Computer Science
Scientific paper
Dec 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7851s&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #7851
Computer Science
Hst Proposal Id #7851 Cool Stars Low-Mass Stars
Scientific paper
Near-infrared surveys of giant molecular clouds have shown that many, if not most, stars of all masses form in dense clusters. Consequently, understanding how such clusters form is one of the premier problems in star formation. We propose a survey of the W3-Main region, focussing on a site of compact and ultracompact H II regions in the vicinity of the IRS 5 infrared source. This complex of sources is an excellent example of OB star/cluster formation prior to the disruption of the parental molecular cloud; NICMOS observations of this region should provide insight into the initial properties of embedded clusters before the onset of the rapid dynamical evolution which occurs once the natal gas is evaporated. Previous ground-based observations of this region identify a population of low mass stars {presumably PMS T Tauri stars} associated with IRS 5, but are plagued by confusion with nebulosity and stars. High resolution NICMOS observations will substantially reduce this confusion and provide a higher detection rate in important wavelength bands at Lambda < 2micron. From these data we can make great progress in understanding the initial configurations of young clusters and in determining whether OB stars can form in relative isolation {indicating that cluster formation is not an essential trait of high mass star formation}. We can also constrain the initial mass function in a very young and dense region of star formation, which we have not been able to do from the ground.
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