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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.23112 |
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| _version_ | 1866908473391841280 |
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| author | Dawson, Aden Ginsburg, Adam Roman-Zuniga, Carlos |
| author_facet | Dawson, Aden Ginsburg, Adam Roman-Zuniga, Carlos |
| contents | We present near-infrared JHKs and narrow-band H2(1-0) photometric observations of the W51A region, obtained with GTC EMIR, aiming to characterize its young stellar population and provide mass estimates for individual cluster members and the proto-clusters. Our observations reveal over 3000 new sources, out of which 88 are located in the proto-clusters, W51 IRS2 and W51 Main. The average extinction (AV), measured from the J-H color, of sources is 19 AV in W51 IRS2 and 14 AV in W51 Main. We document 17 new instances of H2 emission in the region by utilizing observations from the H2(1-0) narrow-band filter. Despite limited completeness, we estimated masses for each cluster member and estimated the total cluster mass to be in the range of 900-4700 solar masses for W51 IRS2 and 500-2700 solar masses for W51 Main, using an assumed age range of 1-3 Myr. We measured the initial mass function (IMF) in the proto-clusters assuming a range of ages from 1-3 Myr and found that the IMF slopes for both proto-clusters are consistent with the Salpeter IMF in the mass range greater than or equal to 8 solar masses within 1 to 2 sigma. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_23112 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | How Massive Star Clusters Form and Evolve: A Near-IR Survey of the W51 Complex Dawson, Aden Ginsburg, Adam Roman-Zuniga, Carlos Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies We present near-infrared JHKs and narrow-band H2(1-0) photometric observations of the W51A region, obtained with GTC EMIR, aiming to characterize its young stellar population and provide mass estimates for individual cluster members and the proto-clusters. Our observations reveal over 3000 new sources, out of which 88 are located in the proto-clusters, W51 IRS2 and W51 Main. The average extinction (AV), measured from the J-H color, of sources is 19 AV in W51 IRS2 and 14 AV in W51 Main. We document 17 new instances of H2 emission in the region by utilizing observations from the H2(1-0) narrow-band filter. Despite limited completeness, we estimated masses for each cluster member and estimated the total cluster mass to be in the range of 900-4700 solar masses for W51 IRS2 and 500-2700 solar masses for W51 Main, using an assumed age range of 1-3 Myr. We measured the initial mass function (IMF) in the proto-clusters assuming a range of ages from 1-3 Myr and found that the IMF slopes for both proto-clusters are consistent with the Salpeter IMF in the mass range greater than or equal to 8 solar masses within 1 to 2 sigma. |
| title | How Massive Star Clusters Form and Evolve: A Near-IR Survey of the W51 Complex |
| topic | Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.23112 |