Uncovering the Beast: Discovery of Embedded Massive Stellar Clusters in W49A

We present subarcsecond J, H, and Ks images (FWHM ~ 0.5") of an unbiased 5'x 5' (16pc x 16pc) survey of the densest region of the W49 giant molecular cloud. The observations reveal 4 massive stellar clusters (with stars as massive as \~120 Msun), the larger (Cluster 1) about 3 pc East of the well known Welch ring of ultra-compact Hii regions. Cluster 1 is a) extincted by at least Av > 20 mag of foreground (unrelated and local) extinction, b) has more than 30 mag of internal inhomogeneous visual extinction implying that it is still deeply buried in its parental molecular cloud, and c) is powering a 6 pc diameter giant Hii region seen both at the NIR and radio continuum. We also identify the exciting sources of several UCHii regions. The census of massive stars in W49A agrees or is slightly overabundant when compared with the number of Lyman continuum photons derived from radio observations. We argue that although the formation of the Welch ring could have been triggered by Cluster 1, the entire W49A starburst region seems to have been multi-seeded instead of resulting from a coherent trigger.Comment: ApJ Letters accepted. All figures provided as nice resolution jpeg/gif files. Get full-res version at http://www.eso.org/~jalves/W49A.pd

Internal Kinematics of Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies

We describe the dynamical properties which may be inferred from HST/STIS spectroscopic observations of luminous compact blue galaxies (LCBGs) between 0.1<z<0.7. While the sample is homogeneous in blue rest-frame color, small size and line-width, and high surface-brightness, their detailed morphology is eclectic. Here we determine the amplitude of rotation versus random, or disturbed motions of the ionized gas. This information affirms the accuracy of dynamical mass and M/L estimates from Keck integrated line-widths, and hence also the predictions of the photometric fading of these unusual galaxies. The resolved kinematics indicates this small subset of LCBGs are dynamically hot, and unlikely to be embedded in disk systems.Comment: To appear in "Starbursts: from 30 Doradus to Lyman Break Galaxies" 2005, eds. R. de Grijs and R. M. Gonzalez Delgado (Kluwer

Epiphytic biomass of a tropical montane forest varies with topography

The spatial heterogeneity of tropical forest epiphytes has rarely been quantified in terms of biomass. In particular, the effect of topographic variation on epiphyte biomass is poorly known, although forests on ridges and ravines can differ drastically in stature and exposure. In an Ecuadorian lower montane forest we quantified epiphytic biomass along two gradients: (1) the twig-branch-trunk trajectory, and (2) the ridge-ravine gradient. Twenty-one trees were sampled in each of three forest types (ridge, slope, ravine positions). Their epiphytic biomass was extrapolated to stand level based on basal area-epiphyte load relationships, with tree basal areas taken from six plots of 400 m 2 each per forest type. Our results document the successional addition and partial replacement of lichens by bryophytes, angiosperms and finally dead organic matter along the twig-branch-trunk trajectory. Despite having the highest tree basal area, total epiphytic biomass (mean ± SD) of ravine forest was significantly lower (2.6 ± 0.7 Mg ha -1) than in mid-slope forest (6.3 ± 1.1 Mg ha -1) and ridge forest (4.4 ± 1.6 Mg ha -1), whereas maximum bryophyte water storage capacity was significantly higher. We attribute this pattern to differences in forest dynamics, stand structure and microclimate. Although our study could not differentiate between direct effects of slope position (nutrient availability, mesoclimate) and indirect effects (stand structure and dynamics), it provides evidence that fine-scale topography needs to be taken into account when extrapolating epiphytic biomass and related matter fluxes from stand-level data to the regional scale. © Copyright Cambridge University Press 2011