The timescale of cluster formation is an essential parameter in order to
understand the formation process of star clusters. Pre-main sequence (PMS)
stars in nearby young open clusters reveal a large spread in brightness. If the
spread were considered as a result of a real spread in age, the corresponding
cluster formation timescale would be about 5 -- 20 Myr. Hence it could be
interpreted that star formation in an open cluster is prolonged for up to a few
tens of Myr. However, difficulties in reddening correction, observational
errors, and systematic uncertainties introduced by imperfect evolutionary
models for PMS stars, can result in an artificial age spread. Alternatively, we
can utilize Li abundance as a relative age indicator of PMS star to determine
the cluster formation timescale. The optical spectra of 134 PMS stars in NGC
2264 have been obtained with MMT/Hectochelle. The equivalent widths have been
measured for 86 PMS stars with a detectable Li line (3500 < T_eff [K] <= 6500).
Li abundance under the condition of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) was
derived using the conventional curve of growth method. After correction for
non-LTE effects, we find that the initial Li abundance of NGC 2264 is A(Li) =
3.2 +/- 0.2. From the distribution of the Li abundances, the underlying age
spread of the visible PMS stars is estimated to be about 3 -- 4 Myr and this,
together with the presence of embedded populations in NGC 2264, suggests that
the cluster formed on a timescale shorter than 5 Myr.Comment: 53 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
