PHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF THE MASS ACCRETION RATES OF PRE-MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS. IV. RECENT STAR FORMATION IN NGC 602
- European Space Agency, Space Science Department, Keplerlaan 1, 2200 AG Noordwijk (Netherlands)
- European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str.2, D-85748 Garching (Germany)
- Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)
We have studied the young stellar populations in NGC 602, in the Small Magellanic Cloud, using a novel method that we have developed to combine Hubble Space Telescope photometry in the V, I, and Hα bands. We have identified about 300 pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars, all of which are still undergoing active mass accretion, and have determined their physical parameters (effective temperature, luminosity, age, mass, and mass accretion rate). Our analysis shows that star formation has been present in this field over the last 60 Myr. In addition, we can recognize at least two clear, distinct, and prominent episodes in the recent past: one about 2 Myr ago, but still ongoing in regions of higher nebulosity, and one (or more) older than 30 Myr, encompassing both stars dispersed in the field and two smaller clusters located about 100'' north of the center of NGC 602. The relative locations of younger and older PMS stars do not imply a causal effect or triggering of one generation on the other. The strength of the two episodes appears to be comparable, but the episodes occurring more than 30 Myr ago might have been even stronger than the current one. We have investigated the evolution of the mass accretion rate, M-dot{sub acc}, as a function of the stellar parameters finding that log M-dot{sub acc}≅-0.6 log t + log m + c, where t is the age of the star, m is its mass, and c is a decreasing function of the metallicity.
- OSTI ID:
- 22270955
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 775, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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