Most nearby young star clusters formed in three massive complexes

TL;DR

This study uses Gaia data to show that most nearby young star clusters originated from three massive star-forming complexes, revealing their common origins and impact on local interstellar structures.

Contribution

The paper identifies three major star-forming complexes as the origins of most local young clusters using Gaia and spectroscopic data, clarifying their formation history.

Findings

57% of young clusters within 1 kpc originate from three complexes

These complexes formed over the past 30 million years

Supernovae from these complexes shaped local interstellar structures

Abstract

Efforts to unveil the structure of the local interstellar medium and its recent star formation history have spanned the past seventy years. Recent studies utilizing precise data from space astrometry missions have revealed nearby, newly formed star clusters with connected origins. Nonetheless, mapping young clusters across the entire sky back to their natal regions has been hindered by a lack of clusters with precise radial velocity data. Here we show that 155 out of 272 (57 percent) high-quality young clusters within one kiloparsec of the Sun arise from three distinct spatial volumes. This conclusion is based upon the analysis of data from the third Gaia release and other large-scale spectroscopic surveys. Currently dispersed throughout the Solar Neighborhood, their past positions over 30 Myr ago reveal that these families of clusters each formed in one of three compact, massive star-forming complexes. One of these families includes all of the young clusters near the Sun -- the Taurus and Sco-Cen star-forming complexes. We estimate that over 200 supernovae were produced from these families and argue that these clustered supernovae produced both the Local Bubble and the largest nearby supershell GSH 238+00+09, both of which are clearly visible in modern three-dimensional dust maps.