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Are There Age Spreads in Star Forming Regions?

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Star Clusters in the Era of Large Surveys

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Abstract

A luminosity spread at a given effective temperature is ubiquitously seen in the Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagrams of young star forming regions and often interpreted in terms of a prolonged period (≥10 Myr) of star formation. I review the evidence that the observed luminosity spreads are genuine and not caused by astrophysical sources of scatter. I then address whether the luminosity spreads necessarily imply large age spreads, by comparing HR diagram ages with ages from independent clocks such as stellar rotation rate, the presence of circumstellar material and lithium depletion. I argue that whilst there probably is a true luminosity dispersion, there is little evidence to support age spreads larger than a few Myr. This paradox could be resolved by brief periods of rapid accretion during the class I pre main-sequence phase.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK

    Rob D. Jeffries

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  1. Rob D. Jeffries
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Correspondence to Rob D. Jeffries .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Fac. de Ciências da Univ. de Lisboa, SIM, Campo Grande, Edifício C8, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal

    André Moitinho

  2. Institute of Astronomy, Türkenschanzstrasse 17, Vienna, 1180, Austria

    João Alves

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Jeffries, R.D. (2012). Are There Age Spreads in Star Forming Regions?. In: Moitinho, A., Alves, J. (eds) Star Clusters in the Era of Large Surveys. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22113-2_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22113-2_23

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-22112-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-22113-2

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