Evolution Of Massive Star Clusters Research Articles

Great Balls of FIRE

Context. Despite the nearly hundred gravitational-wave detections reported by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration, the question of the cosmological origin of merging binary black holes (BBHs) remains open. The two main formation channels generally considered are from isolated field binaries or via dynamical assembly in dense star clusters. Aims. Here we focus on understanding the dynamical formation of merging BBHs within massive clusters in galaxies of different masses. Methods. To this end, we applied a new framework to consistently model the formation and evolution of massive star clusters in zoom-in cosmological simulations of galaxies. Each simulation, taken from the FIRE project, provides a realistic star formation environment, with a unique star formation history, that hosts realistic giant molecular clouds that constitute the birthplace of star clusters. Combined with the code for star cluster evolution CMC, we are able to produce populations of dynamically formed merging BBHs across cosmic time in different environments. Results. As the most massive star clusters preferentially form in dense massive clouds of gas, we find that, despite their low metallicities favouring the creation of black holes, low-mass galaxies contain few massive clusters and therefore make a limited contribution to the global production of dynamically formed merging BBHs. Furthermore, we find that massive clusters can host hierarchical BBH mergers with clear, identifiable physical properties. Looking at the evolution of the BBH merger rate in different galaxies, we find strong correlations between BBH mergers and the most extreme episodes of star formation. Finally, we discuss the implications for future LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA gravitational wave observations.

On the early evolution of massive star clusters: the case of cloud D1 and its embedded cluster in NGC 5253

ABSTRACT We discuss a theoretical model for the early evolution of massive star clusters and confront it with the ALMA, radio, and infrared observations of the young stellar cluster highly obscured by the molecular cloud D1 in the nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxy NGC 5253. We show that a large turbulent pressure in the central zones of D1 cluster may cause individual wind-blown bubbles to reach pressure confinement before encountering their neighbours. In this case, stellar winds energy is added to the hot shocked wind pockets of gas around individual massive stars that leads them to meet and produce a cluster wind in time-scales less than 105 yr. In order to inhibit the possibility of cloud dispersal, or the early negative star formation feedback, one should account for mass loading that may come, for example, from pre-main-sequence (PMS) low-mass stars through photoevaporation of their protostellar discs. Mass loading at a rate in excess of 8 × 10−9 M⊙ yr−1 per each PMS star is required to extend the hidden star cluster phase in this particular cluster. In this regime, the parental cloud remains relatively unperturbed, while pockets of molecular, photoionized and hot gas coexist within the star-forming region. Nevertheless, the most likely scenario for cloud D1 and its embedded cluster is that the hot shocked winds around individual massive stars should merge at an age of a few million of years when the PMS star protostellar discs vanish and mass loading ceases that allows a cluster to form a global wind.

THE PREVALENCE AND IMPACT OF WOLF–RAYET STARS IN EMERGING MASSIVE STAR CLUSTERS

ABSTRACT We investigate Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars as a source of feedback contributing to the removal of natal material in the early evolution of massive star clusters. Despite previous work suggesting that massive star clusters clear out their natal material before the massive stars evolve into the WR phase, WR stars have been detected in several emerging massive star clusters. These detections suggest that the timescale for clusters to emerge can be at least as long as the time required to produce WR stars (a few million years), and could also indicate that WR stars may be providing the tipping point in the combined feedback processes that drive a massive star cluster to emerge. We explore the potential overlap between the emerging phase and the WR phase with an observational survey to search for WR stars in emerging massive star clusters hosting WR stars. We select candidate emerging massive star clusters from known radio continuum sources with thermal emission and obtain optical spectra with the 4 m Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and the 6.5 m MMT.4 We identify 21 sources with significantly detected WR signatures, which we term “emerging WR clusters.” WR features are detected in ∼50% of the radio-selected sample, and thus we find that WR stars are commonly present in currently emerging massive star clusters. The observed extinctions and ages suggest that clusters without WR detections remain embedded for longer periods of time, and may indicate that WR stars can aid, and therefore accelerate, the emergence process.

