A kinematic study of young stars in Monoceros OB1 and R1 associations

  • 발행 : 2021.10.13

초록

The Gaia mission opens a new window to study the kinematics and dynamics of young stellar systems in detail. The kinematic properties of young stars provide vital constraints on the formation process of their host systems. Here, we present a kinematic study of the two associations Monoceros OB1 (Mon OB1) and R1 (Mon R1). Member candidates are first selected from the published list of member candidates, a compilation of OB star catalogues, and the classification of young stellar objects with the AllWISE data. According to the conventional wisdom, we selected a total of 728 members with similar proper motions at almost the same distance. Mon OB1 and Mon R1 have high levels of substructures that are also kinematically distinct. We identify six stellar groups in these associations, of which five show a pattern of expansion. In addition, the signature of rotation is found in two stellar groups of Mon OB1. Star formation history is inferred from a color-magnitude diagram. As a result, star formation in Mon OB1 has been sustained for several million years, while Mon R1 formed at almost the same epoch as the recent star formation in Mon OB1. Some old members in the outskirt of Mon OB1 have outward motions, which rules out the previously proposed outside-in star formation scenario. Star-forming regions including Mon OB1 and Mon R1 are found along a large arc-like gas structure. Hence, the formation of these two associations may originate from the hierarchical star formation along filaments in a turbulent molecular cloud.

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