FEAST: Probing Hierarchical Star Formation with the Spatial Distributions of Young Star Clusters

The Astrophysical Journal 2026 Open access

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Authors: Drew Lapeer, Daniela Calzetti, K. Grasha, Angela Adamo, Bruce G. Elmegreen, A. Bik, Giacomo Bortolini, Anne S. M. Buckner, M. Cignoni, Matteo Correnti, D. M. Elmegreen, H. Faustino Vieira
+10 more Max Hamilton, K. Roger Johnson, Thomas S.-Y. Lai, S. Linden, Subhransu Maji, Matteo Messa, Göran Östlin, Alex Pedrini, E. Sabbi, Linda J. Smith
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae3a92
Cited by: 1
References: 73

Abstract

Abstract We apply the angular two-point correlation function (TPCF) to the spatial distributions of young star clusters (YSCs) in four nearby star forming galaxies (NGC 628, NGC 4449, M51, and M83) in order to investigate their underlying hierarchical structuring. Using newly constructed catalogs of YSCs in the emerging phase (eYSCs), identified in the infrared with JWST, and optical YSCs detected in archival Hubble Space Telescope data, we compute the TPCFs for various cluster samples and age bins across the four galaxies, as part of the Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star ClusTers (FEAST) program. We find clear evidence of hierarchical structuring, especially in eYSCs and YSCs with ages

Fields of Study & Subjects

Galaxies: Formation Evolution Phenomena Stellar planetary and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysical Research

Publication details

Journal / source
The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Volume
999
Issue
2
Pages
189–189
Publication date
3 March 2026
Language
EN