arXiv subjects

F. Najarro

Publications and source records attributed to F. Najarro.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

A VLT/FLAMES survey for massive binaries in Westerlund 1: VIII. Binary Systems and Orbital Parameters

The galactic cluster Westerlund 1 contains a rich population of evolved, massive stars, and a high binary fraction has been inferred from previous multiwavelength observations. We use multi-epoch spectroscopy of a large sample of early-type stars to identify new binaries and binary candidates in the cluster. VLT/FLAMES was used to obtain spectra of ~100 OB stars over a 14-month baseline in 2008 and 2009, supplemented with follow-up observations in 2011 and 2013, and we identify 20 new OB I--III binaries, a WN9h binary, and a WC9d binary, greatly increasing the number of directly confirmed binary systems in Westerlund 1, while 12 O9--9.5 Iab--III stars are identified as candidate binaries. The 173.9 day SB1 W1030 represents the first longer-period system identified in the cluster, while the determination of a 53.95 day period for W44/L makes it the first Wolf-Rayet binary in Westerlund 1 with a confirmed orbital period greater than ten days. Our results suggest the binary fraction in the OB population is at least 40%, and may be significantly higher. (Abridged)

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arXiv2021

Upper Mass-Loss Limits and Clumping in the Intermediate and Outer Wind Regions of OB stars

We probe the radial clumping stratification of OB stars in the intermediate and outer wind regions (r>~2 R*) to derive upper limits for mass-loss rates, and compare to current mass-loss implementation. Together with archival multi-wavelength data, our new far-infrared continuum observations for a sample of 25 OB stars (including 13 B Supergiants) uniquely constrain the clumping properties of the intermediate wind region. We derive the minimum radial stratification of the clumping factor through the stellar wind, fclmin(r), and the corresponding maximum mass-loss rate, Mdotmax, normalising clumping factors to the outermost wind region (clfar=1). The clumping degree for r>~2 R* decreases or stays constant with increasing radius for almost the whole sample. There is a dependence on luminosity class and spectral type at the intermediate region relative to the outer ones: O Supergiants (OSGs) present a factor 2 larger clumping factors than B Supergiants (BSGs). The maximum clumping of roughly 1/3 of the OB Supergiants occurs close to the wind base (r<~2 R*) and then decreases monotonically. This contrasts with the more frequent case where the lowermost clumping increases towards a maximum, and needs to be addressed by theoretical models. Additionally, the estimated Mdotmax for BSGs is at least one order of magnitude lower than theoretical values, whereas for OSGs our results and predictions agree within errors. Assuming values of clfar=4-9 from hydrodynamical models would imply a reduction of mass-loss rates included in stellar evolution models by a factor 2-3 for OSGs and by factors 6-200 for BSGs below the first bi-stability jump. This implies large reductions of mass-loss rates applied in evolution-models for BSGs, independently of the actual clumping properties of these winds, and a thorough re-investigation of BSG mass-loss rates and their effects on stellar evolution.

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arXiv2021

Radio observations of massive stars in the Galactic centre: The Quintuplet cluster

We present high-angular-resolution radio continuum observations of the Quintuplet cluster, one of the most emblematic massive clusters in the Galactic centre. Data were acquired in two epochs and at 6 and 10 GHz with the Karl J. Jansky Very Large Array. With this work, we have quadrupled the number of known radio stars in the cluster. Nineteen of them have spectral indices consistent with thermal emission from ionised stellar winds, five are consistent with colliding wind binaries, two are ambiguous cases, and one was only detected in a single band. Regarding variability, remarkably we find a significantly higher fraction of variable stars in the Quintuplet cluster (approximately 30%) than in the Arches cluster (< 15%), probably due to the older age of the Quintuplet cluster. Our determined stellar wind mass-loss rates are in good agreement with theoretical models. Finally, we show that the radio luminosity function can be used as a tool to constrain the age and the mass function of a cluster.

