FEAST: JWST uncovers the emerging timescales of young star clusters in M83
Alice Knutas, Angela Adamo, Alex Pedrini, Sean T. Linden, Varun Bajaj, Jenna E. Ryon, Benjamin Gregg, Ahmad A. Ali, Eric P. Andersson, Arjan Bik, Giacomo Bortolini, Anne S.M. Buckner, Daniela Calzetti, Ana Duarte-Cabral, Bruce G. Elmegreen, Helena Faustino Vieira

TL;DR
This study uses JWST NIRCam observations to investigate the evolution and emergence timescales of young star clusters in galaxy M83, revealing a sequence from embedded to exposed stages and estimating typical clearing times of around 6 million years.
Contribution
It introduces a new classification of emerging young star clusters based on PAH emission and provides empirical estimates of their emergence timescales in M83.
Findings
eYSCs evolve from eYSCI to eYSCII and then to optical YSCs.
The average clearing timescale from embedded to exposed is about 6 Myr.
More massive clusters emerge faster, around 5 Myr, compared to less massive ones.
Abstract
We present JWST NIRCam observations of the emerging young star clusters (eYSCs) detected in the nearby spiral galaxy M83. The NIRcam mosaic encompasses the nuclear starburst, the bar, and the inner spiral arms. The eYSCs, detected in Pa and Br maps, have been largely missed in previous optical campaigns of young star clusters (YSCs). We distinguish between eYSCI, if they also have compact 3.3~m PAH emission associated to them, and eYSCII, if they only appear as compact Pa emitters. We find that the variations in the 3.3~m PAH feature are consistent with an evolutionary sequence where eYSCI evolve into eYSCII and then optical YSCs. This sequence is clear in the F300M-F335M (tracing the excess in the \PAHlambda\ feature) and the F115W-F187N (tracing the excess in Pa) colors which become increasingly bluer as clusters emerge. The central starburst…
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