Dr. Jonathan Williams, at the University of Hawaii, will undertake a program to image a sample of circumstellar disks in the Trapezium Cluster in Orion with the SubMillimeter Array. Among the goals of the research are: 1) to compare the disk mass distribution in the Trapezium to that in Taurus; 2) to measure disk masses as a function of radius within the Trapezium; 3) to constrain the grain properties within these disks; 4) to assess the impact of proximity to massive stars on disk evolution; and 5) to resolve the largest disks and measure dynamical masses of these systems.
The broader impact of this work will predominantly be the education and training of a graduate student in submillimeter astronomy and interferometry. An undergraduate student will also participate in the project. The survey, with its implications for planet formation in conditions that may have been similar to that of our own solar system, will also be of general public interest. Dr. Williams will incorporate the research results and methodology into classes at the University of Hawaii.
