The 3-D Kinematics of the Orion Nebula Cluster: NIRSPEC-AO Radial Velocities of the Core Population

TL;DR

This study measures the 3-D velocities of stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster's core, revealing velocity dispersions and elongations that inform models of cluster formation and early evolution.

Contribution

It provides new 3-D kinematic data for the ONC core using combined radial velocities and proper motions, highlighting potential non-virialized dynamics.

Findings

Velocity dispersions are consistent with dynamical equilibrium in tangential directions.

The core may not be virialized, indicating complex dynamical states.

Observed elongation aligns with known filamentary structure.

Abstract

The kinematics and dynamics of stellar and substellar populations within young, still-forming clusters provides valuable information for constraining theories of formation mechanisms. Using Keck II NIRSPEC+AO data, we have measured radial velocities for 56 low-mass sources within 4' of the core of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). We also re-measure radial velocities for 172 sources observed with SDSS/APOGEE. These data are combined with proper motions measured using $HST$ ACS/WFPC2/WFC3IR and Keck II NIRC2, creating a sample of 135 sources with all three velocity components. The velocities measured are consistent with a normal distribution in all three components. We measure intrinsic velocity dispersions of ($\sigma_{v_\alpha}$, $\sigma_{v_\delta}$, $\sigma_{v_r}$) = ($1.64\pm0.12$, $2.03\pm0.13$, $2.56^{+0.16}_{-0.17}$) km s$^{-1}$. Our computed intrinsic velocity dispersion profiles are consistent with the dynamical equilibrium models from Da Rio et al. (2014) in the tangential direction, but not in the line of sight direction, possibly indicating that the core of the ONC is not yet virialized, and may require a non-spherical potential to explain the observed velocity dispersion profiles. We also observe a slight elongation along the north-south direction following the filament, which has been well studied in previous literature, and an elongation in the line of sight to tangential velocity direction. These 3-D kinematics will help in the development of realistic models of the formation and early evolution of massive clusters.