Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Physics
Date of Defense
12-7-2018
Graduate Advisor
Bruce Wilking
Co-Advisor
Paul Parris
Committee
Tom Greene
Erika Gibb
Alexey Yamilov
Abstract
The dynamical state of the young star-forming cluster Rho Ophiuchi is considered, with emphasis on the L1688 cloud. Radial velocities are derived for 32 YSOs, with some being multi-epoch, using Markov-Chain Monte Carlo routines based upon the package emcee. Sources are chosen based upon their spectral index to focus on the earlier stages of star formation, in this case, Class I and Flat spectrum objects, and compared with a sample of Class II and III objects from the same embedded cluster. It is found that the radial velocity dispersion for these younger objects is ∆v = 2.8 ± 0.6 km s-1 which is about 2σ higher than the dispersion for Class II and III objects. The implication is that there are either small number statistics at play, or the cluster’s dispersion is being increased as an inverse function of the distance from the center of the cluster due to a collapse-and-rebound phase that has been proposed in recent simulations.
Recommended Citation
Sullivan, Timothy, "The Dynamical State of a Young Stellar Cluster" (2018). Dissertations. 836.
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/836