How to Find Young Massive Cluster Progenitors
Abstract
We propose that bound, young massive stellar clusters form from dense clouds that have escape speeds greater than the sound speed in photo-ionized gas. In these clumps, radiative feedback in the form of gas ionization is bottled up, enabling star formation to proceed to sufficiently high efficiency so that the resulting star cluster remains bound even after gas removal. We estimate the observable properties of the massive proto-clusters (MPCs) for existing Galactic plane surveys and suggest how they may be sought in recent and upcoming extragalactic observations. These surveys will potentially provide a significant sample of MPC candidates that will allow us to better understand extreme star-formation and massive cluster formation in the Local Universe.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1208.3472,
title = {How to Find Young Massive Cluster Progenitors},
author = {Eli Bressert and Adam Ginsburg and Cara Battersby and John Bally and Steven Longmore and Leonardo Testi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1208.3472},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
5 pages, 1 figure, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJL