Super Star Clusters in the Central Starburst of NGC 4945
Journal article, 2020

The nearby (3.8Mpc) galaxy NGC 4945 hosts a nuclear starburst and Seyfert type 2 active galactic nucleus (AGN). We use the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to image the 93 GHz (3.2 mm) free-free continuum and hydrogen recombination line emission (H40 alpha and H42 alpha) at 2.2 pc (0 12) resolution. Our observations reveal 27 bright, compact sources with FWHM sizes of 1.4-4.0 pc, which we identify as candidate super star clusters. Recombination line emission, tracing the ionizing photon rate of the candidate clusters, is detected in 15 sources, six of which have a significant synchrotron component to the 93 GHz continuum. Adopting an age of similar to 5Myr, the stellar masses implied by the ionizing photon luminosities are log(10) (M*/M-circle dot) approximate to 4.7-6.1. We fit a slope to the cluster mass distribution and find beta = -1.8 +/-.0.4. The gas masses associated with these clusters, derived from the dust continuum at 350 GHz, are typically an order of magnitude lower than the stellar mass. These candidate clusters appear to have already converted a large fraction of their dense natal material into stars and, given their small freefall times of similar to 0.05 Myr, are surviving an early volatile phase. We identify a pointlike source in 93 GHz continuum emission that is presumed to be the AGN. We do not detect recombination line emission from the AGN and place an upper limit on the ionizing photons that leak into the starburst region of Q(0).<.10(52) s(-1).

Starburst galaxies

Star formation

Galaxies

Star clusters

Author

Kimberly L. Emig

Leiden University

Alberto D. Bolatto

University of Maryland

Adam K. Leroy

Ohio State University

Elisabeth A. C. Mills

University of Kansas

Maria J. Jimenez Donaire

Spanish National Observatory (OAN)

Alexander G. G. M. Tielens

Leiden University

University of Maryland

Adam Ginsburg

University of Florida

Mark Gorski

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics

Nico Krieger

Max Planck Society

Rebecca C. Levy

University of Maryland

David S. Meier

National Radio Astronomy Observatory Socorro

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Jurgen Ott

National Radio Astronomy Observatory Socorro

Erik Rosolowsky

University of Alberta

Todd A. Thompson

Ohio State University

Sylvain Veilleux

University of Maryland

Astrophysical Journal

0004-637X (ISSN) 1538-4357 (eISSN)

Vol. 903 1 50

Subject Categories

Subatomic Physics

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics

DOI

10.3847/1538-4357/abb67d

More information

Latest update

12/3/2020