Chains of creation: feedback driven star formation in the Sco-Cen association
- Autor(en)
- Laura Posch, João Alves, Nuria Miret-Roig, Sebastian Ratzenböck, Josefa Großschedl, Stefan Meingast
- Abstrakt
Gaia's precise astrometry enables clustering in nearby star formation regions with unprecedented resolution. This enables revealing previously unknown substructures in 3D positions and velocities, such as the age-ordered chains of clusters in the Scorpius Centaurus (Sco-Cen) OB association. Based on this recent discovery, we propose that stellar feedback commonly generates spatiotemporal patterns over multiple star formation epochs. We identify four cluster chains within Sco-Cen: one in Corona Australis, another in Lower Centaurus Crux, and two in Upper Scorpius. Using Gaia DR3 data, in combination with APOGEE-2 and GALAH DR3 radial velocities, we observe velocity gradients in 3D space motion, showing expansion within the cluster chains, particularly along the vertical axis, W vs. Z. The position-velocity gradients are steeper than can be expected solely from evolution in the Galactic potential. Separation between cluster centers ranges from 10 to 40 pc, with an average gradual acceleration of about 0.7 km/s/Myr from older to younger cluster velocities. A traceback analysis connects the younger clusters to the massive older clusters in Sco-Cen, which provide a natural source of stellar feedback. We find that a median number of up to three supernova explosions can account for the current momentum of the younger clusters. Based on these observations, we propose a scenario in which the cluster chains form sequentially from older to younger clusters out of the remaining molecular gas reservoir, with gas motion affected by early stellar feedback. With the gradual depletion of the molecular cloud, more recently formed clusters are expected to be less massive. Stellar feedback from the older clusters pushes the molecular clouds over an average of about 70 pc from the center of Sco-Cen and forms them into the characteristic wind-blown structures we observe. The discovery of multiple spatially and temporally well-defined cluster chains emphasizes the significant role of stellar feedback processes in star formation.
- Organisation(en)
- Institut für Astrophysik, Forschungsverbund Data Science
- Externe Organisation(en)
- Universität zu Köln
- Publikationsdatum
- 07-2024
- Peer-reviewed
- Ja
- ÖFOS 2012
- 103003 Astronomie, 103004 Astrophysik
- Link zum Portal
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/efc83219-df54-4a88-b27c-f7047663ca4b