Using young massive star clusters to understand star formation and feedback in high-redshift-like environments

TL;DR

This paper discusses how studying young massive star clusters in the Milky Way can shed light on star formation and feedback processes in environments similar to those of high-redshift galaxies, helping to understand cosmic star formation history.

Contribution

It introduces a system of massive clusters and progenitor gas clouds in the Milky Way as a local analogue to high-redshift environments for detailed study.

Findings

Potential to answer fundamental questions in star formation.

Quantify stellar feedback coupling in high-pressure environments.

Provides a local laboratory for high-redshift galaxy conditions.

Abstract

The formation environment of stars in massive stellar clusters is similar to the environment of stars forming in galaxies at a redshift of 1 - 3, at the peak star formation rate density of the Universe. As massive clusters are still forming at the present day at a fraction of the distance to high-redshift galaxies they offer an opportunity to understand the processes controlling star formation and feedback in conditions similar to those in which most stars in the Universe formed. Here we describe a system of massive clusters and their progenitor gas clouds in the centre of the Milky Way, and outline how detailed observations of this system may be able to: (i) help answer some of the fundamental open questions in star formation and (ii) quantify how stellar feedback couples to the surrounding interstellar medium in this high-pressure, high-redshift analogue environment.