TY - JOUR
T1 - Clusters, clouds, and correlations
T2 - relating young clusters to giant molecular clouds in M33 and M31
AU - Peltonen, Joshua
AU - Rosolowsky, Erik
AU - Johnson, L. Clifton
AU - Seth, Anil C.
AU - Dalcanton, Julianne
AU - Bell, Eric F.
AU - Braine, Jonathan
AU - Koch, Eric W.
AU - Lazzarini, Margaret
AU - Leroy, Adam K.
AU - Skillman, Evan D.
AU - Smercina, Adam
AU - Wainer, Tobin
AU - Williams, Benjamin F.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/7/1
Y1 - 2023/7/1
N2 - We use young clusters and giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the galaxies M33 and M31 to constrain temporal and spatial scales in the star formation process. In M33, we compare the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury: Triangulum Extended Region (PHATTER) catalogue of 1214 clusters with ages measured via colour–magnitude diagram (CMD) fitting to 444 GMCs identified from a new 35 pc resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 12CO(2–1) survey. In M31, we compare the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) catalogue of 1249 clusters to 251 GMCs measured from a Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) 12CO(1–0) survey with 20 pc resolution. Through two-point correlation analysis, we find that young clusters have a high probability of being near other young clusters, but correlation between GMCs is suppressed by the cloud identification algorithm. By comparing the positions, we find that younger clusters are closer to GMCs than older clusters. Through cross-correlation analysis of the M33 cluster data, we find that clusters are statistically associated when they are ≤10 Myr old. Utilizing the high precision ages of the clusters, we find that clusters older than ≈18 Myr are uncorrelated with the molecular interstellar medium (ISM). Using the spatial coincidence of the youngest clusters and GMCs in M33, we estimate that clusters spend ≈4–6 Myr inside their parent GMC. Through similar analysis, we find that the GMCs in M33 have a total lifetime of ≈11–15 Myr. We also develop a drift model and show that the above correlations can be explained if the clusters in M33 have a 5–10 km s−1 velocity dispersion relative to the molecular ISM.
AB - We use young clusters and giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the galaxies M33 and M31 to constrain temporal and spatial scales in the star formation process. In M33, we compare the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury: Triangulum Extended Region (PHATTER) catalogue of 1214 clusters with ages measured via colour–magnitude diagram (CMD) fitting to 444 GMCs identified from a new 35 pc resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 12CO(2–1) survey. In M31, we compare the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) catalogue of 1249 clusters to 251 GMCs measured from a Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) 12CO(1–0) survey with 20 pc resolution. Through two-point correlation analysis, we find that young clusters have a high probability of being near other young clusters, but correlation between GMCs is suppressed by the cloud identification algorithm. By comparing the positions, we find that younger clusters are closer to GMCs than older clusters. Through cross-correlation analysis of the M33 cluster data, we find that clusters are statistically associated when they are ≤10 Myr old. Utilizing the high precision ages of the clusters, we find that clusters older than ≈18 Myr are uncorrelated with the molecular interstellar medium (ISM). Using the spatial coincidence of the youngest clusters and GMCs in M33, we estimate that clusters spend ≈4–6 Myr inside their parent GMC. Through similar analysis, we find that the GMCs in M33 have a total lifetime of ≈11–15 Myr. We also develop a drift model and show that the above correlations can be explained if the clusters in M33 have a 5–10 km s−1 velocity dispersion relative to the molecular ISM.
KW - ISM: clouds
KW - galaxies: individual: M31
KW - galaxies: individual: M33
KW - galaxies: star clusters: general
KW - galaxies: star formation
KW - galaxies: structure
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U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stad1430
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stad1430
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85161309606
SN - 0035-8711
VL - 522
SP - 6137
EP - 6149
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
IS - 4
ER -