English

A Young Super Star Cluster Powering a Nebula of Retained Massive Star Ejecta

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2024-09-06 v3

Abstract

We suggest that "Godzilla" of the lensed Sunburst galaxy (z=2.37z=2.37) is a young super star cluster powering a nebula of gravitationally trapped stellar ejecta. Employing HST photometry and spectroscopy from VLT/MUSE and VLT/X-Shooter, we infer physical and chemical properties of the cluster and nebula, finding Godzilla is young 44-66Myr, massive 2×106M(1000/μ)2 \times 10^{6} M_\odot (1000/\mu), a stellar metallicity Z0.25ZZ \simeq 0.25 Z_\odot, and has a compact FUV component 1pc(1000/μ)\lesssim 1{\rm pc}(1000/\mu), where μ\mu is the flux magnification factor. The gas is significantly enriched with N and He, indicating stellar wind material, and has highly elevated O relative to the stellar metallicity, indicating entrainment of CCSNe ejecta. The high density ne1078cm3n_{\rm e} \simeq 10^{7-8}{\rm cm}^{-3} implies a highly pressurized intracluster environment. We propose the pressure results from CCSN-driven supersonic turbulence in warm, self-shielding gas, which has accumulated in the cluster center after runaway radiative cooling and is dense enough to resist removal by CCSNe. The nebula gas shows sub-solar C/O, Ne/O and Si/O, which may reflect the CCSN element yields for initial stellar masses >40M>40 M_\odot. A comparison to element yield synthesis models for young star clusters shows the gas abundances are consistent with complete retention and mixture of stellar winds and CCSNe ejecta until the inferred cluster age. The inferred O and He enhancement may have implications for the formation of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters, as stars formed from this gas would contradict the observed abundances of second-population stars.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2404.10755,
  title  = {A Young Super Star Cluster Powering a Nebula of Retained Massive Star Ejecta},
  author = {Massimo Pascale and Liang Dai},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.10755},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

32 pages, 17 figures. Updated to match the version accepted to ApJ. Updates include an increased fiducial magnification mu~1000, a discussion on the emission line profiles (Section 6.7) and a new section constraining the magnification of the source (Section 7)