No Arabic abstract
Observations of the galactic disk at mid-infrared and longer wavelengths reveal a wealth of structures indicating the existence of complexes of recent massive star formation. However, little or nothing is known about the stellar component of those complexes. We have carried out observations aiming at the identification of early-type stars in the direction of the bright infrared source RAFGL~5475, around which several interstellar medium structures usually associated with the presence of massive stars have been identified. Our observations have the potential of revealing the suspected but thus far unknown stellar component of the region around RAFGL~5475. We have carried out near-infrared imaging observations ($JHK_S$ bands) designed to reveal the presence of early-type stars based on their positions in color-color and color-magnitude diagrams centered on the location of RAFGL~5475. We took into account the possibility that candidates found might belong to a foreground population physically related either to M16 or M17, two giant HII regions lying midway between the Sun and RAFGL~5475. The near-infrared color-color diagram shows clear evidence for the presence of a moderately obscured population of early-type stars in the region imaged. By studying the distribution of extinction in their direction and basic characteristics of the interstellar medium we show that these new early-type stars are most likely associated with RAFGL~5475. By investigating the possible existence of massive early-type stars in the direction of RAFGL~5475 we have discovered the existence of a new OB association. A very preliminary assessment of its contents suggests the presence of several O-type stars, some of them likely to be associated with structures in the interstellar medium. The new association is located at 4 kpc from the Sun in the Scutum-Centaurus arm.
We report the detection of a pair of degree-long tidal tails associated with the globular cluster Palomar 14, using images obtained at the CFHT. We reveal a power-law departure from a King profile at large distances to the cluster center. The density map constructed with the optimal matched filter technique shows a nearly symmetrical and elongated distribution of stars on both sides of the cluster, forming a S-shape characteristic of mass loss. This evidence may be the telltale signature of tidal stripping in action. This, together with its large Galactocentric distance, imposes strong constraints on its orbit and/or origin: i) it must follow an external orbit confined to the peripheral region of the Galactic halo and/or ii) it formed in a satellite galaxy later accreted by the Milky Way.
A study of the stellar population of the M31 spiral arm around OB association A24 was carried out based on the photometric data obtained from deep V and JHK imaging. The luminosity function was obtained for -7 <~ Mbol <~ -3.5 by applying the extinction correction corresponding to Av=1 and the bolometric correction BC(K) as an empirical function of (J-K)o. In comparing the observed color-luminosity diagrams with semitheoretical isochrones modified for the dust-shell effects, we found the young population of t <~ 30 Myr with supergiants of Mbol <~ -5, the bulk of the intermediate-age population of t ~ 0.2 - 2.5 Gyr with bright asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars of -5 <~ Mbol <~ -4, and old populations of t ~> 3 Gyr with AGB and red giant branch (RGB) stars of Mbol ~> -4. The average star formation rate was estimated to be ~1.8x10^4 M_o/Myr and ~0.7x10^4 M_o/Myr per deprojected disk area of 1 kpc^2 from the number density of B0 V stars around Mv=-4.0 (age ~10 Myr) and the number density of bright AGB stars around Mbol = -4.3 (age ~1 Gyr), respectively. A study of the local variation in the V and the J and H luminosity functions revealed a kind of anticorrelation between the population of the young component and that of the intermediate-age component when subdomains of ~100 pc scales were concerned. This finding suggests that the disk domain around the A24 area experienced a series of star formation episodes alternatively among different subdomains with a timescale of a few spiral passage periods. Brief discussions are given about the interstellar extinction and about the lifetimes of bright AGB stars and the highly red objects (HROs) in the same area.
We use Gaia DR2 data to survey the classic Monoceros OB1 region and look for the existence of a dispersed young population, co-moving with the cloud complex. An analysis of the distribution of proper motions reveals a 20-30 Myr association of young stars, about 300-400 pc away from the far side of the Mon OB1 complex, along the same general line-of-sight. We characterize the new association, Monoceros OB4, and estimate it contains between 1400 and 2500 stars, assuming a standard IMF, putting it on par in size with NGC,2264. We find from the internal proper motions that Mon OB4 is unbound and expanding. Our results seem to unveil a larger and more complex Monoceros star formation region, suggesting an elongated arrangement that seems to be at least 300 x 60 pc.
The Ara OB1a association is one of the closest sites where triggered star formation is visible for multiple generations of massive stars. At about 1.3 kpc distance, it contains complex environments including cleared young clusters, embedded infrared clusters, CO clouds with no evidence of star formation, and clouds with evidence of ongoing star formation. In this review we discuss the research on this region spanning the last half-century. It has been proposed that the current configuration is the result of an expanding wave of neutral gas set in motion between 10--40 million years ago in combination with photoionization from the current epoch.
We confirm and characterize a close-in ($P_{rm{orb}}$ = 5.425 days), super-Neptune sized ($5.04^{+0.34}_{-0.37}$ Earth radii) planet transiting K2-33 (2MASS J16101473-1919095), a late-type (M3) pre-main sequence (11 Myr-old) star in the Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association. The host star has the kinematics of a member of the Upper Scorpius OB association, and its spectrum contains lithium absorption, an unambiguous sign of youth (<20 Myr) in late-type dwarfs. We combine photometry from K2 and the ground-based MEarth project to refine the planets properties and constrain the host stars density. We determine ames bolometric flux and effective temperature from moderate resolution spectra. By utilizing isochrones that include the effects of magnetic fields, we derive a precise radius (6-7%) and mass (16%) for the host star, and a stellar age consistent with the established value for Upper Scorpius. Follow-up high-resolution imaging and Doppler spectroscopy confirm that the transiting object is not a stellar companion or a background eclipsing binary blended with the target. The shape of the transit, the constancy of the transit depth and periodicity over 1.5 years, and the independence with wavelength rules out stellar variability, or a dust cloud or debris disk partially occulting the star as the source of the signal; we conclude it must instead be planetary in origin. The existence of K2-33b suggests close-in planets can form in situ or migrate within $sim 10$ Myr, e.g., via interactions with a disk, and that long-timescale dynamical migration such as by Lidov-Kozai or planet-planet scattering is not responsible for all short-period planets.