Probing Star Forming Regions with Sulfur-bearing Species

Abstract


Sulfur is abundant in the universe and on Earth, produced in stellar cores and crucial for life. While sulfur is

highly depleted in dense molecular clouds, sulfur-bearing species are effective probes of the physical conditions

of various energetic environments. In this seminar, I will discuss our recent studies on sulfur-bearing species in

star-forming regions. With low-mass protostars, we reveal their structures and physical conditions using volatile

species (e.g., SO). Moreover, we probe the ‘hot disks’ of massive protostars, where the dust is sublimated and a

high fraction of sulfur is released back to the gas-phase, with refractory species (e.g., SiS). Such studies would

not only assist in probing the physical and chemical properties of young stellar objects, but also better our

understanding of the high depletion rate of sulfur- the ‘missing sulfur’ problem. Furthermore, solid evaporation

in the “hot disks” drops a hint of the formation of primitive meteorites and thus the origin of our solar system.

Speaker: 
Dr. Ziwei Zhang
Place: 
Shuqi meeting room
Time: 
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - 2:30PM to Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - 3:30PM