The reliability of age measurements for Young Stellar Objects from Hertzsprung-Russell or color-magnitude diagrams  

作　　者：Thomas Preibisch 

机构地区：[1]Universitts-Sternwarte Mnchen,Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt

出　　处：《Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics》2012年第1期1-25,共25页天文和天体物理学研究（英文版）

摘　　要：The possibility to estimate ages and masses of Young Stellar Objects （YSOs） from their location in the Hertzsprnng-Russell diagram （HRD） or a color- magnitude diagram provides a very important tool for the investigation of fundamen- tal questions related to the processes of star formation and early stellar evolution. Age estimates are essential for studies of the temporal evolution of circumstellar material around YSOs and the conditions for planet formation. The characterization of the age distribution of the YSOs in a star forming region allows researchers to reconstruct the star formation history and provides important information on the fundamental ques- tion of whether star formation is a slow or a fast process. However, the reliability of these age measurements and the ability to detect possible age spreads in the stellar population of star forming regions are fundamentally limited by several factors. The variability of YSOs, unresolved binary components, and uncertainties in the calibra- tions of the stellar parameters cause uncertainties in the derived luminosities that are usually much larger than the typical photometry errors. Furthermore, the pre-main se- quence evolution track of a YSO depends to some degree on the initial conditions and the details of its individual accretion history. I discuss how these observational and model uncertainties affect the derived isochronal ages, and demonstrate how neglect- ing or underestimating these uncertainties can easily lead to severe misinterpretations, gross overestimates of the age spread, and ill-based conclusions about the star for- marion history. These effects are illustrated by means of Monte-Carlo simulations of observed star clusters with realistic observational uncertainties. The most important points are as follows. First, the observed scatter in the HRD must not be confused with a genuine age spread, but is always just an upper limit to the true age spread. Second, histograms of isochronal ages naturally show a decreasing number of stars forThe possibility to estimate ages and masses of Young Stellar Objects （YSOs） from their location in the Hertzsprnng-Russell diagram （HRD） or a color- magnitude diagram provides a very important tool for the investigation of fundamen- tal questions related to the processes of star formation and early stellar evolution. Age estimates are essential for studies of the temporal evolution of circumstellar material around YSOs and the conditions for planet formation. The characterization of the age distribution of the YSOs in a star forming region allows researchers to reconstruct the star formation history and provides important information on the fundamental ques- tion of whether star formation is a slow or a fast process. However, the reliability of these age measurements and the ability to detect possible age spreads in the stellar population of star forming regions are fundamentally limited by several factors. The variability of YSOs, unresolved binary components, and uncertainties in the calibra- tions of the stellar parameters cause uncertainties in the derived luminosities that are usually much larger than the typical photometry errors. Furthermore, the pre-main se- quence evolution track of a YSO depends to some degree on the initial conditions and the details of its individual accretion history. I discuss how these observational and model uncertainties affect the derived isochronal ages, and demonstrate how neglect- ing or underestimating these uncertainties can easily lead to severe misinterpretations, gross overestimates of the age spread, and ill-based conclusions about the star for- marion history. These effects are illustrated by means of Monte-Carlo simulations of observed star clusters with realistic observational uncertainties. The most important points are as follows. First, the observed scatter in the HRD must not be confused with a genuine age spread, but is always just an upper limit to the true age spread. Second, histograms of isochronal ages naturally show a decreasing number of stars for

关 键 词：stars： ages -- stars： pre-main sequence -- stars： formation --Hertzsprung-Russell diagram 

分 类 号：P144[天文地球—天体物理]