular outflows are commonly present in high-mass proto-stars. This project will carry out a multiscale observational study which addresses fundamental unanswered questions on the physics of the mass outflows. The goals of the project are 1) to connect the ionized jets to the large scale molecular flows with high quality measurements of the momentum rates, 2) to directly measure the ionized jet motion via proper motion and spectral line observations, and 3) to use water and methanol maser observations to study the jet launching mechanism, as well as the momentum transfer between ionized and molecular gas. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.