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arXiv2021

Early formation and recent starburst activity in the nuclear disc of the Milky Way

The nuclear disc is a dense stellar structure at the centre of the Milky Way, with a radius of $\sim$150 pc. It has been a place of intense star formation in the past several tens of millions of years but its overall formation history has remained unknown up to now. Here we report the first detailed star formation history of this region. The bulk of its stars formed at least eight billion years ago. This initial activity was followed by a long period of quiescence that was ended by an outstanding event about 1 Gyr ago, during which roughly 5% of its mass formed in a time window $\sim$100 Myr, in what may arguably have been one of the most energetic events in the history of the Milky Way. Star formation continued subsequently on a lower level, creating a few percent of the stellar mass in the past $\sim$500 Myr, with an increased rate up to $\sim$30 Myr ago. Our findings contradict the previously accepted paradigm of quasi-continuous star formation at the centre of the Milky Way. The long quiescent phase agrees with the overall quiescent history of the Milky Way and suggests that our Galaxy's bar may not have existed until recently, or that gas transport through the bar was extremely inefficient during a long stretch of the Milky Way's life, and that the central black hole may have acquired most of its mass already in the early days of the Milky Way.

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arXiv2021

GALACTICNUCLEUS: A high angular resolution $JHK_s$ imaging survey of the Galactic Centre. I. Methodology, performance, and near-infrared extinction towards the Galactic Centre

The Galactic Centre is of fundamental astrophysical interest, but existing near-infrared surveys fall short to cover it adequately. We introduce the GALACTICNUCLEUS survey, a $JHK_s$ imaging survey of the centre of the Milky Way with a $0.2"$ angular resolution. We present the observations of Field 1 of our survey, centred approximately on SgrA* with an approximate size of $7.95'\times3.43'$. We describe the observational set-up and data reduction pipeline and discuss the quality of the data. Finally, we present some preliminary analysis of the data. The data were acquired with the near-infrared camera HAWK-I at the ESO VLT. Short readout times in combination with the speckle holography algorithm allowed us to produce final images with a stable, Gaussian PSF of $0.2"$ FWHM. Astrometric calibration is achieved via the VVV survey and photometric calibration is based on the SIRIUS/IRSF survey. The quality of the data is assessed by comparison between observations of the same field with different detectors of HAWK-I and at different times. We reach 5 sigma detection limits of approximately $J=22$, $H=21$, and $K_s=20$. The photometric uncertainties are less than 0.05 at $J<20$, $H<17$ and $K_s<16$. We distinguish five stellar populations in the colour-magnitude diagrams; three of them appear to belong to foreground spiral arms, and the other two correspond to a high- and a low-extinction star groups at the Galactic Centre. We use our data to analyse the near-infrared extinction curve and conclude that it can be described very well by a power-law with an index of $JHK_s=2.30\pm0.08$. We do not find any evidence that this index depends on the position along the line-of-sight, or on the absolute value of the extinction. We produce extinction maps that show the clumpiness of the ISM at the Galactic Centre. Finally, we estimate that the majority of the stars have solar or super-solar metallicity.

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arXiv2021

Star formation history and metallicity in the Galactic inner bulge revealed by the red giant branch bump

The study of the inner region of the Milky Way's bulge is hampered by high interstellar extinction and extreme source crowding. Sensitive high angular resolution near-infrared imaging is needed to study stellar populations in such a complex environment. We use the 0.2$''$ angular resolution $JHK_s$ data from the GALACTICNUCLEUS survey to study the stellar population within two $8.0'\times 3.4'$ fields, about 0.6$^\circ$ and 0.4$^\circ$ to the Galactic north of the Milky Way's centre and to compare it with one in the immediate surroundings of Sagittarius A*. We also characterise the extinction curve of the two fields. The average interstellar extinction to the outer and the inner field is $A_{K_s} \sim 1.20 \pm 0.08$ mag and $\sim 1.48 \pm 0.10$ mag, respectively. We present $K_{s}$ luminosity functions that are complete down to at least 2 mag below the red clump (RC). We detect a feature in the luminosity functions that is fainter than the RC by $0.80\pm0.03$ and $0.79\pm0.02$ mag, respectively, in the $K_s$-band. It runs parallel to the reddening vector. We identify the feature as the red giant branch bump. Fitting $α$-enhanced BaSTI luminosity functions to our data, we find that a single old stellar population of $\sim12.8 \pm 0.6$ Gyr and $Z = 0.040 \pm 0.003$ provides the best fit. We obtain that the stellar population in the innermost bulge is old, similar to the one at larger distances from the Galactic plane, and that its metallicity increases down to distances as short as about 60 pc from the centre of the Milky Way. Comparing it with previous known values at larger latitudes ($|b|>2^\circ$), our results favour a flattening of the gradient at $|b|<2^\circ$. As a secondary result we obtain that the extinction index in the studied regions agrees the value of $α= 2.30\pm0.08$, derived in Nogueras-Lara et al. 2018 for the very Galactic centre.

