Dynamical Evolution of Young Embedded Stellar Clusters: Environmental Effects on the Formation of Planetary Systems.

The dynamical evolution of young stellar clusters is studied to determine the effect cluster environment has on planetary formation in the disks surrounding cluster members. Recent infrared observations of nearby star-forming regions motivate and inform our model clusters. Multiple simulations of equivalent initial conditions produce a robust statistical description of the clusters, e.g., the distribution of close encounters, the cluster mass profile, the distribution of the radial location of cluster members, and the velocity structure of the evolving cluster. These results provide a framework from which to assess the effects of clusters on the planet formation and to study cluster evolution. The results give further insight into major questions of cluster evolution including mass segregation and cluster relaxation, which depend on the gas structure and removal processes. The interaction rates and radiation fields within simulated clusters are used to determine the extent to which planet formation is compromised by the clustered environment. These simulations are also used to model the formation and evolution of observed clusters and to understand the dynamics of moderately evolved embedded clusters.Ph.D.PhysicsUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63810/1/emdavid_1.pd