Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Jul 2004
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004hst..prop10172d&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #10172
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Hst Proposal Id #10172 Star Formation
Scientific paper
Recent ground-based observations have revealed that the highly reddened Galactic cluster Westerlund 1 is the current best and by far the nearest "Young Massive Star Cluster" {YSC} candidate, i.e. a young {< 10 Myr}, dense and massive {> 10, 000 Mo} object of which until recently 30 Doradus in the LMC was believed to be the nearest example. However, extrapolations of the locally derived cluster luminosity function indicate that perhaps up to a hundred similar objects should exist within the Galaxy. The close-up view of a YSC provided by Westerlund 1 allows us to obtain an unprecedented glimpse of the process of massive cluster formation, evolution and fate, which are among the very key issues in modern astrophysics. Utilising deep ACS and NICMOS imaging and sophisticated N-body and Monte Carlo simulations, we will address key questions regarding Westerlund 1's nature, formation and dynamical evolution. These include, What are the initial conditions with which Westerlund 1 was born? To what degree was mass segregation really primordial? Has the binary fraction changed during the short cluster lifetime? Do we expect the cluster to have a population of stellar-mass black holes? Does the cluster harbour an intermediate-mass black hole in its core? Is Westerlund 1 unique as a Galactic YSC? How similar is the cluster to the massive "Arches" and "Quintuplet" Galactic Centre clusters, and to 30 Doradus? With an expected life-span of > 100 Myr, it is conceivable that there should be more YSCs like Westerlund 1 in the Galactic disk. Our dynamical simulations will help us determine the ultimate fate of such clusters, allowing us to at least begin to answer the question of Westerlund 1's uniqueness in the context of the Galaxy's stellar populations.
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