Related papers: A solution to the proplyd lifetime problem
The ONC appears to be unusual on two grounds: The observed constellation of the OB stars of the entire Orion Nebula cluster and its Trapezium at its centre implies a time-scale problem given the age of the Trapezium, and an IMF problem for…
Context: Photoevaporation is an important process for protoplanetary disc dispersal but there has so far been a lack of consensus from simulations over the mass-loss rates and the most important part of the high-energy spectrum for driving…
The standard picture of accretion is a steady flow of matter from the disc onto the young star - a concept which assumes the star-disc system to be completely isolated. However, in a dense cluster environment star-disc systems do interact…
Whether the angular momentum of protoplanetary discs is redistributed by viscosity or extracted by magnetised winds is a long-standing question. Demographic indicators, such as gas disc sizes and stellar accretion rates, have been proposed…
The origin of the elevated C/O ratios in discs around late M dwarfs compared to discs around solar-type stars is not well understood. Here we endeavour to reproduce the observed differences in the disc C/O ratios as a function of stellar…
A concordance model for angular momentum evolution has been developed by multiple investigators. This approach postulates that star forming regions and clusters are an evolutionary sequence which can be modeled with assumptions about the…
We present results from integral field spectroscopy with PMAS. The observed field contains: five protoplanetary discs (also known as proplyds), the high-velocity jet HH 514 and a bowshock. Spatial distribution maps are obtained for…
We present the initial results of a study of the surface lithium abundance in a sample of low-mass members (M~0.4-1.0 Msun) of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) that provide an independent clock to estimate stellar ages. We report discovery of…
Rotational evolution in young stars is described by pMS evolutionary tracks including rotation, conservation of angular momentum (AM), and simulations of disk-locking (DL). By assuming that DL is the regulation mechanism for the stellar…
We present 4.5, 8, and 16um photometry from the Spitzer Space Telescope for 204 stars in the Upper Scorpius OB Association. The data are used to investigate the frequency and properties of circumstellar disks around stars with masses…
We investigate the effect of ionising radiation from Massive Young Stellar Objects impinging on their emerging spectral energy distribution. By means of detailed radiative transfer calculations including both the gaseous and dust phase of…
The high-energy radiation emitted by young stars can have a strong influence on their rotational evolution at later stages. This is because internal photoevaporation is one of the major drivers of the dispersal of circumstellar disks, which…
Photoevaporation driven by the ultraviolet radiation from massive stars severely limits the lifetime of protoplanetary discs around stars formed within stellar clusters. I investigate the resulting influence of clustered environments on the…
We have determined accurate values of the product of the mass-loss rate and the ion fraction of P^{4+}, Mdot q(P^{4+}), for a sample of 40 Galactic O-type stars by fitting stellar-wind profiles to observations of the P V resonance doublet…
Massive stars lose a large fraction of their mass to radiation-driven winds throughout their entire life. These outflows impact both the life and death of these stars and their surroundings. Theoretical mass-loss rates of hot, massive stars…
We argue that the outbursts of the FU Orionis stars occur on timescales which are much longer than expected from the standard disc instability model with \alpha_{c} \gtrsim 10^{-3}. The outburst, recurrence, and rise times are consistent…
We present the full results of our 3-year long Submillimeter Array survey of protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula Cluster. We imaged 23 fields at 880 microns and 2 fields at 1330 microns, covering an area of ~6.5 arcmin^2 and containing…
Planetary systems appear to form contemporaneously around young stars within young star-forming regions. Within these environments, the chances of survival, as well as the long-term evolution of these systems, are influenced by factors such…
The time-scale over which and the modality by which young stellar objects (YSOs) disperse their circumstellar discs dramatically influences the eventual formation and evolution of planetary systems. By means of extensive radiative transfer…
Eighteen fields in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) have been monitored for one or more observing seasons from 1990-99 with a 0.6-m telescope at Wesleyan University. Photometric data were obtained in Cousins I on 25-40 nights per season.…