疏散星团M67的初始质量函数

本利用合理的成员判定方法对典型年老疏散星团Ｍ６７进行了成员判定，直接得到了该团存在空间和速度空间质量分层效应的结论。在研究ＰＤＬＦ和ＰＤＭＦ时，我们还合理地作了由分析样本不完备而带来的修正。最后，从理论上提出了一种动力学演化对疏散星团ＩＭＦ影响的简易而普适的修正方法，利用该方法得到了Ｍ６７在０．７Ｍ⊙≤Ｍ≤１．３Ｍ⊙间ＩＭＦ的斜率为－１．６７±０．０９，与Ｍｉｌｌｅｒ和Ｓｃａｌｏ场星ＩＭＦ斜率较     

疏散星团M67的初始质量函数

本文利用合理的成员判定方法对典型年老疏散星团Ｍ６７进行了成员判定，直接得到了该团存在空间和速度空间质量分层效应的结论。在研究ＰＤＬＦ和ＰＤＭＦ时，我们还合理地作了由分析样本天区不完备而带来的修正。最后，从理论上提出了一种动力学演化对疏散星团ＩＭＰ影响的简易而普适的修正方法，利用该方法得到了Ｍ６７在０．７Ｍ⊙≤Ｍ≤１．３Ｍ⊙间ＩＭＦ的斜率为－１．６７±０．０９，与Ｍｉｌｌｅｒ和Ｓｃａｌｏ场星ＩＭＦ斜率较相符，并对该值的合理性进行了讨论。     

年轻星团光度函数的演化

利用已发表的Ｔｒａｐｅｚｉｕｍ星团和ＩＣ３４８星团的Ｋ波段光度函数和作获得的ＮＧＣ６６３Ｉ波段的光度函数，将它分别与不同年龄一次形成或分批形成的模型计算结果作了比较，认为Ｔｒａｐｅｚｉｕｍ星团的年龄为５×１０＾５年，ＩＣ３４８则为４－６×１０＾６年，且它们的成员星可能是持续产生的，ＮＧＣ６６３的年龄据推算在１－３×１０＾７年之间。     

球状星团致密度及其演化

根据球状星团动力学演化理论,本文探讨了球状星团致密度的演化与球状星用质量和位置的关系。结果表明,银心距和球状星团质量都与致密度的演化紧密相关。一般来说,银心距很大时致密度演化极少,球状星团质量愈大致密度演化愈缓慢。对现有球状星团致密度的分布作了统计研究,结果表明,在银心距较小的区域,致密度的分布与理论分析结果一致。在大银心距处发现,质量不同的球状星团其致密度分布有明显不同,它可能反映了球状星团形成阶段其致密度与质量紧密相关。     

大质量年轻星团和超星团

随着观测技术的进展,在星系中观测到了越来越多的大质量年轻星团和超星团,它们不能简单地归类于银河系中的疏散星团或球状星团,因而其性质和演化意义日益为人们所关注。该文对大质量年轻星团和超星团的发现、观测特征以及演化意义进行了较为系统的概要介绍。     

球状星团的天体测量(英)

球状星团是银河系中最年老的天体之一，是储存着银河系早期演化珍贵信息的“化石”．球状星团的天体测量，主要包括球状星因天区内恒星相对自行的测定，并由这些相对自行数据采用适当方法定出星团的绝对自行，或者直接测定绝对自行．利用这些自行数据，或者进一步与测光和视向速度数据结合，可以开展与球状星团的距离、运动、动力学状况、质量、年龄、演化等等以及银河系的结构和演化等有关的一系列重要的研究．在本文中对本世纪70年代中期以来在球状星团相对自行测定和成员概率估计、内部运动检测、绝对自行测定和空间运动研究这三方面取得的成果和进展以及存在的问题作了评述．     

