The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $483,886 Project Grant under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program to the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to study the properties of binary stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster. The researchers will use high-resolution, near-infrared spectroscopy and adaptive optics at the W.M. Keck Observatory to search for close binary stars that have been difficult to detect in previous surveys. This work aims to determine the fraction of very close binary stars in the inner Orion Nebula Cluster and compare the results to other star-forming regions and simulations. The goal is to improve understanding of the formation and properties of binary star systems, which is a key unsolved problem in modern astronomy. No subawards are planned under this grant, which has an award date of September 1, 2024 and an ultimate completion date of August 31, 2027.
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