The role of H II regions during star formation and chemical enrichment in globular clusters

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (11) References (37) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The role of H II regions during star formation and chemical enrichment in globular clusters Smith, G. H. Abstract The shapes of the H II Stroemgren 'spheres' produced by stars located within massive gas clouds are determined by solving the equation of ionization equilibrium. The cloud is taken to be spherical, with an r exp -2 internal density distribution. The minimum distance that a star can be situated from the cloud center and still ionize gas out to the surface has been calculated, as well as the solid angle subtended by such H II regions at the cloud center. It is concluded that bright OB stars can form quite deep within the interiors of open cluster gas clouds and still ionize a large fraction of them. Globular cluster protoclouds are not susceptible to this form of disruption provided that they were more massive than their stellar progeny. The requirement for a greater initial gas mass is particularly stringent if the first generation of stars were supermassive (approximately 500 solar masses). Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: August 1982 DOI: 10.1086/160196 Bibcode: 1982ApJ...259..607S Keywords: Gas Ionization; Globular Clusters; H Ii Regions; Interstellar Chemistry; Protostars; Star Formation; Astronomical Models; B Stars; Density Distribution; O Stars; Open Clusters; Supermassive Stars; Supernovae; Astrophysics full text sources ADS |