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arXiv2021

Constraining the population of isolated massive stars within the Central Molecular Zone

Many galaxies host pronounced circumnuclear starbursts, fuelled by infalling gas. Such activity is expected to drive the secular evolution of the nucleus and generate super winds, while the intense radiation fields and extreme gas and cosmic ray densities present may act to modify the outcome of star formation with respect to more quiescent galactic regions. The centre of the Milky Way is the only example of this phenomenon where, by virtue of its proximity, individual stars may be resolved. Previous studies have revealed that it hosts a rich population of massive stars; these are located within three clusters, with an additional contingent dispersed throughout the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). We employed VLT+KMOS to obtain homogeneous, high S/N spectroscopy of the later cohort for classification and quantitative analysis. Including previously identified examples, we found a total of 83 isolated massive stars within the Galactic Centre, which are biased towards objects supporting powerful stellar winds and/or extensive circumstellar envelopes. No further stellar clusters, or their tidally stripped remnants, were identified, although an apparent stellar overdensity was found to be coincident with the Sgr B1 star forming region. The cohort of isolated massive stars within the CMZ is comparable in size to that of the known clusters but, due to observational biases, is likely highly incomplete at this time. Combining both populations yields over 320 spectroscopically classified stars that are expected to undergo core collapse within the next 20Myr. Given that this is presumably an underestimate of the true number, the population of massive stars associated with the CMZ appears unprecedented amongst star formation complexes within the Milky Way, and one might anticipate that they play a substantial role in the energetics and evolution of the nuclear region.

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arXiv2021

Radio observations of massive stars in the Galactic centre: The Arches Cluster

We present high-angular-resolution radio observations of the Arches cluster in the Galactic centre, one of the most massive young clusters in the Milky Way. The data were acquired in two epochs and at 6 and 10 GHz with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA). The rms noise reached is three to four times better than during previous observations and we have almost doubled the number of known radio stars in the cluster. Nine of them have spectral indices consistent with thermal emission from ionised stellar winds, one is a confirmed colliding wind binary (CWB), and two sources are ambiguous cases. Regarding variability, the radio emission appears to be stable on timescales of a few to ten years. Finally, we show that the number of radio stars can be used as a tool for constraining the age and/or mass of a cluster and also its mass function.

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arXiv2020

Atmospheric NLTE models for the spectroscopic analysis of blue stars with winds. V. Complete comoving frame transfer, and updated modeling of X-ray emission

Context. Obtaining precise stellar and wind properties and abundance patterns of massive stars is crucial to understanding their nature and interactions with their environments, as well as to constrain their evolutionary paths and end-products. Aims. To enable higher versatility and precision of the complete UV to optical range, we improve our NLTE atmosphere and spectrum synthesis code FASTWIND. We also aim to obtain an advanced description of X-ray emission from wind-embedded shocks. Methods. We include a detailed comoving frame radiative transfer for the essential frequency range, but still apply methods that enable low turnaround times. Results. In most cases, our new results agree excellently with those from the alternative code CMFGEN, both regarding the total radiative acceleration, strategic optical lines, and the UV-range. The agreement regarding NIII4634-4640-4642 has improved, though there are still certain discrepancies, mostly related to line overlap effects in the extreme ultraviolet. In the UV range of our coolest models, we find differences in the predicted depression of the pseudo-continuum, most pronounced around Ly_alpha. The comparison between our new and previous FASTWIND version reveals an almost perfect agreement, except for NV 4603-4619. Using an improved, depth-dependent description for the filling factors of hot, X-ray emitting material, we confirm previous analytic scaling relations with our numerical models. Conclusions. We warn against uncritically relying on transitions, which are strongly affected by direct or indirect line-overlap effects. The predicted UV-continuum depression for the coolest grid-models needs to be checked, both observationally, and regarding the underlying atomic data. Wind lines from "super-ionized" ions such as OVI can, in principle, be used to constrain the distribution of wind-embedded shocks.