Properties and Formation of Star Clusters

Many key problems in astrophysics involve research on the properties of star clusters, for example: stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis, the history of star formation in galaxies, formation dynamics of galaxies and their subsystems, the calibration of the fundamental distance scale in the universe, and the luminosity functions of stars and star clusters. This review is intended to familiarize the reader with modern observational and theoretical data on the formation and evolution of star clusters in our galaxy and others. Unsolved problems in this area are formulated and research on ways to solve them is discussed. In particular, some of the most important current observational and theoretical problems include: (1) a more complete explanation of the physical processes in molecular clouds leading to the formation and evolution of massive star clusters; (2) observation of these objects in different stages of evolution, including protoclusters, at wavelengths where interstellar absorption is minimal; and, (3) comparison of the properties of massive star clusters in different galaxies and of galaxies during the most active star formation phase at different red shifts. The main goal in solving these problems is to explain the variations in the abundance of chemical elements and in the multiple populations of stars in clusters discovered at the end of the twentieth century.

E-MERLIN Radio Continuum Measurements of OB Star Winds in CYG OB2

AbstractHere, we report on the first results from the e-MERLIN Cyg OB2 Radio Survey (COBRaS), which is designed to exploit e-MERLIN’s enhanced capabilities to conduct deep-field mapping of the tremendously rich Cyg OB2 association. The project aims to deliver the most detailed radio census of the most massive OB association in the northern hemisphere. There exists considerable evidence for clumping in the winds of hot stars, which has hugely important consequences for mass-loss determinations. The amount of mass lost from a massive star is a crucial parameter required for stellar and cluster evolution models that are paramount to our understanding of the formation and evolution of massive star clusters. Presenting some of the first 20cm (L band) detections of massive stars in Cyg OB2, both accurate mass-loss determinations and constraints upon clumping within their winds are made. These data substantially increase the observational detections of the outer wind of massive stars and in combination with other observations at different wavelengths, COBRaS will greatly advance our knowledge of clumping as a function of radial distance around massive stars.

EXTENDED STAR FORMATION IN THE INTERMEDIATE-AGE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD STAR CLUSTER NGC 2209

We present observations of the 1 Gyr old star cluster NGC 2209 in the Large Magellanic Cloud made with the GMOS imager on the Gemini South Telescope. These observations show that the cluster exhibits a main-sequence turnoff that spans a broader range in luminosity than can be explained by a single-aged stellar population. This places NGC 2209 amongst a growing list of intermediate-age (1-3 Gyr) clusters that show evidence for extended or multiple epochs of star formation of between 50 and 460 Myr in extent. The extended main-sequence turnoff observed in NGC 2209 is a confirmation of the prediction in Keller et al. made on the basis of the cluster's large core radius. We propose that secondary star formation is a defining feature of the evolution of massive star clusters. Dissolution of lower mass clusters through evaporation results in only clusters that have experienced secondary star formation surviving for a Hubble time, thus providing a natural connection between the extended main-sequence turnoff phenomenon and the ubiquitous light-element abundance ranges seen in the ancient Galactic globular clusters.

Super star clusters in Hii galaxies

AbstractWe summarize our results based on observations with the NIRI camera on the Gemini North telescope of three Hii galaxies (Mrk 36, UM 408 and UM 461), obtained to identify and determine the ages and masses of the elementary components (the star cluster population) of the starburst regions in compact Hii galaxies. Our preliminary results indicate that the masses of the stellar clusters in these galaxies range from ~104 to ~106 M⊙, with associated ages of a few Myr. The most massive star clusters fall in the so-called super star cluster category. The identification of these clusters suggests that the formation and evolution of massive star clusters is the dominant mode of star formation in these galaxies. Their spatial distribution and ages seem to indicate that star formation is simultaneous over these timescales in some of our objects. We also review our recent description of the spatial distribution of physical conditions in the Hii galaxy UM 408 using the GMOS integral-field unit on Gemini South. The spatial distribution of the oxygen abundance does not show any significant variation or gradient across the galaxy on scales of hundreds of parsecs, within our observational uncertainties, confirming that this compact Hii galaxy, like other previously studied dwarf irregular galaxies, is chemically homogeneous.

