Clustering/Populations -- Poster Presentation
IR & X-ray Studies of Nearby Young Starforming Regions:
Serpens, NGC1333, OMC 2/3
Elaine Winston, Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics
Tom Megeath (CfA), Scott Wolk (CfA), Lori Allen (CfA)
We will present the study of three young, nearby (< 450 pc)
stellar clusters at optical infrared and x-ray wavelengths: Serpens,
NGC1333, OMC 2/3. Photometry from the IRAC instrument on Spitzer will provide
3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8.0 micron fluxes, and MIPS will provide 24 micron. With these data we can identify those members with envelopes (Class I),
those with disks and no envelope (Class II), those with no observable disks
(Class III), and those objects having no discernable inner disk but an excess
flux at 24 micron. Class III objects will be identified through examination of
their x-ray flux, as they continue to exhibit elevated levels above the
background and field stars. We will focus on the X-ray selected sample of young
stars, using the Spitzer data to determine the evolutionary class of each of
these stars. We will then examine the X-ray properties as a function of the
evolutionary class. Such information may provide insight on rapid disk
dissipation in the first Myrs.