年轻星团光度函数的演化

利用已发表的Ｔｒａｐｅｚｉｕｍ星团和ＩＣ３４８星团的Ｋ波段光度函数和作者获得的ＮＧＣ６６３Ｉ波段的光度函数，将它们分别与不同年龄一次形成或分批形成的模型计算结果作了比较，认为Ｔｒａｐｅｚｉｕｍ星团的年龄为５×１０５年，ＩＣ３４８则为４－６×１０６年，且它们的成员星可能是持续产生的．ＮＧＣ６６３的年龄据推算在１－３×１０７年之间．     

球状星团的天体测量

球状星团是银河系中最年老的天体之一，是储存着银河系早期演化珍贵信息的“化石”。球状星团的天体测量，主要包括球状星团天区内恒星相对自行的测定，并由这些相对自行数据采用适当方法定出星团的绝对自行，或者直接测定绝对自行。利用这些自行数据，或者进一步与测光和视向速度数据结合，可以开展与球状星团的距离、运动、动力学状况、质量、年龄、演化等等以及银河系的结构和演化等有关的一系列重要的研究。在本文中对本世纪７０     

金属丰度对球状星团动力学演化的影响

动力学过程和恒星演化及二者的互相影响都会对球状星团的演化产生重要影响.由于金属丰度会影响恒星的演化轨迹,与之相伴随的恒星质量损失率的变化也会对球状星团的动力学过程造成影响.通过一系列N体模拟研究金属丰度对球状星团的质量损失率、半径等的影响,并分析其原因,同时研究了大质量恒星以及星团初始数密度分布的影响.模拟中采用的球状星团模型初始成员星数目N=50000,运行于类银河系的引力势中并考虑成员星的演化.结果显示,由于低金属丰度恒星拥有较快的演化时标,所以贫金属球状星团在早期会拥有较高的质量损失,但与此同时它们的核塌缩时间会比后者显著推迟,因此在核塌缩之后其质量损失会被富金属星团反超.另外由于大质量恒星演化导致的质量损失较大,所以大质量星的存在会使金属丰度更加显著地影响球状星团早期的扩张以及随后的核塌缩过程,同时星团的初始数密度分布也对该效应有着不可忽视的影响.     

疏散星团中蓝离散星的成员确定

准确的成员判定是星团蓝离散星研究的首要问题。本利用星团的测光、自行和视向速度等数据及观测资料，对10个较年老的疏散星团进行了蓝离散星的证认和成员确定工作，从而为进一步的研究提供了较纯的星团蓝离散星样本。     

Hierarchical star formation: stars and stellar clusters in the Gould Belt

We perform a study of the spatial and kinematical distribution of young open clusters in the solar neighbourhood, discerning between bound clusters and transient stellar condensations within our sample. Then, we discriminate between Gould Belt (GB) and local Galactic disc (LGD) members, using our previous estimate of the structural parameters of both systems obtained from a sample of O-B6 Hipparcos stars. Single membership probabilities of the clusters are also calculated in the separation process. Using this classified sample, we analyse the spatial structure and the kinematic behaviour of the cluster system in the GB. The two star formation regions that dominate and give the GB its characteristic-inclined shape show a striking difference in their content of star clusters: while Ori OB1 is richly populated by open clusters, not a single one can be found within the boundaries of Sco OB2. This is mirrored in the velocity space, translating again into an abundance of clusters in the region of the kinematic space populated by the members of Ori OB1, and a marginal number of them associated with Sco OB2. We interpret all these differences by characterizing the Orion region as a cluster complex typically surrounded by a stellar halo, and the Sco-Cen region as an OB association in the outskirts of the complex. In the light of these results, we study the nature of the GB with respect to the optical segment of the Orion Arm, and we propose that the different content of star clusters, the different heights over the Galactic plane and the different residual velocities of Ori OB1 and Sco OB2 can be explained in terms of their relative position to the density maximum of the Local Arm in the solar neighbourhood. Although morphologically intriguing, the GB appears to be the result of our local and biased view of a larger star cluster complex in the Local Arm, that could be explained by the internal dynamics of the Galactic disc.     

