Abstract
We use laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS/AO) on the 10 m Keck II telescope to obtain high spatial resolution images of young massive clusters (YMCs) in NGC1569 and M82. These data probe YMC structure and the relation of the YMCs to the ambient field star population. The higher resolution of Keck LGS/AO relative to Hubble Space Telescope/ NICMOS in the near-infrared enables us to examine whether YMCs are monolithic or hierarchical assemblies. The new integral-field spectrometer OSIRIS operating behind LGS/AO can trace the distribution of massive evolved stars within a cluster and reveal the nature of mass segregation.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 109-112 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Astrophysics and Space Science |
| Volume | 324 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2009 |
Funding
Acknowledgements I would like to thank my collaborators James R. Graham at UC Berkeley and William D. Vacca at SOFIA-USRA for their integral contributions to this ongoing project. The author and collaborators wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Mauna Kea has always had within the indigenous Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0502649. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
| Funder number |
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| 0502649 |
Keywords
- Galaxies: star clusters
- Methods: observational