The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey^⋆

XXIX. Massive star formation in the local 30 Doradus starburst

¹ Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
e-mail: fabian.schneider@physics.ox.ac.uk
² UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
³ European Space Astronomy Centre, Mission Operations Division, PO Box 78, 28691 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
⁴ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁵ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK
⁶ Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1085 S. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA
⁷ Institute of Astrophysics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
⁸ Departamento de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de La Serena, Avda. Juan Cisternas 1200, Norte, La Serena, Chile
⁹ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
¹⁰ Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
¹¹ Argelander-Institut für Astronomie der Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
¹² Austrian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute, Schmiedlstraße 6, 8042 Graz, Austria
¹³ Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, Amsterdam University, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
¹⁴ Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
¹⁵ Institute of Astronomy, The Observatories, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK
¹⁶ Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Camino El Observatorio 1515, Las Condes, Santiago, Casilla 36-D, Chile
¹⁷ Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
¹⁸ Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC-INTA, ESAC campus, camino bajo del castillo s/n, 28 692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain
¹⁹ Institute of Astronomy with National Astronomical Observatory, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, PO Box 136, 4700 Smoljan, Bulgaria
²⁰ Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
²¹ Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG, UK
²² Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

Received: 15 May 2018
Accepted: 3 July 2018

Abstract

The 30 Doradus (30 Dor) nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the brightest HII region in the Local Group and a prototype starburst similar to those found in high redshift galaxies. It is thus a stepping stone to understand the complex formation processes of stars in starburst regions across the Universe. Here, we have studied the formation history of massive stars in 30 Dor using masses and ages derived for 452 mainly OB stars from the spectroscopic VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS). We find that stars of all ages and masses are scattered throughout 30 Dor. This is remarkable because it implies that massive stars either moved large distances or formed independently over the whole field of view in relative isolation. We find that both channels contribute to the 30 Dor massive star population. Massive star formation rapidly accelerated about 8 Myr ago, first forming stars in the field before giving birth to the stellar populations in NGC 2060 and NGC 2070. The R136 star cluster in NGC 2070 formed last and, since then, about 1 Myr ago, star formation seems to be diminished with some continuing in the surroundings of R136. Massive stars within a projected distance of 8 pc of R136 are not coeval but show an age range of up to 6 Myr. Our mass distributions are well populated up to 200 M_⊙. The inferred IMF is shallower than a Salpeter-like IMF and appears to be the same across 30 Dor. By comparing our sample of stars to stellar models in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, we find evidence for missing physics in the models above log L/L_⊙ = 6 that is likely connected to enhanced wind mass loss for stars approaching the Eddington limit. Our work highlights the key information about the formation, evolution and final fates of massive stars encapsulated in the stellar content of 30 Dor, and sets a new benchmark for theories of massive star formation in giant molecular clouds.