The spatial relation between young star clusters and molecular clouds in M51 with LEGUS
Grasha, K; Calzetti, D; Adamo, A; et al.Kennicutt, RC; Elmegreen, BG; Messa, M; Dale, DA; Fedorenko, K; Mahadevan, S; Grebel, EK; Fumagalli, M; Kim, H; Dobbs, CL; Gouliermis, DA; Ashworth, G; Gallagher, JS; Smith, LJ; Tosi, M; Whitmore, BC; Schinnerer, E; Colombo, D; Hughes, A; Leroy, AK; Meidt, SE
Date: 19 December 2018
Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP) / Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher DOI
Abstract
We present a study correlating the spatial locations of young star clusters with those of molecular clouds in NGC 5194, in order to investigate the time-scale over which clusters separate from their birth clouds. The star cluster catalogues are from the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) and the molecular clouds from the Plateau ...
We present a study correlating the spatial locations of young star clusters with those of molecular clouds in NGC 5194, in order to investigate the time-scale over which clusters separate from their birth clouds. The star cluster catalogues are from the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) and the molecular clouds from the Plateau de Bure Interefrometer Arcsecond Whirpool Survey (PAWS). We find that younger star clusters are spatially closer to molecular clouds than older star clusters. The median age for clusters associated with clouds is 4 Myr, whereas it is 50 Myr for clusters that are sufficiently separated from a molecular cloud to be considered unassociated. After ~6 Myr, the majority of the star clusters lose association with their molecular gas. Younger star clusters are also preferentially located in stellar spiral arms where they are hierarchically distributed in kpc-size regions for 50-100 Myr before dispersing. The youngest star clusters are more strongly clustered, yielding a two-point correlation function with α = -0.28 ± 0.04, than the giant molecular cloud (GMCs) (α = -0.09 ± 0.03) within the same PAWS field. However, the clustering strength of the most massive GMCs, supposedly the progenitors of the young clusters for a star formation efficiency of a few per cent, is comparable (α = -0.35 ± 0.05) to that of the clusters. We find a galactocentric dependence for the coherence of star formation, in which clusters located in the inner region of the galaxy reside in smaller star-forming complexes and display more homogeneous distributions than clusters further from the centre. This result suggests a correlation between the survival of a cluster complex and its environment.
Physics and Astronomy
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy
Item views 0
Full item downloads 0
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Gravitational torques imply molecular gas inflow towards the nucleus of M 51
Querejeta, M; Meidt, SE; Schinnerer, E; et al. (EDP Sciences, 14 March 2016)© 2016 ESO.The transport of gas towards the centre of galaxies is critical for black hole feeding and, indirectly, it can control active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback. We have quantified the molecular gas inflow in the ... -
The Brightest Young Star Clusters in NGC 5253
Calzetti, D; Johnson, KE; Adamo, A; et al. (American Astronomical Society, 24 September 2015)The nearby dwarf starburst galaxy NGC5253 hosts a number of young, massive star clusters, the two youngest of which are centrally concentrated and surrounded by thermal radio emission (the `radio nebula'). To investigate ... -
Extinction Maps and Dust-to-gas Ratios in Nearby Galaxies with LEGUS
Kahre, L; Walterbos, RA; Kim, H; et al. (American Astronomical Society / IOP Publishing, 16 March 2018)We present a study of the dust-to-gas ratios in five nearby galaxies: NGC 628 (M74), NGC 6503, NGC 7793, UGC 5139 (Holmberg I), and UGC 4305 (Holmberg II). Using Hubble Space Telescope broadband WFC3/UVIS UV and optical ...