SPYGLASS. VII-A. The Demographics and Ages of Small Nearby Young Associations

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2025

Recent Gaia-based young stellar association surveys have revealed dozens of low-mass populations that have, until recently, been too small or sparse to detect. These populations represent a largely unstudied demographic with unknown origins, and their relative isolation may minimize gravitational disruptions that impact traceback, making them compelling targets for dynamical studies. In this paper, we survey 15 of these isolated young associations for the first time: Andromeda South (SCYA-97), Aquila East, Aries South (SCYA-104), Cassiopeia East (SCYA-43), Canis Major North, Leo Central (SCYA-2), Leo East (SCYA-3), Theia 72, Ophiuchus Southeast, Scutum North (SCYA-70), Taurus-Orion 1 (TOR1), Theia 78, Vulpecula East (UPK 88), SCYA-54, and SCYA-79. By combining Gaia astrometry and photometry with new ground-based spectroscopic measurements, we assess the membership of each population, search for substructure, analyze their demographics, and compute ages. We find that the smallest populations in our sample contain <20 M-circle dot of stellar mass, making them the smallest associations ever detected. Four host substantial substructure, including TOR1, where we discover TOR1B, a new 16 M-circle dot association with radial velocities inconsistent with an origin in the parent complex. Using PARSEC isochrones, we produce self-consistent ages for all populations supported by dynamical and lithium depletion ages, which range from 6.9 +/- 0.5 Myr in TOR1A to 42.8 +/- 2.4 in AndS. Our results provide the first detailed overview of the properties of these populations, characterizing a largely unknown category of young associations that may have an important role in tracing the processes that guide local star formation.