Super Star Clusters in Starburst Galaxies

在恒星爆发星系中形成的超星团(SSCs)是由大小和质量与球状星团相当的超星团(SSCs)主导的，这表明SSCs可能是年轻的球状星团。在这一领域有许多悬而未决的问题：是什么物理条件导致了SSC的形成？这种恒星形成模式如何适应我们的银河系恒星形成模式？在SSCs中形成的恒星比例是多少？SSCs和球状星团之间有什么联系？这项工作的核心是利用双子座和凯克望远镜获得的观测时间，对最近的星暴合并-天线星系中的SSC群体进行红外光谱和成像研究。天线中最年轻的SSC集中在巨型分子云复合体所在的两个原子核之间的尘埃重叠区域，也是中红外强度峰值的地方。将在这里进行的红外观测比以前的哈勃太空望远镜数据的消光小一个数量级，对于减少与变红有关的系统误差和量化整个年龄和灭绝范围内的SSCs的特性至关重要。

AST 0205999Graham, J RStar formation in starburst galaxies is dominated by super star clusters (SSCs) whose sizes and masses are comparable to those of globular clusters, suggesting that SSCs may be young globular clusters. There are many outstanding questions in this field: What physical conditions lead to the formation of SSCs? How does this mode of star formation fit into our paradigm for Galactic star formation? What fraction of stars forms in SSCs? What is the connection between SSCs and globular clusters? The centerpiece of this work is an IR spectroscopic and imaging study of the SSC population in the nearest starburst merger, the Antennae Galaxies, using observing time which has been awarded on the Gemini and Keck telescopes. The youngest SSCs in the Antennae are concentrated in the dusty overlap region between the two nuclei where giant molecular cloud complexes reside and where the mid-IR intensity peaks. The infrared observations to be conducted here, which suffer an order of magnitude less extinction than previous Hubble Space Telescope data, are essential to reduce the systematic errors associated with reddening and to quantify the properties of SSCs over the full range of ages and extinctions.