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Register a new userSpectroscopic characterization of the known O-star population in Cygnus OB2. Evidence of multiple star-forming bursts
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Added by
Sara Rodriguez Berlanas
Publication date
2020
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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Cygnus OB2 provides a unique insight into the high-mass stellar content in one of the largest groups of young massive stars in our Galaxy. Although several studies of its massive population have been carried out over the last decades, an extensive spectroscopic study of the whole known O-star population in the association is still lacking. In this work, we created the most complete spectroscopic census of O stars carried out so far in Cygnus OB2 using already existing and new spectroscopy. We present the spectra for 78 O-type stars, from which we identify new binary systems, obtain the distribution of rotational velocities, and determine the main stellar parameters for all the stars in the region that have not been detected as double-line spectroscopic binaries. We also derive radii, luminosities, and masses for those stars with reliable Gaia astrometry, in addition to creating the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram to interpret the evolutionary status of the association. This work has shown the improvement reached when using accurate spectroscopic parameters and astrometry for the interpretation of the evolutionary status of a population, revealing, in the case of Cygnus OB2, at least two star-forming bursts at $sim$3 and $sim$5 Myr. We find an apparent deficit of very fast rotators in the distribution of rotational velocities. The inspection of the dynamical distribution of the sample has allowed us to identify nine O stars with peculiar proper motions and discuss a possible dynamical ejection scenario or past supernova explosions in the region.
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The formation of stars in massive clusters is one of the main modes of the star formation process. However, the study of massive star forming regions is hampered by their typically large distances to the Sun. One exception to this is the massive star forming region Cygnus OB2 in the Cygnus X region, at the distance of about 1400 pc. Cygnus OB2 hosts very rich populations of massive and low-mass stars, being the best target in our Galaxy to study the formation of stars, circumstellar disks, and planets in presence of massive stars. In this paper we combine a wide and deep set of photometric data, from the r band to 24 micron, in order to select the disk bearing population of stars in Cygnus OB2 and identify the class I, class II, and stars with transition and pre-transition disks. We selected 1843 sources with infrared excesses in an area of 1 degree x 1 degree centered on Cyg OB2 in several evolutionary stages: 8.4% class I, 13.1% flat-spectrum sources, 72.9% class II, 2.3% pre-transition disks, and 3.3% transition disks. The spatial distribution of these sources shows a central cluster surrounded by a annular overdensity and some clumps of recent star formation in the outer region. Several candidate subclusters are identified, both along the overdensity and in the rest of the association.
We analyze the X-ray spectra of the $sim$8000 sources detected in the Cygnus OB2 Chandra Legacy Survey (Drake et al., this issue), with the goals of characterizing the coronal plasma of the young low-mass stars in the region and estimating their intrinsic X-ray luminosities. We adopt two different strategies for X-ray sources for which more or less than 20 photons were detected. For the brighter sample we fit the spectra with absorbed isothermal models. In order to limit uncertainties, for most of the fainter Cygnus OB2 members in this sample, we constrain the spectral parameters to characteristic ranges defined from the brightest stars. For X-ray sources with $<$20 net photons we adopt a conversion factor from detected photon flux to intrinsic flux. This was defined, building on the results for the previous sample, as a function of the 20% quantile of the detected photon energy distributions, which we prove to also correlate well with extinction. We then use the X-ray extinction from the spectral fits to constrain the ratio between optical and X-ray extinction toward Cygnus OB2, finding it consistent with standard Galactic values, when properly accounting for systematics. Finally we exploit the large number of sources to constrain the average coronal abundances of several elements, through two different ensemble analyses of the X-ray spectra of low-mass Cygnus OB2 members. We find the pattern of abundances to be largely consistent with that derived for the young stellar coronae in the Orion Nebula Cluster.
The kinematic structure of the Cygnus OB2 association is investigated. No evidence of expansion or contraction is found at any scale within the region. Stars that are within $sim$ 0.5 parsecs of one another are found to have more similar velocities than would be expected by random chance, and so it is concluded that velocity substructure exists on these scales. At larger scales velocity substructure is not found. We suggest that bound substructures exist on scales of $sim$ 0.5 parsecs, despite the region as a whole being unbound. We further suggest that any velocity substructure that existed on scales > 0.5 parsecs has been erased. The results of this study are then compared to those of other kinematic studies of Cygnus OB2.
The Cygnus-X star-forming complex is one of the most active regions of low and high mass star formation within 2 kpc of the Sun. Using mid-infrared photometry from the IRAC and MIPS Spitzer Cygnus-X Legacy Survey, we have identified over 1800 protostar candidates. We compare the protostellar luminosity functions of two regions within Cygnus-X: CygX-South and CygX-North. These two clouds show distinctly different morphologies suggestive of dissimilar star-forming environments. We find the luminosity functions of these two regions are statistically different. Furthermore, we compare the luminosity functions of protostars found in regions of high and low stellar density within Cygnus-X and find that the luminosity function in regions of high stellar density is biased to higher luminosities. In total, these observations provide further evidence that the luminosities of protostars depend on their natal environment. We discuss the implications this dependence has for the star formation process.
Stellar kinematics provides the key to understanding the formation process and dynamical evolution of stellar systems. Here, we present a kinematic study of the massive star-forming region W4 in the Cassiopeia OB6 association using the Gaia Data Release 2 and high-resolution optical spectra. This star-forming region is composed of a core cluster (IC 1805) and a stellar population distributed over 20 pc, which is a typical structural feature found in many OB associations. According to a classical model, this structural feature can be understood in the context of the dynamical evolution of a star cluster. The core-extended structure exhibits internally different kinematic properties. Stars in the core have an almost isotropic motion, and they appear to reach virial equilibrium given their velocity dispersion (0.9 +/- 0.3 km/s) comparable to that in a virial state (~0.8 km/s). On the other hand, the distributed population shows a clear pattern of radial expansion. From the N-body simulation for the dynamical evolution of a model cluster in subvirial state, we reproduce the observed structure and kinematics of stars. This model cluster experiences collapse for the first 2 Myr. Some members begin to radially escape from the cluster after the initial collapse, eventually forming a distributed population. The internal structure and kinematics of the model cluster appear similar to those of W4. Our results support the idea that the stellar population distributed over 20 pc in W4 originate from the dynamical evolution of IC 1805.
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