On the mass and wind luminosity of young Galactic open clusters in Gaia DR2
arXiv (Cornell University)(2023)
Abstract
Context. Star clusters constitute a relevant part of the stellar population
in our Galaxy. The feedback processes they exert on the interstellar medium
impact multiple physical processes, from the chemical to the dynamical
evolution of the Galaxy. In addition, young and massive stellar clusters might
act as efficient particle accelerators, possibly contributing to the production
of cosmic rays. Aims. We aim at evaluating the wind luminosity driven by the
young (< 30 Myr) Galactic open stellar clusters observed by the Gaia space
mission, which is crucial to determine the energy channeled into accelerated
particles. Methods. To this extent, we develop a method relying on the number,
magnitude and line-of-sight extinction of the stars observed per cluster.
Assuming that the stellar mass function follows a Kroupa mass distribution, and
accounting for the maximum stellar mass allowed by both the parent cluster age
and mass, we conservatively estimate the mass and wind luminosity of 387 local
clusters within the second data release of Gaia. Results. We compare the
results of our computation with recent estimations of young cluster masses.
With respect to these, we provide a sample three times more abundant,
particularly above a few thousand solar masses, which is of the utmost
relevance for predicting the gamma-ray emission resulting from the interaction
of accelerated particles. In fact, the cluster wind luminosity distribution we
obtain is found to extend up to 3 x 10^38 erg/s, a promising feature in terms
of potential particle acceleration scenarios.
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