2008/05/14 by S. Schmeja, M. S. N. Kumar, B. Ferreira +1
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13442.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 389 (2008) 1209 · 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted by MNRAS
arxiv created 2008/05/14 · openalex publication_date 2008/08/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The young stellar population data of the Perseus, Ophiuchus and Serpens molecular clouds are obtained from the Spitzer Cores to Discs (c2d) legacy survey in order to investigate the spatial structure of embedded clusters using the nearest-neighbour (NN) and minimum-spanning tree method. We identify the embedded clusters in these clouds as density enhancements and analyse the clustering parameter with respect to source luminosity and evolutionary stage. This analysis shows that the older Class 2/3 objects are more centrally condensed than the younger Class 0/1 protostars, indicating that clusters evolve from an initial hierarchical configuration to a centrally condensed one. Only IC 348 and the Serpens core, the older clusters in the sample, show signs of mass segregation (indicated by the dependence of on the source magnitude), pointing to a significant effect of dynamical interactions after a few Myr. The structure of a cluster may also be linked to the turbulent energy in the natal cloud as the most centrally condensed cluster is found in the cloud with the lowest Mach number and vice versa. In general, these results agree well with theoretical scenarios of star cluster formation by gravoturbulent fragmentation.