Search ResultsShowing 1-4 of 4
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arXiv:2409.06092 (Published 2024-09-09)
A Census of the beta Pic Moving Group and Other Nearby Associations with Gaia
Comments: Astronomical Journal, in pressI have used the third data release of the Gaia mission to improve the reliability and completeness of membership samples in the beta Pic moving group (BPMG) and other nearby associations with ages of 20-50 Myr (Sco Body, Carina, Columba, chi1 For, Tuc-Hor, IC 2602, IC 2391, NGC 2547). I find that Carina, Columba, and chi1 For are physically related and coeval, and that Carina is the closest fringe of a much larger association. Similarly, Tuc-Hor and IC 2602 form a coeval population that is spatially and kinematically continuous. Both results agree with hypotheses from Gagne et al. (2021). I have used the new catalogs to study the associations in terms of their initial mass functions, X-ray emission, ages, and circumstellar disks. For instance, using the model for Li depletion from Jeffries et al. (2023), I have derived an age of 24.7+0.9/-0.6 Myr for BPMG, which is similar to estimates from previous studies. In addition, I have used infrared photometry from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer to check for excess emission from circumstellar disks among the members of the associations, which has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of known disks around M stars at ages of 30-50 Myr and a significant improvement in measurements of excess fractions for those spectral types and ages. Most notably, I find that the W3 excess fraction for M0-M6 initially declines with age to a minimum in BPMG <0.015), increases to a maximum in Carina/Columba chi1 For (0.041+0.009/-0.007, 34 Myr), and declines again in the oldest two associations (40-50 Myr). The origin of that peak and the nature of the M dwarf disks at >20 Myr are unclear.
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arXiv:2210.02012 (Published 2022-10-05)
Mass function of a young cluster in a low-metallicity environment. Sh 2-209
Comments: Accepted for publication in ApJCategories: astro-ph.GA, astro-ph.SRWe present deep near-infrared (NIR) imaging of Sh 2-209 (S209), a low-metallicity (${\rm [O/H]} = - 0.5$ dex) HII region in the Galaxy. From the NIR images, combined with astrometric data from Gaia EDR3, we estimate the distance to S209 to be 2.5 kpc. This is close enough to enable us to resolve cluster members clearly ($\simeq$1000 AU separation) down to a mass-detection limit of $\simeq$0.1 $M_\odot$, and we have identified two star-forming clusters in S209, with individual cluster scales $\sim$1 pc. We employ a set of model luminosity functions to derive the underlying initial mass functions (IMFs) and ages for both clusters. The IMFs we obtained for both clusters exhibit slightly flat high-mass slopes ($\Gamma \simeq -1.0$) compared to the Salpeter IMF ($\Gamma = -1.35$), and their break mass of $\simeq$0.1 $M_\odot$ is lower than those generally seen in the solar neighborhood ($\sim$0.3 $M_\odot$). In particular, because the S209 main cluster is a star-forming cluster with a larger number of members ($\sim$1500) than the number ($\sim$100) in regions previously studied in such environments, it is possible for the first time to derive the IMF in a low-metallicity environment with high accuracy over the wide mass range 0.1--20 $M_\odot$.
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arXiv:1605.08907 (Published 2016-05-28)
A Census of Young Stars and Brown Dwarfs in IC 348 and NGC 1333
Comments: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal; machine readable tables and fits spectra available at http://www2.astro.psu.edu/users/kluhman/perseus.tarCategories: astro-ph.SR, astro-ph.GAWe have obtained optical and near-infrared spectra of candidate members of the star-forming clusters IC 348 and NGC 1333. We classify 100 and 42 candidates as new members of the clusters, respectively, which brings the total numbers of known members to 478 and 203. We also have performed spectroscopy on a large majority of the previously known members of NGC 1333 in order to provide spectral classifications that are measured with the same scheme that has been applied to IC 348 in previous studies. The new census of members is nearly complete for Ks<16.8 at Aj<1.5 in IC 348 and for Ks<16.2 at Aj<3 in NGC 1333, which correspond to masses of <=0.01 Msun for ages of 3 Myr according to theoretical evolutionary models. The faintest known members extend below these completeness limits and appear to have masses of ~0.005 Msun. In extinction-limited samples of cluster members, NGC 1333 exhibits a higher abundance of objects at lower masses than IC 348. It would be surprising if the initial mass functions of these clusters differ significantly given their similar stellar densities and formation environments. Instead, it is possible that average extinctions are lower for less massive members of star-forming clusters, in which case extinction-limited samples could be biased in favor of low-mass objects in the more heavily embedded clusters like NGC 1333. In the H-R diagram, the median sequences of IC 348 and NGC 1333 coincide with each other for the adopted distances of 300 and 235 pc, which would suggest that they have similar ages. However, NGC 1333 is widely believed to be younger than IC 348 based on its higher abundance of disks and protostars and its greater obscuration. Errors in the adopted distances may be responsible for this discrepancy.
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arXiv:1410.0019 (Published 2014-09-30)
Wind bubbles within H II regions around slowly moving stars
Comments: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and AstrophysicsCategories: astro-ph.GA, astro-ph.SRKeywords: slowly moving stars, stellar motion, region rcw, initial mass functions, lowest space velocityTags: journal articleInterstellar bubbles around O stars are driven by a combination of the star's wind and ionizing radiation output. The wind contribution is uncertain because the boundary between the wind and interstellar medium is difficult to observe. Mid-infrared observations (e.g., of the H II region RCW 120) show arcs of dust emission around O stars, contained well within the H II region bubble. These arcs could indicate the edge of an asymmetric stellar wind bubble, distorted by density gradients and/or stellar motion. We present two-dimensional, radiation-hydrodynamics simulations investigating the evolution of wind bubbles and H II regions around massive stars moving through a dense (n=3000 cm^{-3}), uniform medium with velocities ranging from 4 to 16 km/s. The H II region morphology is strongly affected by stellar motion, as expected, but the wind bubble is also very aspherical from birth, even for the lowest space velocity considered. Wind bubbles do not fill their H II regions (we find filling factors of 10-20%), at least for a main sequence star with mass M~30 Msun. Furthermore, even for supersonic velocities the wind bow shock does not significantly trap the ionization front. X-ray emission from the wind bubble is soft, faint, and comes mainly from the turbulent mixing layer between the wind bubble and the H II region. The wind bubble radiates <1 per cent of its energy in X-rays; it loses most of its energy by turbulent mixing with cooler photoionized gas. Comparison of the simulations with the H II region RCW 120 shows that its dynamical age is <=0.4 Myr and that stellar motion <=4 km/s is allowed, implying that the ionizing source is unlikely to be a runaway star but more likely formed in situ. The region's youth, and apparent isolation from other O or B stars, makes it very interesting for studies of massive star formation and of initial mass functions.