Discovery of a massive, young star cluster in the filaments of NGC 1275

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (54) References (25) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Discovery of a Massive, Young Star Cluster in the Filaments of NGC 1275 Shields, Joseph C. ; Filippenko, Alexei V. Abstract Optical and near-UV spectroscopy of an emission-line filament in the low- velocity system of NGC 1275 has revealed the presence of a young star- forming region, as evidenced by a very blue continuum source coincident with line emission characteristic of H II regions. This is the first direct detection of star formation in gas thought to be part of a cooling flow. If this young cluster is representative of star formation in cooling-flow galaxies, the current initial mass function (IMF) for these objects is not truncated at a level that excludes the formation of massive stars. For a Salpeter IMF, the cluster contalns a mass similar to the largest globular clusters associated with the Milky Way (~ 5 x 10^6^ M_sun_). A dynamical constraint on the total mass of the stellar cluster may be available through measurement of its emission-line widths. We suggest that the A-star continuum characterizing the near-nuciear population of NGC 1275 is better explained as the signature of a fading starburst, rather than as star formation in a cooling flow. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: April 1990 DOI: 10.1086/185695 Bibcode: 1990ApJ...353L...7S Keywords: Early Stars; Galactic Clusters; Star Clusters; Star Formation; Stellar Mass; Cooling Flows (Astrophysics); Emission Spectra; H Ii Regions; Starburst Galaxies; Ultraviolet Spectroscopy; Astrophysics; GALAXIES: CLUSTERING; GALAXIES: INTERGALACTIC MEDIUM; GALAXIES: STELLAR CONTENT; STARS: FORMATION full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (2) NED (1)