The star-forming complex LMC-N79 as a future rival to 30 Doradus

• Main Authors: Ochsendorf, Bram B, Zinnecker, Hans, Nayak, Omnarayani, Bally, John, Meixner, Margaret, Jones, Olivia C, Indebetouw, Remy, Rahman, Mubdi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 02-10-2017
• Subjects: Physics - Astrophysics of Galaxies; Physics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1710.00805

Within the early Universe, `extreme' star formation may have been the norm
rather than the exception. Super Star Clusters (SSCs; $M_\star$ $\gtrsim$
10$^5$ M$_\odot$) are thought to be the modern-day analogs of globular
clusters, relics of a cosmic time ($z$ $\gtrsim$ 2) when the Universe was
filled with vigorously star-forming systems. The giant HII region 30 Doradus in
the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is often regarded as a benchmark for studies
of extreme star formation. Here, we report the discovery of a massive embedded
star forming complex spanning $\sim$ 500 pc in the unexplored southwest region
of the LMC, which manifests itself as a younger, embedded twin of 30 Doradus.
Previously known as N79, this region has a star formation efficiency exceeding
that of 30 Doradus by a factor of $\sim$ 2 as measured over the past $\lesssim$
0.5 Myr. Moreover, at the heart of N79 lies the most luminous infrared (IR)
compact source discovered with large-scale IR surveys of the LMC and Milky Way,
possibly a precursor to the central SSC of 30 Doradus, R136. The discovery of a
nearby candidate SSC may provide invaluable information to understand how
extreme star formation proceeds in the current and high-redshift Universe.