The Intrinsic Properties of the Stellar Clusters in the M82 Starburst Complex: Propagating Star Formation?

The Intrinsic Properties of the Stellar Clusters in the M82 Starburst Complex: Propagating Star Formation? PDF Author:
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 14

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Near-Infrared spectroscopy combined with high spatial resolution imaging have been used in this work to probe the central 500 pc of M82. Imaging observations in the 2.36 micrometers CO band head are added to our previously published near-infrared hydrogen recombination line imaging, near-infrared broadband imaging, and 3.29 micrometers dust feature imaging observations, in order to study the nature of the starburst stellar population. A starburst model is constructed and compared with the observations of the stellar clusters in the starburst complex. Our analysis implies that the typical age for the starburst clusters is 10(exp 7) yr. In addition, our high spatial resolution observations indicate that there is an age dispersion within the starburst complex that is correlated with projected distance from the center of the galaxy. The inferred age dispersion is 6 x 10(exp 6) yr. If the starburst in M82 is propagating outward from the center, this age dispersion corresponds to a velocity of propagation, originating in the center, of ~50 km s(exp -1). Our quantitative analysis also reveals that a Salpeter initial mass function, extending from 0.1 to 100 M circle dot solar, can fit the observed properties of M82 without using up more than 30% of the total dynamical mass in the starburst.

The Intrinsic Properties of the Stellar Clusters in the M82 Starburst Complex: Propagating Star Formation?

The Intrinsic Properties of the Stellar Clusters in the M82 Starburst Complex: Propagating Star Formation? PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 14

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Book Description
Near-Infrared spectroscopy combined with high spatial resolution imaging have been used in this work to probe the central 500 pc of M82. Imaging observations in the 2.36 micrometers CO band head are added to our previously published near-infrared hydrogen recombination line imaging, near-infrared broadband imaging, and 3.29 micrometers dust feature imaging observations, in order to study the nature of the starburst stellar population. A starburst model is constructed and compared with the observations of the stellar clusters in the starburst complex. Our analysis implies that the typical age for the starburst clusters is 10(exp 7) yr. In addition, our high spatial resolution observations indicate that there is an age dispersion within the starburst complex that is correlated with projected distance from the center of the galaxy. The inferred age dispersion is 6 x 10(exp 6) yr. If the starburst in M82 is propagating outward from the center, this age dispersion corresponds to a velocity of propagation, originating in the center, of ~50 km s(exp -1). Our quantitative analysis also reveals that a Salpeter initial mass function, extending from 0.1 to 100 M circle dot solar, can fit the observed properties of M82 without using up more than 30% of the total dynamical mass in the starburst.

The Super Star Cluster Population of the M82 Nuclear Starburst

The Super Star Cluster Population of the M82 Nuclear Starburst PDF Author: Nathan Todd McCrady
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Chemical Abstracts

Chemical Abstracts PDF Author:
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Category : Chemistry
Languages : en
Pages : 2762

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The Spatial Structure of Young Stellar Clusters

The Spatial Structure of Young Stellar Clusters PDF Author: Michael Kuhn
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Star formation is an extremely active area of astronomical research, and young stellar clusters in our Galaxy offer a useful laboratory where star-formation processes can be studied. Young stars form from the the gravitational collapse of molecular clouds that have a hierarchical spatial structure. This leads to stars forming in clustered environments, often with thousands of other young stars in environments that are strongly affected by feedback from massive O-type stars. The environments in these massive star-forming regions (MSFR) can affect how stars form and whether the young stellar clusters remain bound after star formation ends, both of which are questions that have received considerable attention from researchers. Studies of stellar populations in Galactic MSFRs are made difficult due to large numbers of fields stars in the Galactic Plane, large areas of the sky that must be surveyed, high optical extinction from dust, and nebulosity in the the optical and infrared. The Massive Young Star-Forming Complex Study in Infrared and X-ray (MYStIX) uses multiwavelength observations to overcome some of these difficulties, providing some of the most complete, clean membership lists for 20 MSFRs within 3.6 kpc of the Sun. I described X-ray catalogs and mid-infrared catalogs that were used in this survey. The spatial distribution of young stars in 17 MYStIX regions are used to probe the origin and dynamics of the young stellar clusters. Intrinsic stellar surface-density maps are made for each region, which reveal complex structures with dense subclusters. I examine in detail one of the nearest MYStIX young stellar clusters, W~40 (d=500 pc), which has properties similar to many of the subclusters in more massive and more distant star-forming regions. The cluster in W~40 has a simple structure with mass segregation, indicating that it has undergone dynamical evolution, even though its young age (~0.8 Myr) is insufficient for relaxation from two-body interactions. This apparent contradiction may be evidence of more rapid dynamical evolution accelerated by the merger of subclusters. Overall, 142 subclusters of young stars are found in the 17 MSFRs using the statistical "finite-mixture model" cluster analysis method, and the intrinsic stellar populations for these clusters are inferred using "initial mass functions" and "X-ray luminosity functions." Four structural classes are seen in MSFR: linear chains of subclusters, clumpy structures, core-halo structures, and simple isolated clusters. The subclusters do follow the structure of the molecular clouds, but do not appear to be coeval with each other. There is strong evidence in the subcluster properties for gas expulsion and subcluster expansion (e.g., the density~radius and age~radius relations), and evidence that is consistent with subcluster mergers (e.g., the ellipticity distribution and the number~density}$ relation). The cluster analysis provides evidence to support hierarchical models of stellar cluster formation, which have been theorized to explain mass segregation and dynamical relaxation in very young clusters. The ~1 Myr age spreads in the subclusters of a MSFR appear to require slower star-formation in giant molecular clouds with continually driven turbulence, rather than clouds with rapidly decaying turbulence. And, the diverse range of stellar surface density environment in MSFRs will have implications for models of cluster survival after gas removal.

