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| EPoS Contribution |
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Understanding Spiral-arm Star Formation in Cygnus
Nick Wright Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA | |
| Galactic spiral arms are thought to be the main sites of star formation in late-type galaxies, and the homes of giant molecular clouds with masses up to 10^6 Msun. From observations of other galaxies, star formation in spiral arms appears to be vigorous, dense and complicated. Stellar feedback, triggering and complex dynamical evolution are important processes in the formation and evolution of these regions. One of the closest examples of such regions is Cygnus X and its powerhouse of OB stars, Cygnus OB2. We present multi-wavelength observations of the core of Cyg OB2, probing the current conditions and properties of the region and its star formation history. We will also present a first look at results from the 1 Ms Chandra Legacy Survey of Cygnus OB2. | |
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| Caption: Mass functions (MF) for all sources in Cygnus OB2 with masses derived from near-IR photometry and existing spectroscopic observations. Left: MF for all stars in both Chandra fields. Right: MF for the central (full line) and outer (dashed line) fields. Fits to the MFs within the completeness limits are shown and have Salpeter-like slopes. The MF steepens at high masses (> 20 Msun), which we suggest is caused by the demise of the highest mass members in the oldest component of the association. | |
| Collaborators: J.J. Drake, HSCfA, USA |
Key publication
Suggested Session: Massive Stars, Molecular Clouds |