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arXiv2020

New predictions for radiation-driven, steady-state mass-loss and wind-momentum from hot, massive stars II. A grid of O-type stars in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds

Reliable predictions of mass-loss rates are important for massive-star evolution computations. We aim to provide predictions for mass-loss rates and wind-momentum rates of O-type stars, carefully studying the behaviour of these winds as functions of stellar parameters like luminosity and metallicity. We use newly developed steady-state models of radiation-driven winds to compute the global properties of a grid of O-stars. The self-consistent models are calculated by means of an iterative solution to the equation of motion using full NLTE radiative transfer in the co-moving frame to compute the radiative acceleration. In order to study winds in different galactic environments, the grid covers main-sequence stars, giants and supergiants in the Galaxy and both Magellanic Clouds. We find a strong dependence of mass-loss on both luminosity and metallicity. Mean values across the grid are $\dot{M}\sim L_{\ast}^{2.2}$ and $\dot{M}\sim Z_{\ast}^{0.95}$, however we also find a somewhat stronger dependence on metallicity for lower luminosities. Similarly, the mass loss-luminosity relation is somewhat steeper for the SMC than for the Galaxy. In addition, the computed rates are systematically lower (by a factor 2 and more) than those commonly used in stellar-evolution calculations. Overall, our results agree well with observations in the Galaxy that account properly for wind-clumping, with empirical $\dot{M}$ vs. $Z_\ast$ scaling relations, and with observations of O-dwarfs in the SMC. Our results provide simple fit relations for mass-loss rates and wind momenta of massive O-stars stars as functions of luminosity and metallicity, valid in the range $T_{\rm eff} = 28000 - 45000$\,K. Due to the systematically lower $\dot{M}$, our new models suggest that new rates might be needed in evolution simulations of massive stars.

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arXiv2019

New predictions for radiation-driven, steady-state mass-loss and wind-momentum from hot, massive stars. I. Method and first results

[Abridged] Context: Radiation-driven mass loss plays a key role in the life-cycles of massive stars. However, basic predictions of such mass loss still suffer from significant quantitative uncertainties. Aims: We develop new radiation-driven, steady-state wind models for massive stars with hot surfaces, suitable for quantitative predictions of global parameters like mass-loss and wind-momentum rates. Methods: The simulations presented here are based on a self-consistent, iterative grid-solution to the spherically symmetric, steady-state equation of motion, using full NLTE radiative transfer solutions in the co-moving frame to derive the radiative acceleration. We do not rely on any distribution functions or parametrization for computation of the line force responsible for the wind driving. Results: In this first paper, we present models representing two prototypical O-stars in the Galaxy, one with a higher stellar mass M/Msun=59 and luminosity log10(L/Lsun)= 5.87 and one with a lower M/Msun= 27 and log10(L/Lsun)= 5.1. For these simulations, basic predictions for global mass-loss rates and velocity laws are given, and the influence from additional parameters like wind clumping and microturbulent speeds discussed. A key result is that our mass-loss rates are significantly lower than those predicted by the mass-loss recipes normally included in models of massive-star evolution. Conclusions: Our results support previous suggestions that Galactic O-star mass-loss rates may be overestimated in present-day stellar evolution models, and that new rates thus might be needed. Indeed, future papers in this series will incorporate our new models into such simulations of stellar evolution, extending the very first simulations presented here toward larger grids covering a range of metallicities, B supergiants across the bistability jump, and possibly also Wolf-Rayet stars.