A revisit to agglomerates of early‐type Hipparcos stars

We study the spatial structure and sub‐structure of regions rich in Hipparcos stars with blue B_T – V_T colours. These regions, which comprise large stellar complexes, OB associations, and young open clusters, are tracers of on‐going star formation in the Galaxy. The DBSCAN (Density‐Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) data clustering algorithm is used to look for spatial overdensities of early‐type stars. Once an overdensity, “agglomerate”, is identified, we carry out a data and bibliographic compilation of their star member candidates. The actual membership in agglomerate of each early‐type star is studied based on its heliocentric distance, proper motion, and previous spectro‐photometric information. We identify 35 agglomerates of early‐type Hipparcos stars. Most of them are associated to previously known clusters and OB associations. The previously unknown P Puppis agglomerate is subject of a dedicated study with Virtual Observatory tools. It is actually a new, nearby, young open cluster (d ∼ 470 pc, age ∼ 20 Ma) with a clear radial density gradient.We list P Puppis and other six agglomerates (including NGC 2451 A, vdBH 23, and Trumpler 10) as new sites for substellar searches because of their youth, closeness, and spatial density. We investigate in detail the sub‐structure in the Orion, CMa‐Pup and Pup‐Vel OB complexes (“super‐agglomerates”). We confirm or discover some stellar overdensities in the Orion complex, like the 25 Ori group, the Horsehead region (including the σ Orionis cluster), and the η Orionis agglomerate. Finally, we derive accurate parallactic distances to the Pleiades, NGC 2451 A, and IC 2391, describe several field early‐type stars at d < 200 pc, and discuss the incompleteness of our search. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

On the mass of dense star clusters in starburst galaxies from spectrophotometry

The mass of unresolved young star clusters derived from spectrophotometric data may well be off by a factor of 2 or more once the migration of massive stars driven by mass segregation is accounted for. We quantify this effect for a large set of cluster parameters, including variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF), the intrinsic cluster mass, and mean mass density. Gas-dynamical models coupled with the Cambridge stellar evolution tracks allow us to derive a scheme to recover the real cluster mass given measured half-light radius, one-dimensional velocity dispersion and age. We monitor the evolution with time of the ratio of real to apparent mass through the parameter η. When we compute η for rich star clusters, we find non-monotonic evolution in time when the IMF stretches beyond a critical cut-off mass of  25.5 M_⊙  . We also monitor the rise of colour gradients between the inner and outer volume of clusters: we find trends in time of the stellar IMF power indices overlapping well with those derived for the Large Magellanic Cloud cluster NGC 1818 at an age of 30 Myr. We argue that the core region of massive Antennae clusters should have suffered from much segregation despite their low ages. We apply these results to a cluster mass function, and find that the peak of the mass distribution would appear to observers shifted to lower masses by as much as 0.2 dex. The star formation rate derived for the cluster population is then underestimated by from 20 to 50 per cent.     

A 'super' star cluster grown old: the most massive star cluster in the Local Group

We independently redetermine the reddening and age of the globular cluster (GC) 037−B327 in M31 by comparing independently obtained multicolour photometry with theoretical stellar population synthesis models. 037−B327 has long been known to have a very large reddening value, which we confirm to be   E ( B − V ) = 1.360 ± 0.013  , in good agreement with the previous results. We redetermine its most likely age at  12.4 ± 3.2 Gyr  .
037−B327 is a prime example of an unusually bright early counterpart to the ubiquitous 'super' star clusters presently observed in most high-intensity star-forming regions in the local Universe. In order to have survived for a Hubble time, we conclude that its stellar initial mass function (IMF) cannot have been top-heavy. Using this constraint, and a variety of simple stellar population (SSP) models, we determine a photometric mass of     , somewhat depending on the SSP models used, the metallicity and age adopted and the IMF representation. This mass, and its relatively small uncertainties, makes this object the most massive star cluster of any age in the Local Group. Assuming that the photometric mass estimate thus derived is fairly close to its dynamical mass, we predict that this GC has a (one-dimensional) velocity dispersion of the order of  (72 ± 13) km s⁻¹  . As a surviving 'super' star cluster, this object is of prime importance for theories aimed at describing massive star cluster evolution.     

