|
Kristen Erickson
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Missouri St. Louis
Advisor: Bruce Wilking
Abstract
A spectroscopic survey of an unbiased, extinction-limited sample of candidate young stars in the Rho Ophiuchi is investigated in this report. While infrared, X-ray and optical surveys of the cloud have identified many young stellar objects (YSOs), these surveys yield little or no information on the YSOs' ages and masses and are biased towards particular stages of stellar evolution. The goals of our study are to identify YSOs and estimate their ages and masses, so that the star forming history of the region and the initial mass function can be determined. We will also determine the frequency and evolutionary timescale of disks around YSOs. Thus far, spectra of over 200 objects have been analyzed and effective temperatures and luminosities as well as surface gravities have been determined. One hundred and thirty five YSOs have been identified as cluster members. These data have been plotted on an HR-diagram giving us a preliminary median age of 3.1Myrs for these YSOs. We have constructed an Initial Mass Function (IMF), which does not agree with the field star IMF.
Kristen Erickson is a graduate student at the University of Missouri St. Louis, in the Astronomy and Physics Department. She grew up on Ramstein Airforce Base in Germany. She received her undergraduate degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Arizona, Tucson. She is currently working on research in star formation. Her dissertation will focus on two star forming regions, Serpens and Rho Ophiuchi molecular clouds. She hopes to complete her Ph.D. and to continue with her research in Astronomy. |
