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Theoretical Cosmic Evolution Lab
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A lab that explores the birth and evolution of stars and planets through theory and observation.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the birth of stars and planets through theory and simulation.
The Theoretical Cosmic Evolution Lab aims to clarify how planetary systems form and evolve.
Stars and planets originate from molecular clouds, which consist of tenuous gas and dust.
When a molecular cloud core, a region of especially high density within the cloud, contracts under gravity, a star and a protoplanetary disk form at its center.
Newly born stars and disks are embedded in dense gas and are difficult to observe directly, so the lab studies their formation process using numerical simulations.
The lab also conducts observations with facilities such as ALMA, and faculty members and students who take different approaches to research work together while discussing their findings with one another.
Key terms
- Molecular cloud core
- A region of especially high density within a molecular cloud, the parent body of stars. When it contracts under gravity, a star and a disk form at its center.
- Protoplanetary disk
- A disk of gas and dust that spreads around a newly born star. The dust is thought to clump together and become the raw material of planets.
- ALMA
- A radio telescope located at a high-altitude site in Chile, South America. It can depict stars and disks at high resolution.
- Magnetorotational instability
- An instability caused by the action of magnetic fields, thought to drive turbulence in protoplanetary disks. It is abbreviated as MRI.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to clarify how planetary systems form and how they change over time. It pursues this goal through various methods, including theoretical studies using physics and computers, as well as experimental studies based on detailed observation and analysis of meteorites and cosmic dust.
*Illustrative imageExploring the Birth of Stars and Planets with the ALMA Telescope
Using high-resolution observations from the ALMA telescope, the lab investigates the rings and gaps in disks around young stars, the motion of their gas, and the properties of outflows. The aim is to elucidate the physical processes leading from star formation to planet formation.
*Illustrative imageStar-Forming Environments and the Motion and Growth of Dust
Using three-dimensional non-ideal MHD simulations, the lab follows the evolution of molecular cloud cores in the early stages of star formation and studies the motion and growth of dust. It has confirmed that the dust's fate falls broadly into three categories: infall onto the star, being lifted up by outflows, and surviving in the disk.
*Illustrative imageRadial Gas Structures in Stellar Cradles
The lab studies hub-filament system molecular clouds, in which multiple elongated gas structures converge on a center, focusing on the situation where a fast interstellar shock wave collides with a molecular cloud that has a pinched magnetic field. It has found that radial, filamentary gas structures form and that high-density gas selectively flows toward the center.
*Illustrative imageThe Effect of Magnetic Fields on Dust Growth
Focusing on turbulence caused by the magnetorotational instability, the lab is developing a one-dimensional simulation that simultaneously calculates the time evolution of the magnetic field and the growth of dust. The results show that when the magnetic field is strong, dust grows larger in the outer part of the disk.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorMasahiro Machida
- Associate ProfessorDoris Arzoumanian
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Protoplanetary disk HH-30” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Exploring the Birth of Stars and Planets with the ALMA Telescope: “Disco anular con forma de media luna en torno al sistema protoplanetario IRS 48” Manferna78 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Star-Forming Environments and the Motion and Growth of Dust: “Stages of Star Formation (webb potm2605a)” ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, T. Megeath, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb) Acknowledgement: M. H. Özsaraç / Public domain (cropped)
- Radial Gas Structures in Stellar Cradles: “Herschel’s view of a molecular cloud ESA384010” European Space Agency / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (cropped)
- The Effect of Magnetic Fields on Dust Growth: “Birefringence” Vektorfeld / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cosmic Material Evolution Lab): “Namibie Hoba Meteorite 05” No machine-readable author provided. Calips assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (Solar-Terrestrial Physics Lab): “Mercury’s magnetosphere during BepiColombo’s third flyby (annotated) ESA501746” European Space Agency / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (cropped)
- Related lab (Atmospheric Fluid Dynamics Lab): “PSM V53 D324 General circulation of atmosphere” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Earth and Planetary Natural History Lab): “Uncoiled Lower Creataceous Ammonites from Northern Bulgaria (Coll. N. Dimitrova) at the Sofia University 'St. Kliment Ohridski' Museum of Paleontology and Historical Geology” Motekov / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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