Project description
Wispy fibers in star cradles could be the beginnings of massive stars
Stars come in two main 'sizes' according to astronomers, high-mass and low-mass. High-mass stars have masses much greater than that of our Sun. They are the hottest and brightest but use up their hydrogen fuel quickly and so are short-lived. Nevertheless, they dominate the luminosity, chemistry, and energy input in galaxies. High-mass star formation is more difficult to study than low-mass star formation and remains largely a mystery. Building on their recent discovery of a filamentary organisation in the nearest high-mass star-forming region, EMERGE is on a mission to tie up loose ends. In pioneering work, scientists will use data from more than 30 massive filamentary networks to create a comprehensive model of high-mass star formation.
Objective
High-mass stars drive the physical and chemical evolution of the Universe. However, the origin of these massive objects is largely controversial. Three key questions remain under debate: a) Which physical processes determine the formation of high-mass stars? b) How do these stars get their large masses? c) Do high-mass stars form in a similar way to their low-mass counterparts?
Galactic surveys link the origin of high-mass stars to the initial properties of their gas embryos. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), I recently proved the existence of a new and fundamental filamentary organization of the gas within the Orion Nebula, the nearest high-mass star-forming region. After leading this key discovery, I propose to investigate the formation of high-mass stars as an emergent process in complex systems. In this novel scenario massive stars are created naturally by the internal interactions within networks of filaments of increasing density. To fully characterize this ground-breaking approach, this project will carry out the first systematic study of (1) the substructure, (2) internal interactions, and (3) dynamical evolution of these filamentary systems across the Milky Way.
EMERGE will survey a homogeneous ALMA sample of >30 massive filamentary networks, the largest of its kind, extracted from the first intensive exploitation of its public archive. These observational results will be tested against state-of-the-art simulations using a new generation of analysis tools. The ultimate goal of this project is to statistically quantify how unique multi-scale phenomena generated in these filamentary systems, such as collisions, mergers, and self-gravity, determine the initial conditions for the formation of high-mass stars. This ERC-StG project will solve a current challenging dichotomy in star-formation theory. In combination with low-mass studies, EMERGE will provide a major step towards a comprehensive model of star-formation under one filamentary paradigm.
Fields of science
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Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting GrantHost institution
1010 Wien
Austria