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Time resolved star formation in the SMC: the youngest star clusters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2008

Elena Sabbi ,
Linda J. Smith ,
Lynn R. Carlson ,
Antonella Nota ,
Monica Tosi ,
Michele Cignoni ,
Jay S. Gallagher III ,
Marco Sirianni  and
Margaret Meixner
Elena Sabbi
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA email: [email protected]
Linda J. Smith
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA email: [email protected] University College London, London, UK
Lynn R. Carlson
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Antonella Nota
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA email: [email protected] European Space Agency, Research and Scientific Support Department, Baltimore, MD, USA
Monica Tosi
Affiliation:
INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Michele Cignoni
Affiliation:
INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Jay S. Gallagher III
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Marco Sirianni
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA email: [email protected] European Space Agency, Research and Scientific Support Department, Baltimore, MD, USA
Margaret Meixner
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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The two young clusters NGC 346 and NGC 602 in the Small Magellanic Cloud provide us with the opportunity to study and the efficiency of feedback mechanism at low metallicity, as well as the impact of local and global conditions in cluster formation and evolution. I describe the latest results from a multi-wavelength, large-scale study of these two clusters. HST/ACS images reveal that the clusters have very different structures: NGC 346 is composed by a number of sub-clusters which appear coeval with ages of 3 ± 1 Myr, strongly suggesting formation by the hierarchical fragmentation of a turbulent molecular cloud (Nota et al. 2006; Sabbi et al. 2007a). NGC 602, on the contrary, appears as a single small cluster of OB stars surrounded by pre-main sequence stars. For both clusters high-resolution spectroscopy of the ionized gas shows little evidence for gas motions. This suggests that at the low SMC metallicity, the winds from the hottest stars are not powerful enough to sweep away the residual gas. Instead we find that stellar radiation is the dominant process shaping the interstellar environment of NGC 346 and NGC 602.

Keywords

stars: formationstars: luminosity functionmass functionstars: pre-main-sequencegalaxies: individual (SMC)Magellanic Cloudsgalaxies: star clusters
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 4 , Symposium S256: The Magellanic System: Stars, Gas, and Galaxies , July 2008 , pp. 244 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2009

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