Stellar Content of the Massive Young Open Cluster Westerlund 2

  • Hur, Hyeonoh (Department of Astronomy and Space Science, Sejong University) ;
  • Park, Byeong-Gon (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) ;
  • Sung, Hwankyung (Department of Astronomy and Space Science, Sejong University) ;
  • Lim, Beomdu (Department of Astronomy and Space Science, Sejong University) ;
  • Chun, Moo-Young (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) ;
  • Bessell, Michael S. (Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, ANU) ;
  • Sohn, Sangmo Tony (Space Telescope Science Institute)
  • 발행 : 2014.04.10

초록

We report the spatial distribution of early-type stars and pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars around the starburst type young open cluster Westerlund 2. The early-type were selected from UBVI photometric data, while the PMS members were identified from their X-ray emission and mid-infrared excess. The northern clump of the cluster is composed mainly of PMS stars detected in both optical and X-ray and seems to be coeval to the cluster, while PMS stars in the bright bridge region are highly obscured in optical wavelength. The bright bridge appear to be an on-going star forming region possibly triggered by the strong radiation field from both sides-massive stars in Westerlund 2 and WR 20b. We also found that there are many early-type stars not only in the cluster but also farther from the cluster up to several times of the cluster radius. These early-type stars are well aligned from east to southwest of the cluster. We conclude these early-type stars are members of an OB association in the RCW 49 nebula. This report indicates there is a complex star formation history in Westerlund 2 and its surrounding H II region, the RCW 49 nebula.

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