Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SMART (Star formation history of MAssive pRoTostars)
Período documentado: 2021-04-01 hasta 2023-03-31
elements in our bodies like carbon and nitrogen, and even the oxygen we breathe, were created in the centers of stars. To create heavier elements than iron, massive stars are required. The main question that the Star formation history of MAssive pRoTostars (SMART) project aims to address is 'how are these massive protostars born? Answering this question is ultimately addressing our own origins.
Determining how massive stars form, i.e. those stars with more than 8 times the mass of our Sun, is important for many reasons. They are key for regulating galaxies, the interstellar medium, and the star formation process itself. There is some evidence our own Solar System was influenced by massive stars in its early history. However, massive stars are rare compared to their lower-mass 1 brethren and thus tend to be found in formation sites that are relatively far from the Sun, typically >1 kpc away. During the protostellar phase, these stars also tend to be highly obscured by the gas and dust of their parental molecular cloud. For these reasons, despite their importance, the formation mechanism of massive stars is still poorly understood.
The overall objective of the SMART project is to shed further light on the formation of massive protostars. To do this we have an observational approach by peering into the heart of massive star-forming regions using the most powerful telescopes on Earth and space, which include the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Very Large Telescope (VLT), and the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). By analysing images and spectra, we aim to fully characterize the central forming protostar, its jets and outflows, as well as its surrounding environment. This work will greatly contribute to our understanding of this important, yet poorly understood, aspect of astrophysics.
Determining how massive stars form, i.e. those stars with more than 8 times the mass of our Sun, is important for many reasons. They are key for regulating galaxies, the interstellar medium, and the star formation process itself. There is some evidence our own Solar System was influenced by massive stars in its early history. However, massive stars are rare compared to their lower-mass 1 brethren and thus tend to be found in formation sites that are relatively far from the Sun, typically >1 kpc away. During the protostellar phase, these stars also tend to be highly obscured by the gas and dust of their parental molecular cloud. For these reasons, despite their importance, the formation mechanism of massive stars is still poorly understood.
The overall objective of the SMART project is to shed further light on the formation of massive protostars. To do this we have an observational approach by peering into the heart of massive star-forming regions using the most powerful telescopes on Earth and space, which include the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Very Large Telescope (VLT), and the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). By analysing images and spectra, we aim to fully characterize the central forming protostar, its jets and outflows, as well as its surrounding environment. This work will greatly contribute to our understanding of this important, yet poorly understood, aspect of astrophysics.
The center of gravity of the SMART project is to shed light on the formation of massive protostars. With this in mind, the SMART project has gathered data through competitive proposals for observing time totaling about 100h of ground base telescope time (VLT and LBT) plus 15 orbits of HST. I have presented more than 20 contributions in international conferences, outreach events, and workshops from which 5 were invited talks and seminars. I have supervised and co-supervised more than 15 students for their undergraduate thesis and summer projects. Moreover, seven publications directly or indirectly related to SMART have been published in first-quartile astronomy journals.
Using data from the SMART project, I have trained an undergraduate student. The student and I analysed the high-mass star-forming region IRAS18264-1152 in order to tackle the WP1 ‘Physical properties of massive protostellar jets in the NIR’. We found that massive protostars can form in a relatively ordered manner. This is important to understand to which extent the formation of stars is uniform across the mass spectrum. This research was published in the first quartile journal Astronomy and Astrophysics and was presented at several international meetings in the form of talks and posters.
As part of the SMART research plan, in particular addressing the WP2 ‘NIR characterisation of the protocluster environment’, I have analysed 40 star-forming regions and created the open-source Python package sedcreator. This analysis has provided valuable insights into the star formation process and has been published in The Astrophysical Journal which is ranked in the first quartile of astronomy journals. In particular, we found that to form protostars with more than 10 times the mass of our Sun, one does not need mass surface density above 1 g/cm2, which challenges current theories. We note though that these are indirect measurements and further investigation is needed to draw stronger conclusions.
Using data from the SMART project, I have trained an undergraduate student. The student and I analysed the high-mass star-forming region IRAS18264-1152 in order to tackle the WP1 ‘Physical properties of massive protostellar jets in the NIR’. We found that massive protostars can form in a relatively ordered manner. This is important to understand to which extent the formation of stars is uniform across the mass spectrum. This research was published in the first quartile journal Astronomy and Astrophysics and was presented at several international meetings in the form of talks and posters.
As part of the SMART research plan, in particular addressing the WP2 ‘NIR characterisation of the protocluster environment’, I have analysed 40 star-forming regions and created the open-source Python package sedcreator. This analysis has provided valuable insights into the star formation process and has been published in The Astrophysical Journal which is ranked in the first quartile of astronomy journals. In particular, we found that to form protostars with more than 10 times the mass of our Sun, one does not need mass surface density above 1 g/cm2, which challenges current theories. We note though that these are indirect measurements and further investigation is needed to draw stronger conclusions.
The SMART project has created a long-lasting legacy dataset that will benefit the scientific community for years to come. This dataset has the potential to address a significant gap in current knowledge not only in the SMART project, but also will serve as an important resource for future studies and investigations in the field. The wealth of data generated by the SMART project will provide valuable insight into the ongoing debate surrounding current star formation theories. Additionally, the SMART project will pave the way for future breakthroughs by serving as a stepping stone for even more advanced studies using next-generation observatories like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).