Chandra Observations Of The Massive Young Association Cygnus OB2

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Cygnus OB2 is one of the most massive known star clusters in our Galaxy, and also one of the closest at a distance of only 1.5 kpc. Its proximity offers the unique opportunity to probe the structure, dynamics, and low-mass stellar component of a young star cluster that is often impossible in other, more distant clusters. Its role as an important benchmark for studies of stellar clusters has been highlighted by recent Chandra, Spitzer and Herschel surveys of the region.
I will present results from Chandra observations of the center of Cygnus OB2 that have allowed us to efficiently identify 1500 members of the cluster, largely complete in our field of view down to 1 solar mass. These observations are complemented by optical and near-IR photometry from a number of recent deep surveys of the Galactic Plane that were used to identify and separate foreground stars and estimate masses and extinctions for cluster members based on fitted isochrones. This has provided a number of insights into the star formation history of the region, the stellar mass function, and the circumstellar disk fraction that all suggest that a significant fraction of the cluster is older than the commonly accepted age of 2 Myrs. This has implications for the timescales of star formation and its propagation throughout massive clusters.
I will also discuss the Chandra Cygnus OB2 Legacy Survey, a recently completed 1 square degree survey of the entire cluster that will facilitate large-scale studies of the stellar populations and disk properties in the harsh environments prevalent in young clusters. It will also provide the first opportunity to study the large scale star formation process in detail, including a planned radial velocity follow-up survey that will probe the dynamical evolution and disruption of a young stellar cluster for the first time.

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