The effect of stellar-mass black holes on the structural evolution of massive star clusters

Abstract We present the results of realistic N-body modelling of massive star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds, aimed at investigating a dynamical origin for the radius–age trend observed in these systems. We find that stellar-mass black holes, formed in the supernova explosions of the most massive cluster stars, can constitute a dynamically important population. If a significant ensemble is retained (here we assume complete retention), these objects rapidly form a dense core where interactions are common, resulting in the scattering of black holes into the cluster halo, and the ejection of black holes from the cluster. These two processes heat the stellar component, resulting in prolonged core expansion of a magnitude matching the observations. Significant core evolution is also observed in Magellanic Cloud clusters at early times. We find that this does not result from the action of black holes, but can be reproduced by the effects of mass-loss due to rapid stellar evolution in a primordially mass-segregated cluster.

A ‘super’ star cluster grown old: the most massive star cluster in the Local Group

We independently redetermine the reddening and age of the globular cluster 037-B327 in M31 by comparing independently obtained multicolour photometry with theoretical stellar population synthesis models. 037-B327 has long been known to have a very large reddening value, which we confirm to be E(B-V)=1.360+-0.013, in good agreement with the previous results. We redetermine its most likely age at 12.4+- 3.2 Gyr. 037-B327 is a prime example of an unusually bright early counterpart to the ubiquitous ``super'' star clusters presently observed in most high-intensity star-forming regions in the local Universe. In order to have survived for a Hubble time, we conclude that its stellar IMF cannot have been top-heavy. Using this constraint, and a variety of SSP models, we determine a photometric mass of M_{GC}=(3.0+-0.5)*10^7, somewhat depending on the SSP models used, the metallicity and age adopted and the IMF representation. This mass, and its relatively small uncertainties, make this object the most massive star cluster of any age in the Local Group. Assuming that the photometric mass estimate thus derived is fairly close to its dynamical mass, we predict that this GC has a (one-dimensional) velocity dispersion of order (72+-13)km/s. As a surviving super star cluster, this object is of prime importance for theories aimed at describing massive star cluster evolution.

Probing the birth of super star clusters: Implications for massive star formation

Super star clusters are one of the most extreme star forming environments in the universe, and the most massive and dense of these may be proto globular clusters. Like individual massive stars, the earliest stages of super star cluster evolution are deeply obscured, and therefore our knowledge about their birth environments is currently very incomplete. However, the study of natal super star clusters has become somewhat of a cottage industry in recent years, and the sample of such objects has been growing rapidly with high-quality long-wavelength data now available from a number of observatories. The natal super star clusters identified in thermal-infrared and radio observations represent the youngest stage of massive star cluster evolution yet observed. Their properties appear to be similar to those of ultracompact h II regions in the milky way, but scaled up in total mass and luminosity. I will overview what we think we know about these objects based on existing observations, discuss their relationship to ultracompact h II regions, present new models of their spectral energy distributions based on 3-d simulations, and outline some of the most significant gaps in our current understanding.

The Spectral Energy Distributions of Infant Super–Star Clusters in Henize 2‐10 from 7 Millimeters to 6 Centimeters

We present observations from our continuing studies of the earliest stages of massive star cluster evolution. In this paper, radio observations from the Very Large Array at 0.7, 1.3, 2, 3.6, and 6 cm are used to map the radio spectral energy distributions and model the physical properties of the ultrayoung embedded super-star clusters in Henize 2-10. The 0.7 cm flux densities indicate that the young embedded star clusters that are powering the radio-detected ultradense (UD) H II have masses greater than ~105 M☉. We model the radio spectral energy distributions as both constant-density H II regions and H II regions with power-law electron density gradients. These models suggest that the UD H II regions have radii ranging between ~2 and 4 pc and average electron densities of ~103-104 cm-3 (with peak electron densities reaching values of ~105-106 cm-3). The pressures implied by these densities are P/kB ~ 107-1010 cm-3 K, several orders of magnitude higher than typical pressures in the Galactic interstellar medium. The inferred H II masses in the UD H II regions are ~(2-8) × 103 M☉; these values are less than 5% of the embedded stellar masses and anomalously low when compared with optically visible young clusters. We suggest that these low H II mass fractions may be a result of the extreme youth of these objects.