Optical and submillimetre observations of Bok globules – tracing the magnetic field from low to high density

Although the stellar initial mass function (IMF) has only been directly determined in star clusters, it has been manifoldly applied on galaxy-wide scales. But taking the clustered nature of star formation into account the galaxy-wide IMF is constructed by adding all IMFs of all young star clusters leading to an integrated galactic initial mass function (IGIMF). The IGIMF is top-light compared to the canonical IMF in star clusters and steepens with decreasing total star formation rate (SFR). This discrepancy is marginal for large disc galaxies but becomes significant for Small Magellanic Cloud type galaxies and less massive ones. We here construct IGIMF-based relations between the total far- and near-ultraviolet luminosities of galaxies and the underlying SFR. We make the prediction that the Hα luminosity of star-forming dwarf galaxies decreases faster with decreasing SFR than the ultraviolet (UV) luminosity. This turn-down of the Hα/UV-flux ratio should be evident below total SFRs of  10⁻² M_⊙ yr⁻¹  .     

On the infant weight loss of low- to intermediate-mass star clusters

Star clusters are born in a highly compact configuration, typically with radii of less than about 1 pc roughly independently of mass. Since the star formation efficiency is less than 50 per cent by observation and because the residual gas is removed from the embedded cluster, the cluster must expand. In the process of doing so it only retains a fraction f _st of its stars. To date there are no observational constraints for f _st, although N -body calculations by Kroupa, Aarseth & Hurley suggest it to be about 20–30 per cent for Orion-type clusters. Here we use the data compiled by Testi et al., Testi, Palla & Natta and Testi, Palla & Natta for clusters around young Ae/Be stars and by de Wit et al. and de Wit et al. around young O stars and the study of de Zeeuw et al. of OB associations and combine these measurements with the expected number of stars in clusters with primary Ae/Be and O stars, respectively, using the empirical correlation between maximal stellar mass and star cluster mass of Weidner & Kroupa. We find that   f _st < 50  per cent with a decrease to higher cluster masses/more massive primaries. The interpretation would be that cluster formation is very disruptive. It appears that clusters with a birth stellar mass in the range  10–10³ M_⊙  keep at most 50 per cent of their stars.     

The Long-term Survival Chances of Young Massive Star Clusters

We review the long-term survival chances of young massive star clusters (YMCs), hallmarks of intense starburst episodes often associated with violent galaxy interactions. We address the key question as to whether at least some of these YMCs can be considered proto- globular clusters (GCs), in which case these would be expected to evolve into counterparts of the ubiquitous old GCs believed to be among the oldest galactic building blocks. In the absence of significant external perturbations, the key factor determining a cluster's long-term survival chances is the shape of its stellar initial mass function (IMF). It is, however, not straightforward to assess the IMF shape in unresolved extragalactic YMCs. We discuss in detail the promise of using high-resolution spectroscopy to make progress towards this goal, as well as the numerous pitfalls associated with this approach. We also discuss the latest progress in worldwide efforts to better understand the evolution of entire cluster systems, the disruption processes they are affected by, and whether we can use recently gained insights to determine the nature of at least some of the YMCs observed in extragalactic starbursts as proto-GCs. We conclude that there is an increasing body of evidence that GC formation appears to be continuing until today; their long-term evolution crucially depends on their environmental conditions, however.     

Star formation in unbound giant molecular clouds: the origin of OB associations?

We investigate the formation of star clusters in an unbound giant molecular cloud, where the supporting kinetic energy is twice as large as the cloud's self-gravity. This cloud manages to form a series of star clusters and disperse, all within roughly two crossing times (10 Myr), supporting recent claims that star formation is a rapid process. Simple assumptions about the nature of the star formation occurring in the clusters allows us to place an estimate for the star formation efficiency at about 5–10 per cent, consistent with observations. We also propose that unbound clouds can act as a mechanism for forming OB associations. The clusters that form in the cloud behave as OB subgroups. These clusters are naturally expanding from one another due to the unbound nature of the flows that create them. The properties of the cloud we present here are consistent with those of classic OB associations.