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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.10607 |
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| _version_ | 1866918383245590528 |
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| author | He, Zhihong Pang, Wenkang Wang, Kun Luo, Yangping Cui, Qian |
| author_facet | He, Zhihong Pang, Wenkang Wang, Kun Luo, Yangping Cui, Qian |
| contents | The accretion of metal-poor gas sustains galactic star formation. In the Milky Way, this process is fueled by high-velocity clouds (HVCs), yet their fundamental properties have remained elusive in the absence of stellar tracers. Here we report a binary open cluster within HVC Complex H. With an age of 11.2 +- 0.6 Myr and a subsolar metallicity of 0.05(+0.05-0.02) Zsun, the clusters provide a direct stellar distance anchor to the cloud at 13.8 +- 0.6 kpc. Their proper motions indicate Complex H is on a prograde, south-to-north orbit through the outer Galactic disk. The resulting interaction produces a 'slow-fast-slow' velocity gradient, with the cloud's outer layers decelerating as they merge into the disk. Orbit integration suggests the clusters formed from an internal cloud-cloud collision. This triggering mechanism implies other HVCs could similarly produce high-velocity stars. The scarcity of previous stellar detections in HVCs is explained by the rapid escape of young stars (< 20 Myr), while CO non-detections may stem from weak emission due to low metallicity and gas dispersal. This work reveals that the circumgalactic medium can sustain star formation, offering a tangible laboratory to probe the physical conditions of accreting gas before it merges with the Galactic disk. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_10607 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Star formation in the circumgalactic high-velocity cloud Complex H He, Zhihong Pang, Wenkang Wang, Kun Luo, Yangping Cui, Qian Astrophysics of Galaxies The accretion of metal-poor gas sustains galactic star formation. In the Milky Way, this process is fueled by high-velocity clouds (HVCs), yet their fundamental properties have remained elusive in the absence of stellar tracers. Here we report a binary open cluster within HVC Complex H. With an age of 11.2 +- 0.6 Myr and a subsolar metallicity of 0.05(+0.05-0.02) Zsun, the clusters provide a direct stellar distance anchor to the cloud at 13.8 +- 0.6 kpc. Their proper motions indicate Complex H is on a prograde, south-to-north orbit through the outer Galactic disk. The resulting interaction produces a 'slow-fast-slow' velocity gradient, with the cloud's outer layers decelerating as they merge into the disk. Orbit integration suggests the clusters formed from an internal cloud-cloud collision. This triggering mechanism implies other HVCs could similarly produce high-velocity stars. The scarcity of previous stellar detections in HVCs is explained by the rapid escape of young stars (< 20 Myr), while CO non-detections may stem from weak emission due to low metallicity and gas dispersal. This work reveals that the circumgalactic medium can sustain star formation, offering a tangible laboratory to probe the physical conditions of accreting gas before it merges with the Galactic disk. |
| title | Star formation in the circumgalactic high-velocity cloud Complex H |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.10607 |