This work aims to constrain models of the physical conditions of star formation by focusing on the dissipation of proto-planetary disks. As a test of the importance of stellar irradiation to the physics and chemistry of the environments of pre-MS and MS stars, the PI will make key observations of infrared and radio emission lines of key molecular species such as HCO+, HCN, CN and CO of the disks around eight nearby young stars undergoing accretion. He and his team will conduct ground-based mid-IR and space-based far-IR spectroscopy (Chandra, Spitzer, Herschel), and radio spectroscopy with single-dish instruments (IRAM 30-m, JCMT and APEX), the SMA and ALMA. He will also carry out detailed numerical simulations of the spectral lines to constrain the radiation field information.
The program will have broader impacts of training a postdoctoral researcher, producing a series of animations and lectures on topics related to planet-formation, and developing a new course on orbital resonances.
