Embedded Young Stellar Objects near H72.97-69.39: A Forming Super Star Cluster in N79

Abstract

We present 102 embedded young stellar object (YSO) candidates associated with the H72.97-69.39 super star cluster (SSC) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). With the use of the James Webb Space Telescope Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) imaging mode, we utilize an F770W – F1000W versus F1000W color–magnitude diagram to select 70 YSO candidates. An additional 27 YSO candidates are selected based on model fitting using the four MIRI imaging filters employed for this study (F770W, F1000W, F1500W, and F2100W). The central region of H72.97-69.39 is saturated in MIRI imaging, however it is covered by observations made with the Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS), leading to the identification of five additional massive YSOs. The total star formation rate inferred based on the 102 YSO candidates is 0.02 M ⊙ yr−1, similar to other high-mass star-forming regions in the LMC which have undergone several generations of starburst events. Due to its young age, however, H72.97-69.39's stellar production rate is expected to increase. The central five YSOs identified with MRS have masses ranging from 21.1 to 40.3 M ⊙ and total luminosity over 106 L ⊙, making H72.97-69.39 a very compact and luminous star-forming region similar to other known SSCs. We theorize that the central five massive YSOs were formed via filamentary collision, while other YSO candidates of varying masses were triggered by wind, radiation, and expanding H ii shells based on their spatial distribution.