Letter to the Editor

Self-similar cluster structures in massive star-forming regions: Isolated evolution from clumps to embedded clusters

¹ Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany
² Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik (HISKP), Universität Bonn, Nussallee 14–16, 53115 Bonn, Germany
³ Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Astronomical Institute, V Holešovičkách 2, 180 00 Praha 8, Czech Republic
⁴ Max Planck Institute für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

Received: 16 April 2024
Accepted: 25 July 2024

Abstract

We used the dendrogram algorithm to decompose the surface density distributions of stars into hierarchical structures. These structures were tied to the multiscale structures of star clusters. A similar power-law for the mass-size relation of star clusters measured at different scales suggests a self-similar structure of star clusters. We used the minimum spanning tree method to measure the separations between clusters and gas clumps in each massive star-forming region. The separations between clusters, between clumps, and between clusters and clumps were comparable, which indicates that the evolution from clump to embedded cluster proceeds in isolation and locally, and does not affect the surrounding objects significantly. By comparing the mass functions of the ATLASGAL clumps and the identified embedded clusters, we confirm that a constant star formation efficiency of ≈0.33 can be a typical value for the ATLASGAL clumps.