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Title:
Star formation in unbound giant molecular clouds: the origin of OB associations?
Authors:
Clark, Paul C.; Bonnell, Ian A.; Zinnecker, Hans; Bate, Matthew R.
Affiliation:
AA(School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS), AB(School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS), AC(Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam, Germany), AD(School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL)
Publication:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 359, Issue 3, pp. 809-818. (MNRAS Homepage)
Publication Date:
05/2005
Origin:
MNRAS
Astronomy Keywords:
turbulence, stars: formation, stars: general, stars: luminosity function, mass function, ISM: clouds
DOI:
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08942.x
Bibliographic Code:
2005MNRAS.359..809C

Abstract

We investigate the formation of star clusters in an unbound giant molecular cloud, where the supporting kinetic energy is twice as large as the cloud's self-gravity. This cloud manages to form a series of star clusters and disperse, all within roughly two crossing times (10Myr), supporting recent claims that star formation is a rapid process. Simple assumptions about the nature of the star formation occurring in the clusters allows us to place an estimate for the star formation efficiency at about 5-10 per cent, consistent with observations. We also propose that unbound clouds can act as a mechanism for forming OB associations. The clusters that form in the cloud behave as OB subgroups. These clusters are naturally expanding from one another due to the unbound nature of the flows that create them. The properties of the cloud we present here are consistent with those of classic OB associations.

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