0 Assigned ID: 2384 ----- Attempting Submission 1 (Fri Apr 09 22:49:00 GMT 2021) ----- Over 1000 orbits of HST programs have been dedicated to characterizing clustered star formation and its connection to the full galactic environment, such as LEGUS, PHANGS-HST, and PHAT. However a key limitation in translating these HST observations into astrophysical insight is the lack of theory/simulation work that can resolve small-scale clustered star formation within realistic galactic environments, from scales of pc to 10's of kpc, all within a full cosmological context. We propose an Archival Research Theory program to generate new state-of-the-art high-dynamic range cosmological zoom-in simulations of galaxy formation and generate synthetic HST observation from them, to provide much-needed interpretations for existing HST observations. We will: (1) explore the impact of the galactic environment on clustered star formation across the full range of galactic and ISM properties; (2) examine the spatial (cross) correlation of star clusters and dense molecular gas; and (3) test how individual channels of stellar feedback impact the clusters that form and the surrounding environment. Furthermore, we will develop new tools for generating synthetic HST observations of star clusters in galaxy simulations, and we will publicly release the resulting synthetic observations and the simulation data we generate for inclusion in MAST prototypes for surveys of simulation data. These public data products will provide critical testing grounds, calibration tools, and predictions for any analysis of clustered stellar populations in nearby galaxies. This Archival Research Theory program will bring together experts both in simulations and observations of star clusters in the local universe. All team members are a part of the FIRE simulation collaboration (except Prof. Rupali Chandar, who is primarily an observer and Prof. Kate Daniel, who is primarily an analytic theoretician). PI Prof. Sarah Loebman is an expert in simulation analysis, data management, generating synthetic observations from simulations, survey-simulation comparisons, and is a co-developer of the Ananke code for generating synthetic observations from FIRE simulations; she leads star cluster investigations in the Latte suite of FIRE simulations. Dr. Samantha Benincasa is an expert in gas dynamics, star formation and feedback in galactic simulations, survey-to-simulation comparisons, and benchmark galactic simulation studies. She leads the giant molecular cloud investigations in the Latte suite and is a member of the PHANGS team. Prof. Andrew Wetzel is an expert in cosmological simulations and is a developer of the Gizmo simulation code, FIRE physics model, and a co-developer of Ananke; he leads the Latte suite of FIRE simulations of Milky Way-mass galaxies the we will benchmark and use. Prof. Robyn Sanderson is an expert in statistical modeling of stellar populations in galaxies and is the lead developer of the Ananke code that we will use and further develop. Prof. Rupali Chandar is an expert in HST-based observations of clustered star formation in the local universe; she has developed extensive tools for cataloging star cluster and quantifying the evolution of clustered star formation. Prof. Kate Daniel is an expert in galactic dynamics, and analyzing the influence of bar and spiral structure stellar populations and comparing against observations. Stellar Populations and the Interstellar Medium 0 Regular false false false true false SUPPORTED