THERE ARE NO STARLESS MASSIVE PROTO-CLUSTERS IN THE FIRST QUADRANT OF THE GALAXY

We search the [lambda] = 1.1 mm Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey for clumps containing sufficient mass to form ~10 super(4) M sub([middot in circle]) star clusters. Eighteen candidate massive proto-clusters are identified in the first Galactic quadrant outside of the central kiloparsec. This sample is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAstrophysical journal. Letters Vol. 758; no. 2; pp. 1 - 5
Main Authors Ginsburg, A, BRESSERT, E, Bally, J, Battersby, C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 20.10.2012
Subjects
Aircraft detection
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Clumps
Clusters
Formations
GALAXIES
LIFETIME
Massive stars
Quadrants
STAR CLUSTERS
Star formation
STARS
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Summary:We search the [lambda] = 1.1 mm Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey for clumps containing sufficient mass to form ~10 super(4) M sub([middot in circle]) star clusters. Eighteen candidate massive proto-clusters are identified in the first Galactic quadrant outside of the central kiloparsec. This sample is complete to clumps with mass M sub(clump) > 10 super(4) M sub([middot in circle]) and radius r [<, ~] 2.5 pc. The overall Galactic massive cluster formation rate is CFR(M sub(cluster) > 10 super(4)) [<, ~] 5 Myr super(-1), which is in agreement with the rates inferred from Galactic open clusters and M31 massive clusters. We find that all massive proto-clusters in the first quadrant are actively forming massive stars and place an upper limit of [tau] sub(starless) < 0.5 Myr on the lifetime of the starless phase of massive cluster formation. If massive clusters go through a starless phase with all of their mass in a single clump, the lifetime of this phase is very short.
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ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/758/2/L29