Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013
Poster 1G013
ON THE FRACTION OF STARS FORMING IN BOUND CLUSTERS; THE CASE OF M83
Adamo, Angela (Max Planck Institute fur Astronomie, MPIA)
Silva-Villa, Esteban (University of Laval, CRAQ)
Bastian, Nate (Liverpool John Moores University)
Abstract:
Recent observations, as well as theoretical studies, have suggested that stellar cluster formation may depend on local and global environmental properties. In particular, the fraction of stars that form within long-lived bound clusters (Γ) may depend on environment, with indications that it may be higher in the more extreme environments of high star-formation rate galaxies. How Γ varies has important implications on the use of clusters to determine the star-formation histories of galaxies as well as our understand of the star-formation process itself. Previous studies have estimated Γ over full galaxies, making it difficult to discern the physical cause of the reported variations. Here, we use existing star cluster catalogues and HST-WFC3 V and I images of the grand design, face-on spiral galaxy M83, in order to see if, and how, Γ varies within a single galaxy. We find that Γ decreases strongly as a function of galactocentric radius, by a factor of ∼5 over the inner ∼5 kpc.
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