Report on a NASA Astrobiology Institute–Funded Workshop Without Walls: Stellar Stoichiometry

Desch, S. J.; Young, Patrick; Anbar, Ariel D.; Hinkel, Natalie R.; Pagano, Michael; Truitt, Amanda; Turnbull, Margaret

doi:10.1089/ast.2014.1157

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“…The Web site for the conference http://stellarstoich.sese.asu.edu (or https://sites.google.com/a/asu.edu/stellarstoich) describes the conference and archives electronic versions of the presentations. A companion article (Desch et al, 2014) describes the conference itself. This article represents a synopsis of the scientific presentations from that workshop.…”

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confidence: 99%

Astrobiological Stoichiometry

et al. 2014

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Chemical composition affects virtually all aspects of astrobiology, from stellar astrophysics to molecular biology. We present a synopsis of the research results presented at the ''Stellar Stoichiometry'' Workshop Without Walls hosted at Arizona State University April 11-12, 2013, under the auspices of the NASA Astrobiology Institute. The results focus on the measurement of chemical abundances and the effects of composition on processes from stellar to planetary scales. Of particular interest were the scientific connections between processes in these normally disparate fields. Measuring the abundances of elements in stars and giant and terrestrial planets poses substantial difficulties in technique and interpretation. One of the motivations for this conference was the fact that determinations of the abundance of a given element in a single star by different groups can differ by more than their quoted errors. The problems affecting the reliability of abundance estimations and their inherent limitations are discussed. When these problems are taken into consideration, self-consistent surveys of stellar abundances show that there is still substantial variation (factors of *2) in the ratios of common elements (e.g., C, O, Na, Al, Mg, Si, Ca) important in rock-forming minerals, atmospheres, and biology. We consider how abundance variations arise through injection of supernova nucleosynthesis products into star-forming material and through photoevaporation of protoplanetary disks. The effects of composition on stellar evolution are substantial, and coupled with planetary atmosphere models can result in predicted habitable zone extents that vary by many tens of percent. Variations in the bulk composition of planets can affect rates of radiogenic heating and substantially change the mineralogy of planetary interiors, affecting properties such as convection and energy transport.

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confidence: 99%

Astrobiological Stoichiometry

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Impact of the Arizona NExSS Winter School on Astrobiology Knowledge and Attitudes

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Astrobiology is an inherently interdisciplinary area of study, demanding communication across multiple fields: astronomy, geochemistry, planetary science, and so on. Successful communication requires that researchers be aware of the basic findings, open questions, and tools and techniques of allied fields and possess an appreciation and respect for what these fields consider good science. To facilitate this communication between early-career researchers, the Arizona NExSS Winter School was hosted in February 2016, bringing together graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from backgrounds spanning the field of astrobiology. Students virtually attended a scientific Workshop Without Walls and participated in lectures, discussions, field trips, and hands-on activities, culminating in the writing and review of mock proposals by interdisciplinary teams. We assess the impact of the school on interdisciplinarity using a pre- and posttest survey of 24 students, informed by National Science Foundation impact categories (Friedman et al., 2008 ) within the Impact Analysis Method (IAM) described by Davis and Scalice ( 2015 ). We demonstrate that students gained knowledge, especially in fields outside their home discipline. Furthermore, an underlying disciplinary divide between geochemists and planetary scientists on the role of life in planetary evolution is observed and interpreted. These findings demonstrate that the Arizona NExSS Winter School had measurable impact on interdisciplinarity and that the IAM rubric has utility in measuring impact. We make recommendations for further research to understand the interdisciplinary gaps in astrobiology and how best to bridge them. Key Words: Interdisciplinarity-Attitudes-Knowledge-Scientific dialogue-Training. Astrobiology 18, 365-375.

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Report on a NASA Astrobiology Institute–Funded Workshop Without Walls: Stellar Stoichiometry

Cited by 2 publications

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Astrobiological Stoichiometry

Astrobiological Stoichiometry

Impact of the Arizona NExSS Winter School on Astrobiology Knowledge and Attitudes

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