Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aas...21114705c&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #211, #147.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.1000
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The star formation process can be characterized microscopically by the initial mass function (IMF) and macroscopically by the intensity of the activity as a function of space and time. To study the star formation process in a mild starburst environment, I have analyzed N44, one of the three top-ranking HII complexes in the Large Magellanic Cloud, using the most comprehensive inventory of resolved massive stars and young stellar objects (YSOs) derived from CTIO 4-m MOSAIC UBVI and ISPI JK images, supplemented by 0.9-m UBV images, and Spitzer Space Telescope IRAC and MIPS observations.
The N44 complex can be divided into three regions that are coincident with three concentrations of giant molecular clouds but exhibiting different evolutionary states and intensities of star formation. The central concentration is associated with a prominent superbubble and bright HII regions along its periphery; the south concentration is associated with a group of bright HII regions; and the north concentration has only two faint little HII regions.
I have defined and examined regions with contrasting star formation properties to determine their present-day mass functions (PDMFs). I find that comparisons of slopes of the IMF between star forming regions and the "field" is highly dependent on the definition of the regions.
I have also used the Spitzer mid-IR observations to identify massive YSOs in order to study the current, on-going star formation. I have also used ground-based high-resolution UBVIJK observations to confirm their nature as YSOs and to model their spectral energy distributions for mass estimates. I find that the more massive YSOs are preferentially formed near sites previous active star formation has taken place. The stellar energy feedback may play some role in the formation of massive stars.
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