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I PROPOSE TO CONDUCT A PANCHROMATIC STUDY OF MOLECULAR GAS IN DISKS AROUND YOUNG STARS IN THE LUPUS CLOUD COMPLEX USING DATA FROM THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE (HST) AND THE ATACAMA LARGE MILLIMETER ARRAY (ALMA). I WILL FOCUS ON TARGETS THAT ARE TRANSITIONING BETWEEN THE GAS-RICH PROTOPLANETARY PHASE AND THE GAS-DEPLETED DEBRIS DISK PHASE AS THE PROCESS OF PLANET FORMATION IS ALREADY WELL UNDERWAY IN THESE SYSTEMS. THE LUPUS COMPLEX CONTAINS A WELL-STUDIED SAMPLE OF YOUNG T TAURI STARS MOST OF WHICH HAVE DISKS MAKING IT AN IDEAL TESTING GROUND FOR THIS SURVEY. ULTRAVIOLET (UV) SPECTRA FROM THE COSMIC ORIGINS SPECTROGRAPH (COS) ON HST WILL BE USED TO MAP THE RADIAL DISTRIBUTION OF MOLECULAR HYDROGEN BETWEEN 0.1 AND 10 AU FROM THE CENTRAL STAR WHERE TERRESTRIAL PLANET FORMATION IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE. THE SURFACE DENSITY DISTRIBUTION OF CO GAS WILL BE OBTAINED FROM THE ALMA DATA PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE OUTER DISK MORPHOLOGY. IN ADDITION THE HST SPECTRA WILL BE USED AS INPUT FOR MODELS OF DISK CHEMISTRY ALLOWING US TO LEARN HOW THE ABUNDANCES OF SPECIFIC MOLECULES EVOLVE OVER TIME AND FOR HOW LONG THOSE SPECIES ARE AVAILABLE TO BE ACCRETED INTO PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES. MY WORK WILL HELP US FORM A COMPLETE PICTURE OF THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE GAS DISK AS IT UNDERGOES THE PROCESS OF PLANET FORMATION WHICH IS CRITICAL FOR INTERPRETING THE OBSERVED DISTRIBUTION OF EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES.

$129,138FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA

The Regents Of The University Of Colorado

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