Lkh 101 and the YOUNG CLUSTER in NGC 1579
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The Astronomical Journal, 128:1233–1253, 2004 September A # 2004. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. LkH 101 AND THE YOUNG CLUSTER IN NGC 1579 G. H. Herbig, Sean M. Andrews, and S. E. Dahm Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 Receivved 2004 May 26; accepted 2004 June 3 ABSTRACT The central region of the dark cloud L1482 is illuminated by LkH 101, a heavily reddened (AV 10 mag) ; 3 high-luminosity (8 10 L ) star having an unusual emission-line spectrum plus a featureless continuum. About 35 much fainter (mostly between R ¼ 16 and >21) H emitters have been found in the cloud. Their color- magnitude distribution suggests a median age of about 0.5 Myr, with considerable dispersion. There are also at least five bright B-type stars in the cloud, presumably of about the same age; none show the peculiarities expected of HAeBe stars. Dereddened, their apparent V magnitudes lead to a distance of about 700 pc. Radio observations suggest that the optical object LkH 101isinfactahotstarsurroundedbyasmallHii region, both inside an optically thick dust shell. The level of ionization inferred from the shape of the radio continuum corresponds to a Lyman continuum luminosity appropriate for an early B-type zero-age main-sequence star. The VÀI color is consistent with a heavily reddened star of that type. However, the optical spectrum does not conform to this expectation: the absorption lines of an OB star are not detected. Also, the [O iii] lines of an H ii region are absent, possibly because those upper levels are collisionally deexcited at high densities. There are several distinct contributors to the optical spectrum of LkH 101. The H emission line is very strong, with wings extending to about Æ1700 km sÀ1, which could be produced by a thin overlying layer of hot electron scatterers. There is no sign of P Cygni type mass ejection. Lines of Si ii are narrower, while the many Fe ii lines are still narrower and are double with a splitting of about 20 km sÀ1.Linesof[Feii], [O i], and [S ii] are similarly sharp but are single, at the same velocity as the Fe ii average. Work by Tuthill et al. allowed the inference, from K-band interferometry, that the central source is actually a small horseshoe-shaped arc about 0B05 (35 AU) across. A tipped annulus of that size in rotation about a 15 M star would produce double spectrum lines having about the splitting observed for Fe ii. The totality of observational evidence encourages the belief that LkH 101 is a massive star caught in an early evolutionary state. Key words: open clusters and associations: individual (NGC 1579) — stars: emission-line, Be — stars: formation — stars: individual (LkH 101) — stars: pre–main-sequence Online material: machine-readable table 1. INTRODUCTION since then been investigated in increasingly greater detail (Herbig 1971; Allen 1973; Thompson et al. 1976; Simon & Current belief is that the formation of a massive star takes Cassar 1984; Hamann & Persson 1989; and others). place deep in the parent cloud, behind very heavy extinction, Early radio observations (Brown et al. 1976; Cohen 1980; and hence will not be optically accessible (Palla & Stahler Purton et al. 1982) indicated that there were two principal 1990; Bernasconi & Maeder 1996). But when such a star contributors to the radio continuum at NGC 1579. The first is evolves further to the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS), its a point source at the position of LkH 101, believed to be a radiation and wind will clear out the neighborhood and the star hot star plus a very small H ii region, both behind an optically could at some time become optically detectable. We examine thick dust shell. Later, Hoare et al. (1994) and Hoare & here the possibility that LkH 101, in the nebula NGC 1579, Garrington (1995), from MERLIN interferometry, determined may be such a transition object. mean sizes for this source of 0B55 at 18.7 cm and 0B31 at 6 cm. NGC 1579 is a clump of bright nebulosity about 20 across, At 10 m, Danen et al. (1995) found it unresolved and set an lying in a dark cloud (L1482) north of the main Taurus-Auriga upper limit of 0B34 on its FWHM. This is the object to which cloud complex, a line of sight that also passes through the more the optical spectroscopy of LkH 101 refers. The second radio distant Per OB2 association. Although there are several stars continuum component is an extended H ii envelope, of di- illuminating their own small reflection