Specific Star Forming Regions -- Poster Presentation
Star Formation in Cometary Globules: CG4/6/SA101 & CG30/31/38
J. Serena Kim, University of Arizona
Frederick M. Walter (SUNY Stony Brook), Scott J. Wolk (CfA), & William H. Sherry (NOAO/NSO)
Low-mass stars form in environments ranging from sparse regions without massive stars (such as Taurus) that are free of the ionizing radiation and strong winds produced by massive stars, to high density clusters which form in close proximity to massive stars (like the Orion Nebula Cluster). In this study we probe star forming regions that are representitive of a less studied, but potentially important, star forming environment where stars form in groups (10-100 stars) in an intermediate radiation environment. Here we report our preliminary results of multi-wavelength studies (X-ray, optical, and IR) of such an environment in two bright-rimmed cometary cloud complexes: CG 4/6/SA101 & CG 30/31/38. These cometary globules are located at the periphery of the Vela OB2 association, and are evaporating due to UV radiation from massive O stars. We identify potential pre-main sequence stars in and around these clouds using XMM, optical, IR imaging, and confirm youth of these stars with optical spectroscopy. We discuss preliminary results on the circumstellar disk fraction and compare the mass function to other well-known star forming regions.