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arXiv2019

Massive stars in extremely metal-poor galaxies: A window into the past

Cosmic History has witnessed the lives and deaths of multiple generations of massive stars, all of them invigorating their host galaxies with ionizing photons, kinetic energy, fresh material and stellar-mass black holes. Ubiquitous engines as they are, Astrophysics needs a good understanding of their formation, evolution, properties and yields throughout the history of the Universe, and with decreasing metal content mimicking the environment at the earliest epochs. Ultimately, a physical model that could be extrapolated to zero metallicity would enable tackling long-standing questions such as "What did the First, very massive stars of the Universe look like?" or "What was their role in the re-ionization of the Universe?". Yet, most our knowledge of metal-poor massive stars is drawn from one single point in metallicity. Massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC, $\sim 1/5 Z_{\odot}$) currently serve as templates for low-metallicity objects in the early Universe, even though significant differences with respect to massive stars with poorer metal content have been reported. This White Paper summarizes the current knowledge on extremely (sub-SMC) metal poor massive stars, highlighting the most outstanding open questions and the need to supersede the SMC as standard. A new paradigm can be built from nearby extremely metal-poor galaxies that make a new metallicity ladder, but massive stars in these galaxies are out of reach to current observational facilities. Such task would require an L-size mission, consisting of a 10m-class space telescope operating in the optical and the ultraviolet ranges. Alternatively, we propose that ESA unites efforts with NASA to make the LUVOIR mission concept a reality, thus continuing the successful partnership that made Hubble Space Telescope one of the greatest observatories of all time.

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arXiv2019

Confirming interstellar C$_{60}^+$ using the Hubble Space Telescope

Recent advances in laboratory spectroscopy lead to the claim of ionized Buckminsterfullerene (C60+) as the carrier of two diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) in the near-infrared. However, irrefutable identification of interstellar C60+ requires a match between the wavelengths and the expected strengths of all absorption features detectable in the laboratory and in space. Here we present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectra of the region covering the C60+ 9348, 9365, 9428 and 9577 Å absorption bands toward seven heavily-reddened stars. We focus in particular on searching for the weaker laboratory C60+ bands, the very presence of which has been a matter for recent debate. Using the novel STIS-scanning technique to obtain ultra-high signal-to-noise spectra without contamination from telluric absorption that afflicted previous ground-based observations, we obtained reliable detections of the (weak) 9365, 9428 Å and (strong) 9577 Å C60+ bands. The band wavelengths and strength ratios are sufficiently similar to those determined in the latest laboratory experiments that we consider this the first robust identification of the 9428 Å band, and a conclusive confirmation of interstellar C60+.

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arXiv2019

Walking along Cosmic History: Metal-poor Massive Stars

Multiple generations of massive stars have lived and died during Cosmic History, invigorating host galaxies with ionizing photons, kinetic energy, fresh material and stellar-size black holes. At present, massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) serve as templates for low-metallicity objects in the early Universe. However, recent results have highlighted important differences in the evolution, death and feedback of massive stars with poorer metal content that better matches the extremely low metallicity of previous Cosmic epochs. This paper proposes to supersede the SMC standard with a new metallicity ladder built from very metal-poor galaxies, and provides a brief overview of the technological facilities needed to this aim.

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arXiv2019

Background Infrared Sources for Studying the Galactic Center's Interstellar Gas

We briefy describe the results of a K-band spectroscopic survey of over 500 highly reddened point-like objects on sightlines toward the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Galaxy. The goal was to find stars with featureless or nearly featureless spectra suitable for near- and mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy of the Galactic center's interstellar gas on sightlines spread across the CMZ. Until recently only a few such stars have been known outside of very localized sightlines in the vicinity of the Quintuplet and Central clusters. We have used Spitzer Space Telescope (GLIMPSE) and 2MASS photometry to select promising candidates, and over the last ten years have been acquiring low-resolution K-band spectra of them. As expected, the vast majority are cool and/or highly reddened red giants with complex photospheric spectra unsuitable for measuring faint interstellar lines. Approximately ten percent of them, whose observations are reported here, have featureless or nearly featureless spectra. Although not evenly distributed in Galactic longitude, these stars are scattered across the CMZ. Many of them are luminous stars that are deeply embedded in warm dust cocoons, and have K-band continua rising steeply to longer wavelengths. A significant fraction of them are hot stars of a variety of spectral types, including at least five newly discovered Wolf-Rayet stars. All of them should be suitable for spectroscopy of interstellar absorption lines at infrared wavelengths greater than 3 microns and many are also suitable at shorter wavelengths.

