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| EPoS Contribution |
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Massive star formation in M31
Wolfgang Brandner Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg, Germany | |
| Our studies of massive star formation events in the Milky Way is still biased towards the solar quadrant, as extinction and field contamination by foreground stars severely hamper our ability to identify and investigate star forming regions on the far side of the Milky Way in greater detail. The spiral galaxy M31 on the other hand offers a complete sample of giant HII regions and starburst events, which are all located at virtually the same distance, and - because of our vantage point of view above the plane of the M31 disk - exhibit little degree of contamination by foreground stars and small amounts of foreground extinction. In addition, compared to more distant galaxies, we can still study resolved stellar populations in M31. We will review the global properties of massive star formation in the disk of M31 based on recent ground- and space-based observations in an effort to establish a link between Milky Way starburst clusters and more distant massive star forming regions, and highlight the similarities and differences between the most luminous giant HII regions in M31 and the Milky Way, including their central starburst clusters. | |
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| Caption: Comparison of optical and SPITZER/IRAC observations of one of the most active star forming regions in the disk of M31. Thus 1 kpc x 0.75 kpc region houses multiple luminous HII regions with central ionizing clusters, surrounded by dense molecular clouds with still partially embedded YSOs. | |
| Collaborators: Mario Gennaro, MPIA, Germany Natalia Kudryavtseva, MPIA, Germany Boyke Rochau, MPIA, Germany Andrea Stolte, University of Cologne, Germany Benjamin Hussmann, University of Cologne, Germany Hans Zinnecker, AIP, Germany |
Key publication
Suggested Session: Massive Stars, Molecular Clouds |