Type of very massive young open cluster thought to be the precursor of a globular cluster
A super star cluster (SSC) is a very massive young open cluster that is thought to be the precursor of a globular cluster.[1] These clusters called "super" because they are relatively more luminous and contain more mass than other young star clusters.[2] The SSC, however, does not have to physically be larger than other clusters of lower mass and luminosity.[3] They typically contain a very large number of young, massive stars that ionize a surrounding HII region or a so-called "Ultra dense HII region (UDHII)" in the Milky Way Galaxy[4] or in other galaxies (however, SSCs do not always have to be inside an HII region). An SSC's HII region is in turn surrounded by a cocoon of dust. In many cases, the stars and the HII regions will be invisible to observations in certain wavelengths of light, such as the visible spectrum, due to high levels of extinction. As a result, the youngest SSCs are best observed and photographed in radio and infrared.[5] SSCs, such as Westerlund 1 (Wd1), have been found in the Milky Way Galaxy.[6] However, most have been observed in farther regions of the universe. In the galaxy M82 alone, 197 young SSCs have been observed and identified using the Hubble Space Telescope.[7]
Generally, SSCs have been seen to form in the interactions between galaxies and in regions of high amounts of star formation with high enough pressures to satisfy the properties needed for the formation of a star cluster.[2] These regions can include newer galaxies with much new star formation, dwarf starburst galaxies,[8] arms of a spiral galaxy that have a high star formation rate, and in the merging of galaxies. In an Astronomical Journal published in 1996, using pictures taken in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum by the Hubble Space Telescope of star-forming rings in five different barred galaxies, numerous star clusters were found in clumps within the rings which had high rates of star formation. These clusters were found to have masses of about M☉ to M☉, ages of about 100 Myr, and radii of about 5 pc, and are thought to evolve into globular clusters later in their lifetimes.[9] These properties match those found in SSCs.
^Gallagher & Grebel (2002). "Extragalactic Star Clusters: Speculations on the Future". Extragalactic Star Clusters, IAU Symposium. 207: 207. arXiv:astro-ph/0109052. Bibcode:2002IAUS..207..745G.
^ abJohnson, Kelsey (2001). "The Properties of Super Star Clusters In A Sample of Starburst Galaxies" (PDF). Bibcode:2001PhDT.......182J. S2CID 117321058. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-27. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Kobulnicky, Henry A. & Johnson, Kelsey E. (1999). "Signatures of the Youngest Starbursts: Optically Thick Thermal Bremsstrahlung Radio Sources in Henize 2-10". Astrophysical Journal. 527 (1): 154–166. arXiv:astro-ph/9907233. Bibcode:1999ApJ...527..154K. doi:10.1086/308075. S2CID 15431678.
^Johnson (2004). "Extragalactic Ultracompact HII Regions: Probing the Birth Environments of Super Star Clusters". ASP Conference Series. 527: 322. arXiv:astro-ph/0405125. Bibcode:2004ASPC..322..339J.
^"Super Star Cluster Discovered in Our Own Milky Way - Universe Today". Universe Today. 2005-03-22. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
^Melo, V. P.; Muñoz-Tuñón, C.; Maíz-Apellániz, J.; Tenorio-Tagle, G. (2005-01-01). "Young Super Star Clusters in the Starburst of M82: The Catalog". The Astrophysical Journal. 619 (1): 270. arXiv:astro-ph/0409750. Bibcode:2005ApJ...619..270M. doi:10.1086/426421. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 16452890.
^Hunter, Deidre A.; O'Connell, Robert W. (2000). "The Star Clusters in the Starburst Irregular Galaxy NGC 1569". The Astronomical Journal. 20 (5): 2383–2401. arXiv:astro-ph/0009280. Bibcode:2000AJ....120.2383H. doi:10.1086/316810. S2CID 6445978.
^Maoz, D.; Barth, A. J.; Sternberg, A.; Filippenko, A. V.; Ho, L. C.; Macchetto, F. D.; Rix, H.-W.; Schneider, D. P. (1996-06-01). "Hubble Space Telescope Ultraviolet Images of Five Circumnuclear Star-Forming Rings". The Astronomical Journal. 111: 2248. arXiv:astro-ph/9604012. Bibcode:1996AJ....111.2248M. doi:10.1086/117960. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 12241545.
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