The VMC Survey. XXII. Hierarchical Star Formation in the 30 Doradus-N158–N159–N160 Star-forming Complex

Journal Article · Wed Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 2017 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/835/2/171· OSTI ID:22869494

Sun, Ning-Chen; Grijs, Richard de; Subramanian, Smitha ^[1]; Cioni, Maria-Rosa L. ^[2]; Rubele, Stefano ^[3]; Bekki, Kenji ^[4]; Ivanov, Valentin D. ^[5]; Piatti, Andrés E. ^[6]; Ripepi, Vincenzo ^[7]

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1. Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Yi He Yuan Lu 5, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100871 (China)
2. Universität Potsdam, Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, Potsdam D-14476 (Germany)
3. Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova—INAF, vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, Padova I-35122 (Italy)
4. ICRAR, M468, The University of Western Astralia 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley Western Astralia, 6009 (Australia)
5. ESO European Southern Observatory, Ave. Alonso de Cordova 3107, Casilla 19 (Chile)
6. Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Laprida 854, 5000, Córdoba (Argentina)
7. INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, I-80131 Naples (Italy)

We study the hierarchical stellar structures in a ∼1.5 deg{sup 2} area covering the 30 Doradus-N158–N159–N160 star-forming complex with the VISTA Survey of Magellanic Clouds. Based on the young upper main-sequence stars, we find that the surface densities cover a wide range of values, from log(Σ⋅pc{sup 2}) ≲ −2.0 to log(Σ⋅pc{sup 2}) ≳ 0.0. Their distributions are highly non-uniform, showing groups that frequently have subgroups inside. The sizes of the stellar groups do not exhibit characteristic values, and range continuously from several parsecs to more than 100 pc; the cumulative size distribution can be well described by a single power law, with the power-law index indicating a projected fractal dimension D{sub 2} = 1.6 ± 0.3. We suggest that the phenomena revealed here support a scenario of hierarchical star formation. Comparisons with other star-forming regions and galaxies are also discussed.

• OSTI ID: 22869494
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 835; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DENSITY
DISTRIBUTION
GALAXY CLUSTERS
INFRARED SPECTRA
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
MAIN SEQUENCE STARS
STAR EVOLUTION