Dr. Barbara Whitney
Space Science Inst.

University of Florida Astronomy Colloquium - Jan. 17th, 2007

Interpreting Large Datasets on Star Formation Regions with Radiative Transfer Models

We have produced a large grid of 2-D radiative transfer models of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs), and developed an algorithm to fit observed spectral energy distributions (SEDs). The radiative transfer grid includes 20,000 models each producing SEDs at 10 viewing angles and 50 aperture sizes. The fitting tool finds all model SEDs from the grid that fit a given observed SED within a specified chi-square. The tool is efficient and can process several thousand SEDs in a hour. We show a proof-of-concept of our tool on several well-studied Taurus YSOs, then apply the tool to the Galactic massive star formation region RCW 79, and the entire Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We find several deficiencies in our models when applied to the LMC, likely due to resolution effects (confusion), different dust properties, and the need for better models of high-mass evolution. Both the grid and fitter are publicly available at http://caravan.astro.wisc.edu/protostars.