Constraints on star formation in NGC 2264

Parker, Richard J.; Schoettler, Christina

Abstract

We quantify the spatial distribution of stars for two subclusters centred around the massive/intermediate-mass stars S Mon and IRS 1/2 in the NGC 2264 star-forming region. We find that both subclusters have neither a substructured nor a centrally concentrated distribution according to the
-parameter. Neither subcluster displays mass segregation according to the ΛMSR ratio, but the most massive stars in IRS 1/2 have higher relative surface densities according to the ΣLDR ratio. We then compare these quantities to the results of N-body simulations to constrain the initial conditions of NGC 2264, which are consistent with having been dense (⁠
M⊙ pc−3), highly substructured and subvirial. These initial conditions were also derived from a separate analysis of the runaway and walkaway stars in the region, and indicate that star-forming regions within 1 kpc of the Sun likely have a broad range of initial stellar densities. In the case of NGC 2264, its initial stellar density could have been high enough to cause the destruction or truncation of protoplanetary discs and fledgling planetary systems due to dynamical encounters between stars in the early stages of its evolution.

Citation

Parker, R. J., & Schoettler, C. (2022). Constraints on star formation in NGC 2264. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 510(1), 1136-1147. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab3460

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 18, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Nov 29, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-02
• Deposit Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Print ISSN: 0035-8711
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 510
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1136-1147
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab3460
• Keywords: methods: numerical, stars: formation, open clusters and associations: general, open clusters and associations: individual: NGC 2264
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1051801
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/510/1/1136/6446003