Isolated massive star formation . Myth or reality?
Abstract
High-mass stars apparently formed in the field challenge the paradigm of clustered star formation. To understand the conditions that favor isolated massive star formation, we employed the Hubble Space Telescope to observe the seven most isolated massive YSOs in the LMC. Our investigation shows that while they are quite remote from any star-forming region, these YSOs are not isolated at all. HST revealed a plethora of Pre-Main-Sequence stars, forming compact clusters around the YSOs, and sparsely distributed across the observed regions. Contrary to previous studies, these observations suggest that high-mass stars may not be able to form in clusters smaller than 100 M_⊙, and that the lack of isolation is at odds with random sampling of the stellar IMF.
- Publication:
-
Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana
- Pub Date:
- 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018MmSAI..89...57G
- Keywords:
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- ISM: clouds;
- Magellanic Clouds;
- stars: formation;
- stars: massive