Poster abstract
The formation sites of high-mass stars
Abstract
Do massive stars form exclusively in large stellar clusters? Or can they form in relative isolation, albeit rarely? Many studies have addressed this question from a variety of angles, however they have all been limited due to the unknown frequency of runaway high-mass stars (i.e. high-mass stars that formed in clusters but have been ejected due to dynamical interactions within the dense cluster cores). We use the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (PI Evans) to by-pass this limitation. We select O-stars outside the dense cluster R136 but within 30 Doradus that have the same radial velocity as their surrounding gas, are spatially associated with large gaseous filaments, and have multiple other high-mass stars nearby (within 5-15pc) that are also associated with the same gaseous filament.
We find many examples of such stars, which rules out the possibility that they were ejected from R136 (although some clear runaways are also found). Including deep optical and near-IR imaging rules out large clusters around these stars, showing that high-mass stars can and do form in relative isolation. We briefly discuss the implications of this result.
We find many examples of such stars, which rules out the possibility that they were ejected from R136 (although some clear runaways are also found). Including deep optical and near-IR imaging rules out large clusters around these stars, showing that high-mass stars can and do form in relative isolation. We briefly discuss the implications of this result.