Super Star Cluster Luminosity Functions in Interacting Luminous Infrared Galaxies

Details Super Star Cluster Luminosity Functions in Interacting Luminous Infrared Galaxies Super Star Cluster Luminosity Functions in Interacting Luminous Infrared Galaxies

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011iaus..277...37r&link_type=abstract

Tracing the Ancestry of Galaxies (on the land of our ancestors), Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Sympos

Physics

Optics

Galaxies: Interactions, Galaxies: Star Clusters, Infrared: Galaxies

Scientific paper

Young and massive super star clusters (SSCs) are found whenever very active star formation is going on, such as that in interacting Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs). From a deep NIR adaptive optics imaging survey, we present thus far the first K-band SSC luminosity functions (LFs) in these types of galaxies, and also a relation between the brightest SSC and the global SFR of the galaxy. Based on the derived LFs, one can constrain the cluster initial mass function (CIMF) and study the formation and evolution of SSCs. Our preliminary results are in disagreement with theoretical expectations which suggest that the SSC LF should be well fitted by a single power-law with an index of -2. We find power-law indexes of ~-1.5, shallower than the expected ones. Taken at face value, our results appear to support the concept that the CIMF is mass-dependent, not universal, which will be studied in more detail by mass-modelling of the SSCs. The data-set will also allow us to estimate the fraction of total star formation originating in the SSCs over a range of galaxy types.

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