Related papers: The Accelerating Pace of Star Formation
We examine the pattern of star birth in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC), with the goal of discerning the cluster's formation mechanism. Outside of the Trapezium, the distribution of stellar masses is remarkably uniform, and is not accurately…
The spatial morphology and dynamical status of a young, still-forming stellar cluster provide valuable clues on the conditions during the star formation event and the processes that regulated it. We analyze the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC),…
To understand the formation of stellar groups, one must first document carefully the birth pattern within real clusters and associations. In this study of Taurus-Auriga, we combine pre-main-sequence ages from our own evolutionary tracks…
We use the 2MASS Second Incremental Release Point Source Catalog to investigate the spatial distribution of young stars in the Perseus, Orion A, Orion B, and MonR2 molecular clouds. After subtracting a semi-empirical model of the field star…
Most young stars in nearby molecular clouds have estimated ages of 1-2 Myr, suggesting that star formation is rapid. However, small numbers of stars in these regions with inferred ages of >= 5-10 Myr have been cited to argue that star…
The remarkably filamentary spatial distribution of young stars in the Taurus molecular cloud has significant implications for understanding low-mass star formation in relatively quiescent conditions. The large scale and regular spacing of…
We investigate the formation of both clustered and distributed populations of young stars in a single molecular cloud. We present a numerical simulation of a 10,000 solar mass elongated, turbulent, molecular cloud and the formation of over…
The radii of young pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) have been estimated using their rotation periods and projected equatorial velocities. Stars at a given effective temperature have a spread in their…
The process that leads to the formation and early evolution of low-mass stars is in a broad sense well understood theoretically and carefully traced observationally. The largest uncertainties in this framework reside in the poorly known…
We present a study of the hierarchical clustering of the young stellar clusters in six local (3--15 Mpc) star-forming galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope broad band WFC3/UVIS UV and optical images from the Treasury Program LEGUS (Legacy…
Palla & Stahler have recently argued that star formation in Taurus and other nearby molecular clouds extends over a period of at least 10 Myr, implying quasi-static cloud evolution and star formation. Their conclusions contradict other…
We examine the spatial distribution and mass segregation of dense molecular cloud cores in a number of nearby star forming regions that span about four orders of magnitude in star formation activity. We use an approach based on the…
Young stellar associations hold a star formation record that can persist for millions of years, revealing the progression of star formation long after the dispersal of the natal cloud. To identify nearby young stellar populations that trace…
We present an analysis of the positions and ages of young star clusters in eight local galaxies to investigate the connection between the age difference and separation of cluster pairs. We find that star clusters do not form uniformly but…
The Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) is the most massive region of active star formation within a kpc of the Sun. Using Gaia DR3 parallaxes and proper motions, we examine the bulk motions of stars radially and tangentially relative to the cluster…
The Orion Molecular Cloud is the nearest massive-star forming region. Massive stars have profound effects on their environment due to their strong radiation fields and stellar winds. Velocity-resolved observations of the [CII]…
This article reviews some recent studies of the mass, age, and space distributions of star clusters, with a primary focus on the large population of clusters in the interacting Antennae galaxies. Some of the highlights of these studies are…
We analyze age distributions of two nearby rich stellar clusters, the NGC 2024 (Flame Nebula) and Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) in the Orion molecular cloud complex. Our analysis is based on samples from the MYStIX survey and a new estimator…
Using numerical simulations of the formation and evolution of stellar clusters within molecular clouds, we show that the stars in clusters formed within collapsing molecular cloud clumps exhibit a constant velocity dispersion regardless of…
We explore, through a simplified, semi-analytic model, the formation of dense clusters containing massive stars. The parent cloud spawning the cluster is represented as an isothermal sphere. This sphere is in near force balance between…