Early-forming Massive Stars Suppress Star Formation and Hierarchical Cluster Assembly
Feedback from massive stars plays an important role in the formation of star clusters. Whether a very massive star is born early or late in the cluster formation timeline has profound implications for the star cluster formation and assembly processes. We carry out a controlled experiment to characte...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb0c5 |
| _version_ | 1797697261181861888 |
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| author | Sean C. Lewis Stephen L. W. McMillan Mordecai-Mark Mac Low Claude Cournoyer-Cloutier Brooke Polak Martijn J. C. Wilhelm Aaron Tran Alison Sills Simon Portegies Zwart Ralf S. Klessen Joshua E. Wall |
| author_facet | Sean C. Lewis Stephen L. W. McMillan Mordecai-Mark Mac Low Claude Cournoyer-Cloutier Brooke Polak Martijn J. C. Wilhelm Aaron Tran Alison Sills Simon Portegies Zwart Ralf S. Klessen Joshua E. Wall |
| author_sort | Sean C. Lewis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Feedback from massive stars plays an important role in the formation of star clusters. Whether a very massive star is born early or late in the cluster formation timeline has profound implications for the star cluster formation and assembly processes. We carry out a controlled experiment to characterize the effects of early-forming massive stars on star cluster formation. We use the star formation software suite Torch , combining self-gravitating magnetohydrodynamics, ray-tracing radiative transfer, N -body dynamics, and stellar feedback, to model four initially identical 10 ^4 M _⊙ giant molecular clouds with a Gaussian density profile peaking at 521.5 cm ^−3 . Using the Torch software suite through the AMUSE framework, we modify three of the models, to ensure that the first star that forms is very massive (50, 70, and 100 M _⊙ ). Early-forming massive stars disrupt the natal gas structure, resulting in fast evacuation of the gas from the star-forming region. The star formation rate is suppressed, reducing the total mass of the stars formed. Our fiducial control model, without an early massive star, has a larger star formation rate and total efficiency by up to a factor of 3, and a higher average star formation efficiency per freefall time by up to a factor of 7. Early-forming massive stars promote the buildup of spatially separate and gravitationally unbound subclusters, while the control model forms a single massive cluster. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:37:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7fb8d7108d87481eac0b5e5b85242998 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:37:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-7fb8d7108d87481eac0b5e5b852429982023-09-03T13:08:00ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-01944221110.3847/1538-4357/acb0c5Early-forming Massive Stars Suppress Star Formation and Hierarchical Cluster AssemblySean C. Lewis0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4866-9136Stephen L. W. McMillan1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9104-9675Mordecai-Mark Mac Low2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0064-4060Claude Cournoyer-Cloutier3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6116-1014Brooke Polak4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5972-137XMartijn J. C. Wilhelm5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3001-9461Aaron Tran6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3483-4890Alison Sills7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3551-5090Simon Portegies Zwart8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5839-0302Ralf S. Klessen9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0560-3172Joshua E. Wall10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2128-1932Department of Physics, Drexel University , Philadelphia, PA, USA ; sean.phys@gmail.comDepartment of Physics, Drexel University , Philadelphia, PA, USA ; sean.phys@gmail.comDepartment of Physics, Drexel University , Philadelphia, PA, USA ; sean.phys@gmail.com; Department of Astrophysics , American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA; Department of Astronomy, Columbia University , New York, NY, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University , Hamilton, ON, CanadaDepartment of Astrophysics , American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA; Universität Heidelberg , Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Albert-Ueberle-Straße 2, D-69120 Heidelberg, GermanyLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Astronomy, Columbia University , New York, NY, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University , Hamilton, ON, CanadaLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The NetherlandsUniversität Heidelberg , Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Albert-Ueberle-Straße 2, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Universität Heidelberg , Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, D-69120 Heidelberg, GermanyDepartment of Physics, Drexel University , Philadelphia, PA, USA ; sean.phys@gmail.comFeedback from massive stars plays an important role in the formation of star clusters. Whether a very massive star is born early or late in the cluster formation timeline has profound implications for the star cluster formation and assembly processes. We carry out a controlled experiment to characterize the effects of early-forming massive stars on star cluster formation. We use the star formation software suite Torch , combining self-gravitating magnetohydrodynamics, ray-tracing radiative transfer, N -body dynamics, and stellar feedback, to model four initially identical 10 ^4 M _⊙ giant molecular clouds with a Gaussian density profile peaking at 521.5 cm ^−3 . Using the Torch software suite through the AMUSE framework, we modify three of the models, to ensure that the first star that forms is very massive (50, 70, and 100 M _⊙ ). Early-forming massive stars disrupt the natal gas structure, resulting in fast evacuation of the gas from the star-forming region. The star formation rate is suppressed, reducing the total mass of the stars formed. Our fiducial control model, without an early massive star, has a larger star formation rate and total efficiency by up to a factor of 3, and a higher average star formation efficiency per freefall time by up to a factor of 7. Early-forming massive stars promote the buildup of spatially separate and gravitationally unbound subclusters, while the control model forms a single massive cluster.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb0c5Astronomical simulationsYoung massive clustersStar forming regionsMassive stars |
| spellingShingle | Sean C. Lewis Stephen L. W. McMillan Mordecai-Mark Mac Low Claude Cournoyer-Cloutier Brooke Polak Martijn J. C. Wilhelm Aaron Tran Alison Sills Simon Portegies Zwart Ralf S. Klessen Joshua E. Wall Early-forming Massive Stars Suppress Star Formation and Hierarchical Cluster Assembly The Astrophysical Journal Astronomical simulations Young massive clusters Star forming regions Massive stars |
| title | Early-forming Massive Stars Suppress Star Formation and Hierarchical Cluster Assembly |
| title_full | Early-forming Massive Stars Suppress Star Formation and Hierarchical Cluster Assembly |
| title_fullStr | Early-forming Massive Stars Suppress Star Formation and Hierarchical Cluster Assembly |
| title_full_unstemmed | Early-forming Massive Stars Suppress Star Formation and Hierarchical Cluster Assembly |
| title_short | Early-forming Massive Stars Suppress Star Formation and Hierarchical Cluster Assembly |
| title_sort | early forming massive stars suppress star formation and hierarchical cluster assembly |
| topic | Astronomical simulations Young massive clusters Star forming regions Massive stars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb0c5 |
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