Artist conception of a myriad of terrestrial planets that may be forming around sun-like stars. Based on data collected from the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems Spitzer Legacy Science Project .
Michael R. Meyer
mmeyer@as.arizona.edu
One of the fundamental problems in the formation of stars is understanding the origin of stellar masses, and the corresponding initial mass function. Are stellar masses fixed by a self-regulating process, resulting in a truly universal IMF? Or do initial conditions determine the emergent mass distribution of a forming stellar cluster? We have embarked on a program combining near-infrared photometry and IR spectroscopy in order to constrain the ratio of high to low mass stars as well as the ratio of stars to sub-stellar objects in young clusters of stars found in a variety of star-forming environments from nearby star-forming regions, to extreme regions of star formation in the Milky Way galaxy and throughout the local group. Our goal is to characterize stellar mass distributions of different regions, comparing them both with each other and with the field star IMF, and determine whether; i) different conditions are required for the formation of high and low mass stars; ii) the mass function of young clusters continues to rise beyond the hydrogen burning limit; and iii) emergent mass distributions depend sensitively on initial conditions.
Equally important is the understanding the evolution of circumstellar disks. Such disks, thought to be the pre-cursors of planetary systems, appear to be a common by-product of the star formation process. By studying circumstellar gas and dust around young stars as a function of stellar mass and age we can hope to; i) estimate the timescale for dissipation of circumstellar material around young stars as a function of radius; and ii) gain some physcial insight into the nature of this dissipation process thus providing observational constraints on theories of planet formation. We are leading a Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy Science Program, the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems, to help address fundamental questions concerning whether planetary systems like our own are common or rare among sun-like stars in the disk of the Milky Way.
Combining results from on-going research into star and planet formation, astronomers can provide important boundaries on the prospects for life developing elsewhere in the Universe. The origin, evolution, and prevalence of life in the Universe are central to the emerging interdisciplinary study of Astrobiology. Through NASA's Astrobiology Institute, we are engaged in an astronomical search for the essential ingredients of life.
Go to LAPLACE node of the NASA Astrobiology Institute.
Go to Origins of Life Initiative at Harvard University.
Go to Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems Spitzer Legacy Science Project .
Go to James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam Project.
Go to Giant Magellan Telescope Project .
Go to James Webb Space Telescope FGS-TF Project.
Go to Steward Observatory Star Formation Discussion Group .
Go to A Library of Medium Resolution Infrared Stellar Spectra.
Go to AST 579 Professional Writing in the Physical Sciences (graduate course in Astronomy).
Go to AST 599 L2 Origins of Stars, Planets, and Life (graduate course in Astronomy).
Go to AST 250 Introduction to Astronomy and Astrophyscis (introductory course for Astronomy majors).
Go to AST 202 Life in the Universe (tier 2 course for non-science majors).
Go to NATS 102 The Physical Universe (tier 1 course for non-science majors).
Born May 11, 1967 in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.
Washington University in St. Louis , A.B. in Physics, 1989.
University of Missouri-St. Louis , M.S. in Physics, 1 991.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst , Ph.D. in Astronomy, 1996.
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg, Research Associate (1995-97).
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Hubble Fellow (1997-00).
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Assistant Professor/Astronomer (2000-2006).
The Research Corporation, Tucson, Arizona , Cottrell Scholar (2003-2006).
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Associate Professor/Astronomer (2006-????).
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , Visting Professor/Scientist (2007-2008).