| Title | Star Formation History in the Small Magellanic Cloud: The Case of NGC 602 |
| Authors | Cignoni, M.; Sabbi, E.; Nota, A.; Tosi, M.; Degl'Innocenti, S.; Moroni, P. G. Prada; Angeretti, L.; Carlson, Lynn Redding; Gallagher, J.; Meixner, M.; Sirianni, M.; Smith, L. J. |
| Bibcode | 2009AJ....137.3668C Search ADS ↗ |
| Abstract | Deep Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys photometry of the young cluster NGC 602, located in the remote low-density "wing" of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), reveals numerous pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars as well as young stars on the main sequence. The resolved stellar content thus provides a basis for studying the star formation history (SFH) into recent times and constraining several stellar population properties, such as the present-day mass function (PDMF), the initial mass function, and the binary fraction. To better characterize the PMS population, we present a new set of model stellar evolutionary tracks for this evolutionary phase with metallicity appropriate for the SMC (Z = 0.004). We use a stellar population synthesis code, which takes into account a full range of stellar evolution phases to derive our best estimate for the SFH in the region by comparing observed and synthetic color-magnitude diagrams. The derived PDMF for NGC 602 is consistent with that resulting from the synthetic diagrams. The star formation rate in the region has increased with time on a scale of tens of Myr, reaching (0.3-0.7) × 10-3 M sun yr-1 in the last 2.5 Myr, comparable to what is found in Galactic OB associations. Star formation is most complete in the main cluster but continues at moderate levels in the gas-rich periphery of the nebula. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. These observations are associated with program #10248. |
| Objects | 1 Objects Search NED ↙ |
