Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013
Poster 1G019
The effect of stellar dynamics on the distribution of YSOs
Moeckel, Nickolas (University Observatory Munich)
Abstract:
Based on observations and simulations, our understanding of stellar birth sites is evolving from ’most
stars form in clusters’ to something more akin to ’most stars form in a wide variety of clusterings and
associations’. Determining what the observed distribution of YSOs tells us about the star formation
process is the next question. In this poster I summarize some recent work that points out that
collisional stellar dynamics can leave an early imprint (i.e. ages less than a few Myr) on YSO positions,
with a simple toy model in which ’every star forms in a dense cluster’ quickly reproducing the observed
distribution of YSO surface densities. The direct use of locations at a few Myr to determine stellar birth
environments is not as straightforward as it might seem.
Click here to view poster PDF