Bibcode
Calzetti, D.; Johnson, K. E.; Adamo, A.; Gallagher, J. S., III; Andrews, J. E.; Smith, L. J.; Clayton, G. C.; Lee, J. C.; Sabbi, E.; Ubeda, L.; Kim, H.; Ryon, J. E.; Thilker, D.; Bright, S. N.; Zackrisson, E.; Kennicutt, R. C.; de Mink, S. E.; Whitmore, B. C.; Aloisi, A.; Chandar, R.; Cignoni, M.; Cook, D.; Dale, D. A.; Elmegreen, B. G.; Elmegreen, D. M.; Evans, A. S.; Fumagalli, M.; Gouliermis, D. A.; Grasha, K.; Grebel, E. K.; Krumholz, M. R.; Walterbos, R.; Wofford, A.; Brown, T. M.; Christian, C.; Dobbs, C.; Herrero, A.; Kahre, L.; Messa, M.; Nair, P.; Nota, A.; Östlin, G.; Pellerin, A.; Sacchi, E.; Schaerer, D.; Tosi, M.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 811, Issue 2, article id. 75, 26 pp. (2015).
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2015
Journal
Citations
63
Refereed citations
54
Description
The nearby dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 5253 hosts a number of young,
massive star clusters, the two youngest of which are centrally
concentrated and surrounded by thermal radio emission (the “radio
nebula”). To investigate the role of these clusters in the
starburst energetics, we combine new and archival Hubble Space Telescope
images of NGC 5253 with wavelength coverage from 1500 Å to 1.9
μm in 13 filters. These include Hα, Pβ, and Pα, and
the imaging from the Hubble Treasury Program LEGUS (Legacy Extragalactic
UV Survey). The extraordinarily well-sampled spectral energy
distributions enable modeling with unprecedented accuracy the ages,
masses, and extinctions of the nine optically brightest clusters
(MV <‑8.8) and the two young radio nebula clusters.
The clusters have ages ∼1–15 Myr and masses ∼1 ×
104–2.5 × 105 M⊙. The
clusters’ spatial location and ages indicate that star formation
has become more concentrated toward the radio nebula over the last
∼15 Myr. The most massive cluster is in the radio nebula; with a
mass ∼2.5 × 105 M⊙ and an age ∼1
Myr, it is 2–4 times less massive and younger than previously
estimated. It is within a dust cloud with AV ∼ 50 mag,
and shows a clear near-IR excess, likely from hot dust. The second radio
nebula cluster is also ∼1 Myr old, confirming the extreme youth of
the starburst region. These two clusters account for about half of the
ionizing photon rate in the radio nebula, and will eventually supply
about 2/3 of the mechanical energy in present-day shocks. Additional
sources are required to supply the remaining ionizing radiation, and may
include very massive stars.
Based on observations obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,
at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA
contract NAS 5-26555.
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Physical properties and evolution of Massive Stars
This project aims at the searching, observation and analysis of massive stars in nearby galaxies to provide a solid empirical ground to understand their physical properties as a function of those key parameters that gobern their evolution (i.e. mass, spin, metallicity, mass loss, and binary interaction). Massive stars are central objects to
Sergio
Simón Díaz