ITAL]N[/ITAL]-Band Observations of Henize 2-10: Unveiling the Dusty Engine of a Starburst Galaxy

As part of an ongoing program to better understand the early stages of massive star cluster evolution and the physical conditions for their formation, we have obtained J, H, K', and N (10.8 μm) images of the nuclear region of the starburst galaxy He 2-10. The N-band images were obtained with the Gemini North Telescope. In only 10 minutes of on-source integration time with Gemini, we were able to detect four of the five enshrouded clusters, or ultradense H II (UD H II regions) recently discovered in radio maps. None of these sources appears in either the optical Hubble Space Telescope images or the near-infrared (J, H, and K') images. These sources make up about 60% of the total N-band flux from He 2-10 and, we suspect, a similar fraction of the total far-infrared flux measured by IRAS. The inferred spectra of the UD H II regions are strikingly similar to those of Galactic ultracompact H II regions. We have modeled the radio and IR spectra of these UD H II regions under the assumption that they are scaled-up Galactic ultracompact H II regions. From this model, the bolometric luminosity of the brightest cluster alone is estimated to be ~2 × 109 L☉. The total mass of the dust and gas in this UD H II region is Mshell ≈ 107 M☉. We have also used the observed spectra to place constraints on the masses and ages of the stellar clusters enshrouded within the UD H II regions. For the brightest UD H II region, we find that the stellar mass must be Mcluster 2.5 × 106 M☉, and the age must be 4.8 × 106 yr, with the most probable age being 3.6 × 106 yr. If we assume that the region is pressure confined and enforce the requirement that the star formation efficiency must be less than ~90%, we find that the age of this stellar cluster must lie within a very narrow range, 4 × 105 < τ < 5 × 106 yr. All the clusters within the UD H II regions in He 2-10 are estimated to have ages less than about 5 × 106 yr and masses greater than about 5 × 105 M☉. We find that the logarithmic ratio of the radio to far-infrared flux densities, q, for the UD H II regions in He 2-10 is ~4; q ≈ 2.6 for both He 2-10 as a whole and NGC 5253, another nearby starburst known to host UD H II regions. These values of q are significantly larger than the average q = 2.35 found for normal galaxies but are comparable to the values of q found for ultraluminous infrared galaxies. We suggest that large q values for starburst galaxies may indicate that a significant fraction of the far-infrared flux may arise from thermal dust emission from UD H II regions. Finally, the possibility that all the far-infrared flux from He 2-10 and other starburst galaxies may be produced by regions completely obscured at wavelengths as long as K' suggests that the well-known correlation between ultraviolet continuum slope and infrared-to-ultraviolet flux ratio in starbursts cannot be due entirely to reprocessing of ultraviolet radiation by dust in a foreground screen geometry. In fact, the dust that reddens the ultraviolet continuum slope must be largely decoupled from the dust that produces the large infrared fluxes in some starbursts.

The Early Stages of Extragalactic Star Cluster Evolution: New Results From Gemini

As part of an ongoing program to better understand the early stages of massive star cluster evolution and the physical conditions required for their formation, we have obtained 10 μm (N-band) images with Gemini North of the nuclear region of the starburst galaxy He 2-10. Five massive star clusters still enshrouded in their natal cocoons with no optical counterparts were previously discovered by Kobulnicky &amp; Johnson (1999) as optically thick thermal radio sources. Three of these five radio sources have strong 10 μm detections in only 10 minutes of integration time with Gemini. The blackbody temperatures of the dust cocoons are estimated to range from ∼ 40 — 150 K at their outer and inner edges, and the mass of these dust shells is ∼ 107 M⊙. The ages of the embedded stellar clusters must be &lt; 106 years. The bolometric luminosities of the exciting clusters can be constrained to ∼ 108–9 L⊙, and the implied masses are &gt; 106 M⊙. These three embedded clusters are responsible for at least 60% of the IRAS flux of the entire galaxy He 2-10.