Bimodal regime in young massive clusters leading to formation of subsequent stellar generations

Wunsch, R.; Palous, Jan; Tenorio-Tagle, Guillermo; Munoz-Tunon, C.; Ehlerova, Sona
Bibliographical reference

IAU General Assembly, Meeting #29, #2254808

Advertised on:
8
2015
Number of authors
5
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Massive stars in young massive clusters insert tremendous amounts of mass and energy into their surroundings in the form of stellar winds and supernova ejecta. Mutual shock-shock collisions lead to formation of hot gas, filling the volume of the cluster. The pressure of this gas then drives a powerful cluster wind. However, it has been shown that if the cluster is massive and dense enough, it can evolve in the so called bimodal regime, in which the hot gas inside the cluster becomes thermally unstable and forms dense clumps which are trapped inside the cluster by its gravity.We will review works on the bimodal regime and discuss the implications for the formation of subsequent stellar generations. The mass accumulates inside the cluster and as soon as a high enough column density is reached, the interior of the clumps becomes self-shielded against the ionising radiation of, stars and the clumps collapse and form new stars. The second stellar generation will be enriched by products of the stellar evolution of the first generation, and will be concentrated near the cluster center.