Massive Clusters and OB Associations as Output of Massive Star Formation in <i>Gaia</i> Era
Over the past two decades, our understanding of star formation has undergone a major shift, driven by a wealth of data from infrared, submillimeter and radio surveys. The emerging view depicts star formation as a hierarchical process, which predominantly occurs along filamentary structures in the in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Universe |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/11/1/20 |
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| Summary: | Over the past two decades, our understanding of star formation has undergone a major shift, driven by a wealth of data from infrared, submillimeter and radio surveys. The emerging view depicts star formation as a hierarchical process, which predominantly occurs along filamentary structures in the interstellar medium. These structures span a wide range of spatial scales, ultimately leading to the birth of young stars, which distribute in small groups, clusters and OB associations. Given the inherently complex and dynamic nature of star formation, a comprehensive understanding of these processes can only be achieved by examining their end products—namely, the distribution and properties of young stellar populations. In the <i>Gaia</i> era, the nearby OB associations are now characterised with unprecedented detail, allowing for a robust understanding of their formation histories. Nevertheless, to fully grasp the mechanisms of star formation and its typical scale, it is essential to study the much larger associations, which constitute the backbones of spiral arms. The large catalogues of young open clusters that have emerged from <i>Gaia</i> DR3 offer a valuable resource for investigating star formation on larger spatial scales. While the cluster parameters listed in these catalogues are still subject to many uncertainties and systematic errors, ongoing improvements in data analysis and upcoming <i>Gaia</i> releases promise to enhance the accuracy and reliability of these measurements. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of recent advancements and a critical assessment of the datasets available. |
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| ISSN: | 2218-1997 |