Embedded Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud Using the VISTA Magellanic Clouds Survey

TL;DR

This study uses near-infrared imaging from the VISTA survey to identify and analyze embedded star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud, revealing larger, more luminous clusters with higher star formation rates compared to the Milky Way.

Contribution

First large-scale survey of embedded clusters in the LMC using NIR imaging, identifying 67 candidates and comparing their properties to those in the Milky Way.

Findings

Embedded clusters in the LMC are larger, more luminous, and more massive than in the Milky Way.

Surface densities and star formation rates are significantly higher in the LMC.

Star formation efficiency in the LMC is about ten times higher than in the local environment.

Abstract

We present initial results of the first large scale survey of embedded star clusters in molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using near-infrared (NIR) imaging from the VISTA Magellanic Clouds Survey (Cioni et al. 2011). We have explored a ~1.65 square degree area of the LMC, which contains the well-known star-forming region 30 Doradus as well as ~14 percent of the galaxy's CO clouds (Wong et al. 2011), and have identified 67 embedded cluster candidates, 45 of which are newly discovered as clusters. We have determined sizes, luminosities and masses for these embedded clusters, examined the star formation rates (SFRs) of their corresponding molecular clouds, and made a comparison between the LMC and the Milky Way. Our preliminary results indicate that embedded clusters in the LMC are generally larger, more luminous and more massive than those in the local Milky Way. We also find that the surface densities of both embedded clusters and molecular clouds is ~3 times higher than in our local environment, the embedded cluster mass surface density is ~40 times higher, the SFR is ~20 times higher, and the star formation efficiency is ~10 times higher. Despite these differences, the SFRs of the LMC molecular clouds are consistent with the SFR scaling law presented in Lada et al. (2012). This consistency indicates that while the conditions of embedded cluster formation may vary between environments, the overall process within molecular clouds may be universal.