Progressive star formation in the young SMC cluster NGC 602

dc.creatorCarlson, Lynn Redding
dc.creatorSabbi, E.
dc.creatorSirianni, M.
dc.creatorHora, J. L.
dc.creatorNota, A.
dc.creatorMeixner, M.
dc.creatorGallagher III, J. S.
dc.creatorOey, M. S.
dc.creatorPasquali, A.
dc.creatorSmith, L. J.
dc.creatorTosi, M.
dc.creatorWalterbos, R.
dc.date2007-08-08
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T08:22:47Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T08:22:47Z
dc.descriptionNGC 602 is a young stellar cluster located in a peripheral region of the Small Magellanic Cloud known as the wing. Far from the main body of the galaxy and abutting the Magellanic Bridge, the SMC's wing is characterized by low gas and stellar content. With deep optical imaging from the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we have discovered an extensive pre-Main Sequence (PMS) population, with stellar masses in the range 0.6-3 Solar masses. These low mass PMS stars formed coevally with the central cluster about 4 Myr ago. Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) images of the same region from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) also reveal a population of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs), some of which are still embedded in nebular material and most of which likely formed even more recently than the young stars detected with HST/ACS imaging. We infer that star formation started in this region about 4 Myr ago with the formation of the central cluster and gradually propagated towards the outskirts where star formation is presently ongoing.
dc.descriptionAccepted to ApJL; 14 pages, 5 figures
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/0708.1138
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/0708.1138
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/135771
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleProgressive star formation in the young SMC cluster NGC 602
dc.typetext

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