Using numerical simulations to determine the fraction of stars formed in clusters as a function of present-day field star populations

This project will use the "EMP" (Empirically Motivated Physics) zoom-in galaxy formation simulations to model star cluster population assembly. The inclusion of the cold ISM in EMP is a key advance in this research area, and will help to determine how the environment shapes the formation and evolution of clusters and the stars within them. Specifically, EMP makes it possible to accurately track the evolution of young star clusters, and this project will determine if the inclusion of the cold ISM impacts (i) the birth environment and initial conditions of star clusters, and (ii) the expected lifetime of protoplanetary discs within young clusters. The EMP simulations will be used to estimate what fraction of stars formed in clusters as a function of present-day field star properties, and determine how the environment impacts the formation of field stars, clusters, and stars in clusters. The project will use this information to determine what types of planets could have formed and survived around different stars as a function of environment, and therefore, which are statistically most likely to host life.