nebulae nearby, in the ameter of the order of 10, the whole being embedded in a era of photography in blue-violet light there was no obvious clumpy H i cloud about 50 in diameter (Dewdney & Roger source of illumination of NGC 1579 itself, nor was any cluster 1986). of embedded stars apparent. In 1956 it was found (Herbig Sharpless (1959) probably included NGC 1579 as S222 in 1956) that at the edge of the bright nebulosity there is a very his catalog of H ii regions because it is so much brighter on the faint, very red star (V 16) having a powerful H emission red Palomar plates than on the blue. However, contrary to that line and an unusual emission-line spectrum. Subsequent work and to expectation from the radio results, the [O iii] kk4957, has shown that the spectra of star and nebula are identical (x 4) 5007 lines, characteristic of H ii regions, are not present in the and that the polarization of the nebula points to a source at that spectrum of the nebula or of LkH 101. Clearly, NGC 1579 is location (Redman et al. 1986), so this is the illuminating source a reflection nebula and owes its redness to interstellar extinc- of the nebula. The spectrum of this star, named LkH 101, has tion and to the nature of its illuminating source. But why that 1233 1234 HERBIG, ANDREWS, & DAHM Vol. 128 Fig. 1.—False-color image of NGC 1579 constructed from 300 s B-, V-, and R-band exposures. The frame is roughly 7A5 (1.5 pc for a distance of 700 pc) on a side, with north up and east to the left. source does not show the spectrum of a H ii region is another continuum is indeed that of a B0.5 ZAMS star, Cohen (1980) matter. found from the narrowband colors of LkH 101 that If the radio continuum spectrum of the core source in LkH AV ¼ 9:1 Æ 0:5 mag. He found also from recombination the- 101 is the free-free emission of a spherically symmetric H ii ory that the Balmer decrement, those lines assumed optically region, then the Lyman continuum (Lyc) flux required to thin, gave AV ¼ 12:5 Æ 1 mag. Subsequent investigators maintain that ionization can be obtained (Harris 1976; Brown (Thompson et al. 1976; McGregor et al. 1984; Rudy et al. et al. 1976; Knapp et al. 1976). All found, on the basis of the 1991; Kelly et al. 1994) using various procedures have found properties of OB stars tabulated by Panagia (1973), that the values of AV ranging from 9.7 to 15.8 mag. required Lyc flux could be supplied by a single star, if near If one simply assumes that AV ¼ 10 mag and a distance the ZAMS, of type B0 or B1.1 Assuming that the optical of 700 pc (obtained later in this paper), then the observed value of V ¼ 15:7leadstoMV ¼3:5. This is not incom- patible with a normal B0.5 V, given the crudity of this cal- 1 More recent calculations (Vacca et al. 1996) based on later values of T e culation plus the scatter in the values of MV found in the and L and improved atmospheric models (Sternberg et al. 2003) predict sub- literature for that spectral type: Panagia (1973) gave À3.5 and stantially higher Lyc fluxes for OB stars, so a somewhat later B type for LkH 101 would follow. It is not possible to be more specific until such calculations Vacca et al. (1996) gave À4.1, while Andersen (1991) found are extended to types later than B0.5. À3.2 and À2.9 from two eclipsing binaries. The mass of a No. 3, 2004 NGC 1579 1235 TABLE 1 Optical and Near-Infrared Photometry of Stars in NGC 1579a Star (4+) (35+) VBÀ VVÀ RVÀ IRRÀ IJ JÀ H b H À K SpT 1.......... 29 54.12 15 19.8 ... ... ... ... ... ... 17.61 1.74 ... ... 2.......... 29 55.03 15 11.8 ... ... ... ... ... ... 17.57 1.04 0.59 ... 3.......... 29 55.10 17 47.1 ... ... ... ... ... ... 17.66 1.63 0.66 ... 4c ........ 29 55.56 15 02.4 ... ... ... ... ... ... 17.49 1.34 0.80 ... 5.......... 29 55.57 15 04.4 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... (18.17) 1.25 ... Notes.—Table 1 is presented in its entirety in the electronic edition of the Astronomical Journal. A portion is shown here for guidance regarding its form and content. Units of right ascension ( ) are hours, minutes, and seconds, and units of declination ( ) are degrees, arcminutes, and arcseconds. a The BVRI colors have been converted to the Johnson-Kron-Cousins photometric system, whereas the JHK colors are on the new Mauna Kea filter system. b When only H and K measurements are available, this column contains the H magnitude in parentheses. c Integrated magnitudes of an unresolved binary. B0.5 V according to the latter two sources is 19 and 13 M , (1979) found that between 1 and 160 m this ‘‘extended re- ; 4 respectively.