Referativnyĭ zhurnal

Referativnyĭ zhurnal PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 694

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Star Formation in Merging Clusters of Galaxies

Star Formation in Merging Clusters of Galaxies PDF Author: Alison Seiler Mansheim
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781369616767
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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This thesis straddles two areas of cosmology, each of which are active, rich and plagued by controversy in their own right: merging clusters and the environmental dependence of galaxy evolution. While the greater context of this thesis is major cluster mergers, our individual subjects are galaxies, and we apply techniques traditionally used to study the differential evolution of galaxies with environment. Our first system (Chapter 2) is a cluster merger known as Musket Ball that is in a post-merging state. Our second system (Chapter 3), referred to as Cl J0910, is comprised of two clusters that have not yet merged. The order in which they are presented is intentional because, while it would have made more sense to study the pre-merger system first, our approach in Chapter 3 was shaped by what we learned by handling the significantly more difficult post-merger system. The body of this thesis is drawn from two papers: Mansheim et al. 2016a and Mansheim et al. 2016b, one on each system. Both projects benefited from exquisite data sets assembled as part of the Merging Cluster Collaboration (MC2), and Observations of Redshift Evolution in Large Scale Environments (ORELSE) survey, allowing us to scrutinize the evolutionary states of galaxy populations in multiple lights. Multi-band optical and near-infrared imaging was available for both systems, allowing us to calculate photometric redshifts for completeness corrections, colors (red vs. blue) and stellar masses to view the ensemble properties of the populations in and around each merger. High-resolution spectroscopy was also available for both systems, allowing us to confirm cluster members by measuring spectroscopic redshifts, which are unparalleled in accuracy, and gauge star formation rates and histories by measuring the strengths of certain spectral features. We had the luxury of HST imaging for Musket Ball, allowing us to use galaxy morphology (late-type vs. early-type) as an additional diagnostic. For Cl J0910, 24 [mu]m imaging allowed us to defeat a most pernicious source of uncertainty (dusty starburst vs. quiescent). Details on the acquisition and reduction of multi-wavelength data for each system are found within each respective chapter. It is important to note that the research presented in Chapter 3 is based on a letter which had significant space restrictions, so much of the observational details are outsourced to papers written by ORELSE collaboration members. Below is a free-standing summary of each project, drawn from the abstracts of each paper. The Chapter 1 contains an introduction to the topic and motivation to fill a vacuum in knowledge using our hypothesis. Chapter 4, following the meat of the thesis in Chapters 2 and 3, gives closure and looks to the future. In Chapter 2, we investigate star formation in DLSCL J0916.2+2953, a dissociative merger of two clusters at z=0.53 that has progressed 1.1[superscript +1.3][subscript-0.4] Gyr since first pass-through. We attempt to reveal the effects a collision may have had on the evolution of the cluster galaxies by tracing their star formation history. We probe current and recent activity to identify a possible star formation event at the time of the merger using EW(H[delta]), EW[(OII)], and D[subscript n](4000) measured from the composite spectra of 64 cluster and 153 coeval field galaxies. We supplement Keck DEIMOS spectra with DLS and HST imaging to determine the color, stellar mass, and morphology of each galaxy and conduct a comprehensive study of the populations in this complex structure. Spectral results indicate the average cluster and cluster red sequence galaxies experienced no enhanced star formation relative to the surrounding field during the merger, ruling out a predominantly merger-quenched population. We find that the average blue galaxy in the North cluster is currently active and in the South cluster is currently post-starburst having undergone a recent star formation event. While the North activity could be latent or long-term merger effects, a young blue stellar population and irregular geometry suggest the cluster was still forming prior the collision. While the South activity coincides with the time of the merger, the blue early-type population could be a result of secular cluster processes. The evidence suggests that the dearth or surfeit of activity is indiscernible from normal cluster galaxy evolution. In Chapter 3, we examine the effects of an impending cluster merger on galaxies in the large scale structure (LSS) RX Cl J0910 at z =1.105. Using multi-wavelength data, including 102 spectral members drawn from the ORELSE survey and precise photometric redshifts, we calculate extinction-corrected star formation rates and map the specific star formation rate density of the LSS galaxies. These analyses along with an investigation of the color-magnitude properties of LSS galaxies indicate lower levels of star formation activity in the region between the merging clusters relative to the outskirts of the system. We suggest gravitational tidal forces due to the potential of merging halos may be the physical mechanisms responsible for the observed suppression of star formation in galaxies caught between the merging clusters.

