Astronomy & Space Sciences
Title : | Triggered Star Formation and Young Stellar Objects |
Area of research : | Astronomy & Space Sciences |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Neha Sharma, Aryabhatta Research Institute Of Observational Sciences (Aries), Uttarakhand |
Timeline Start Year : | 2022 |
Timeline End Year : | 2024 |
Contact info : | pathakneha.sharma@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | Star formation is a process where dilute gas is converted into stellar systems, forming stars that are potential cradles of life. Stars are formed in molecular clouds, such as giant molecular clouds (GMCs), dark molecular clouds (DMCs), and Bok globules (BGs), in two ways: spontaneous and triggered. The spontaneous mode involves the gravitational collapse of molecular clouds without external influence, while the induced or triggered mode is triggered by external events like powerful stellar winds, supernova explosions, and intense ionization radiation. Magnetic fields play a crucial role in star formation, providing support to collapsing clouds. However, it is unclear how the magnetic field affects star formation. Typical star formation models consider magnetic fields as isotropic pressure, ignoring their direction. To verify simulation results, it is important to trace the cloud-scale magnetic field of molecular clouds observationally. Ionizing radiations from massive sources also affect the accretion properties of newly formed stars in the vicinity of the source. To understand the effect of high-energy radiations on the accretion properties of young stars, a larger sample is required. To address these issues, optical/NIR spectroscopic observations will be performed using the largest ground-based telescope in India, the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT). Additionally, an optical polarimetric and molecular line study of a large sample of Bright-Rimmed Clouds (BRCs) will be conducted to explore the importance of the magnetic field in the evolution of HII regions. |
Organizations involved