Triggering Star Formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Gemini South GeMS/GSAOI near-infrared image of the N159W field in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The image spans 1.5 arcminutes across, resolves stars to about 0.09 arcseconds, and is a composite of three filters (J, H, and K_s). Integration (exposure) time for each filter was 25 minutes. Color composite image by Travis Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage. Image credit: Gemini Observatory/AURA.

Massive stars (greater than 8 solar masses) shape their surroundings, including compressing nearby gas, which may enhance local star formation. Two challenges of observing this starbirth in process are that dust hides the emission of the newborn stars, and all the activity occurs on very small spatial scales. PhD student Anais Bernard (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, France) and collaborators have used the Gemini Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) to overcome these difficulties. The result is seen in this image revealing fine details in the near-infrared light that penetrates the obscuring dust of the young star-forming region N159W located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. With unprecedented spatial resolution (around 0.09 arcseconds) and photometry, the team identified more than 100 young stellar object (YSO) candidates. The relationship of observed massive stars and these YSOs suggests that the first generation of massive stars triggered the recent star formation. A sneak preview of the Gemini image release is available, and full results will be published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. A preprint is now available at http://arxiv.org/abs/1605.07846.