Formation of Stars and Star Clusters in Colliding Galaxies

Formation of Stars and Star Clusters in Colliding Galaxies PDF Author: Pierre-Emmanuel Aime Marcel Belles
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The Properties of Super Star Clusters in a Sample of Starburst Galaxies

The Properties of Super Star Clusters in a Sample of Starburst Galaxies PDF Author: Kelsey Johnson
Publisher:
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Category : Starbursts
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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The Dynamical Evolution of Young Star Clusters

The Dynamical Evolution of Young Star Clusters PDF Author: Richard James Allison
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Stars form in large clouds of cold, dense molecular gas. In these clouds the majority of stars do not form in isolation, but instead form in clusters. The formation of stars and their hos~ clusters are intrinsically linked, and thus to fully understand how stars form we must also understand the formation and early evolution of stellar clusters. The formation of stars is thought to be governed by the turbulent conditions inside these molecular clouds, and due to this the initial conditions of star formation are likely to be spatially complex and dynamically cool. In this Thesis we use fractal spatial distributions (D = 1.6,2.0,2.6 and 3.0) to mimic the complex initial conditions of star formation to investigate how the dynamical evolution of star clusters is affected by variations in the amount of primordial structure. We also use varying initial virial ratios (Q = 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5) to investigate what affect the initial kinematics have on a clusters dynamical evolution. I present a new method, based on the minimum spanning tree, which is able to determine and quantify the presence of mass segregation. The method is applied to observations of the ONe, ,vhich we find to be complexly mass segregated, with different levels of mass segregation depending on stellar mass. We find, contrary to common belief, that mass segregation can occur through purely dynamical processes on a short timescale (rv the initial cluster crossing time). We also find that the amount of dynamical mass segregation that occurs is dependant on both the initial structure and virial ratio, where cooler and more structured initial conditions tend to lead to more dramatic dynamical evolution. Additionally, we find that the clumpy and cool initial conditions also lead to the dynamical formation of high-mass multiple systems, which in turn can lead to the ejection of high-mass stars and the destruction of the host cluster itself.

The Most Interesting Galaxies in the Universe

The Most Interesting Galaxies in the Universe PDF Author: Joel L Schiff
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
ISBN: 1643270044
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Prior to the 1920s it was generally thought, with a few exceptions, that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was the entire Universe. Based on the work of Henrietta Leavitt with Cepheid variables, astronomer Edwin Hubble was able to determine that the Andromeda Galaxy and others had to lie outside our own. Moreover, based on the work of Vesto Slipher, involving the redshifts of these galaxies, Hubble was able to determine that the Universe was not static, as had been previously thought, but expanding. The number of galaxies has also been expanding, with estimates varying from 100 billion to 2 trillion. While every galaxy in the Universe is interesting just by its very fact of being, the author has selected 51 of those that possess some unusual qualities that make them of some particular interest. These galaxies have complex evolutionary histories, with some having supermassive black holes at their core, others are powerful radio sources, a very few are relatively nearby and even visible to the naked eye, whereas the light from one recent discovery has been travelling for the past 13.4 billion years to show us its infancy, and from a time when the Universe was in its infancy. And in spite of the vastness of the Universe, some galaxies are colliding with others, embraced in a graceful gravitational dance. Indeed, as the Andromeda Galaxy is heading towards us, a similar fate awaits our Milky Way. When looking at a modern image of a galaxy, one is in awe at the shear wondrous nature of such a magnificent creation, with its boundless secrets that it is keeping from us, its endless possibilities for harboring alien civilizations, and we remain left with the ultimate knowledge that we are connected to its glory.