Computer Science
Scientific paper
May 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006sptz.prop30767h&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #30767
Computer Science
Scientific paper
Most low-mass stars form in close proximity to massive stars, but we lack a good understanding of how those massive stars modify the way low-mass stars and their disks form and evolve. We request Archival support to address three fundamental questions: (1) To what extent is low-mass star formation triggered by massive stars? (2) Does continuing expansion of H II regions terminate accretion after star formation as begun? And (3) to what extent is the evolution stellar disks modified by proximity to massive stars? Studies of individual objects in the literature provide anecdotal evidence for each of these processes, but to date there has been no systematic study of the overall significance of the effects of massive stars on low-mass star formation. Data from the GLIMPSE, GLIMPSE II, and MIPSGAL projects allow such a study to be carried out. In each case the question boils down to one of the association between low-mass YSOs and tracers of the influence of massive stars. If most low-mass star formation is triggered, then most low-mass YSOs will be found in compressed gas surrounding H II regions. If H II region expansion affects accretion, then many low-mass YSOs will be found in regions that will be overrun by ionization fronts within a few hundred thousand years. Finally the distribution of distances between low-mass YSOs and massive stars provides insight into how YSO disks are influenced by UV and supernova ejecta from massive stars. Working on a subsample of the GLIMPSE data we have demonstrated the feasibility of such a study, and have seen early indications that the results will be of great interest. Contours of surface density of sources selected on the basis of IRAC colors closely follow tracers of ionization fronts, PDRs, and compressed gas in the sample fields. The answers to these cleanly posed observational questions bear on many fundamental issues ranging from the origin of the IMF to the evolution of the environment in which the birth of the Solar System took place.
Hester Jeff
Snider Keely
Whitney Barbara
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