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Title:
Clustered and Triggered Star Formation in W5: Observations with Spitzer
Authors:
Koenig, Xavier P.; Allen, Lori E.; Gutermuth, Robert A.; Hora, Joseph L.; Brunt, Christopher M.; Muzerolle, James
Affiliation:
AA(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.), AB(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.), AC(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.), AD(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.), AE(The School of Physics, University of Exeter, The Queen's Drive, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QL, UK.), AF(Steward Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 688, Issue 2, pp. 1142-1158. (ApJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
12/2008
Origin:
UCP
ApJ Keywords:
ISM: H II Regions, Infrared: Stars, ISM: Globules, Stars: Early-Type, Stars: Formation, Stars: Pre-Main-Sequence
DOI:
10.1086/592322
Bibliographic Code:
2008ApJ...688.1142K

Abstract

We present images and initial results from our extensive Spitzer Space Telescope imaging survey of the W5 H II region with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS). We detect dense clusters of stars, centered on the O stars HD 18326, BD +60 586, HD 17505, and HD 17520. At 24 μm, substantial extended emission is visible, presumably from heated dust grains that survive in the strongly ionizing environment of the H II region. With photometry of more than 18,000 point sources, we analyze the clustering properties of objects classified as young stars by their IR spectral energy distributions (a total of 2064 sources) across the region using a minimal-spanning-tree algorithm. We find ~40%-70% of infrared excess sources belong to clusters with >=10 members. We find that within the evacuated cavities of the H II regions that make up W5, the ratio of Class II to Class I sources is ~7 times higher than for objects coincident with molecular gas as traced by 12CO emission and near-IR extinction maps. We attribute this contrast to an age difference between the two locations and postulate that at least two distinct generations of star formation are visible across W5. Our preliminary analysis shows that triggering is a plausible mechanism to explain the multiple generations of star formation in W5 and merits further investigation.
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