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arXiv2018

The Arches cluster revisited. III. An addendum to the stellar census

The Arches is one of the youngest, densest and most massive clusters in the Galaxy. As such it provides a unique insight into the lifecycle of the most massive stars known and the formation and survival of such stellar aggregates in the extreme conditions of the Galactic Centre. In a previous study we presented an initial stellar census for the Arches and in this work we expand upon this, providing new and revised classifications for ~30% of the 105 spectroscopically identified cluster members as well as distinguishing potential massive runaways. The results of this survey emphasise the homogeneity and apparent co-evality of the Arches and confirm the absence of H-free Wolf-Rayets of WC sub-type and predicted luminosities. The increased depth of our complete dataset also provides significantly better constraints on the main sequence population; with the identification of O9.5 V stars for the first time we now spectroscopically sample stars with initial masses ranging from ~16Msun to >120Msun. Indeed, following from our expanded stellar census we might expect >50 stars within the Arches to have been born with masses >60Msun, while all 105 spectroscopically confirmed cluster members are massive enough to leave relativistic remnants upon their demise. Moreover the well defined observational properties of the main sequence cohort will be critical to the construction of an extinction law appropriate for the Galactic Centre and consequently the quantitative analysis of the Arches population and subsequent determination of the cluster initial mass function.

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arXiv2018

A VLT/FLAMES survey for massive binaries in Westerlund 1 V. the X-ray selected blue stragglers Wd1-27 and -30a

Observational studies suggest that many OB stars are found within binary systems which may be expected to interact during their lifetimes. Significant mass transfer or merger of both components will modify evolutionary pathways, facilitating the production of exceptionally massive stars which will present as blue stragglers. Identification and characterisation of such objects is crucial if the outcomes of binary evolutionary channels are to be quantified. The massive cluster Westerlund 1 hosts a rich population of X-ray bright stars where the emission is thought to derive from the wind collision zones of massive binaries. Selected on this basis, we present the results of a multiwavelength analysis of the X-ray luminous O stars Wd1-27 and -30a. We find both to be early/mid-O hypergiants with luminosities, temperatures and masses significantly in excess of other early stars within Wd1, hence qualifying as massive blue stragglers. The nature of Wd1-27 remains uncertain but the detection of radial velocity changes and the X-ray properties of Wd1-30a suggest that it is a binary. Analysis of Gaia proper motion and parallactic data indicates that both are cluster members; we also provide a membership list for Wd1 based on this analysis. The presence of hypergiants of spectral types O to M within Wd1 cannot be understood via single-star evolution. We suppose that the early-B and mid-O hypergiants formed via binary-induced mass-stripping of the primary and mass-transfer to the secondary, respectively. This implies that for a subset of objects massive star-formation may be regarded as a two-stage process, with binary-driven mass-transfer or merger yielding stars with masses significantly in excess of their initial birth mass (Abridged).

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arXiv2018

The Unusual Initial Mass Function of the Arches Cluster

As a young massive cluster in the Central Molecular Zone, the Arches cluster is a valuable probe of the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) in the extreme Galactic Center environment. We use multi-epoch Hubble Space Telescope observations to obtain high-precision proper motion and photometric measurements of the cluster, calculating cluster membership probabilities for stars down to 1.8 M$_{\odot}$ between cluster radii of 0.25 pc -- 3.0 pc. We achieve a cluster sample with just ~8% field contamination, a significant improvement over photometrically-selected samples which are severely compromised by the differential extinction across the field. Combining this sample with K-band spectroscopy of 5 cluster members, we forward model the Arches cluster to simultaneously constrain its IMF and other properties (such as age and total mass) while accounting for observational uncertainties, completeness, mass segregation, and stellar multiplicity. We find that the Arches IMF is best described by a 1-segment power law that is significantly top-heavy: $α$ = 1.80 $\pm$ 0.05 (stat) $\pm$ 0.06 (sys), where dN/dm $\propto$ m$^{-α}$, though we cannot discount a 2-segment power law model with a high-mass slope only slightly shallower than local star forming regions ($α$ = 2.04$^{+0.14}_{-0.19}$ $\pm$ 0.04) but with a break at 5.8$^{+3.2}_{-1.2}$ $\pm$ 0.02 M$_{\odot}$. In either case, the Arches IMF is significantly different than the standard IMF. Comparing the Arches to other young massive clusters in the Milky Way, we find tentative evidence for a systematically top-heavy IMF at the Galactic Center.

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