A Formation Scenario for the Heavy-Weight Cluster W3 in NGC 7252

Abstract

The young star cluster W3 (age 300-500 Myr) in NGC 7252 is the most luminous star cluster known to date. Dynamical mass estimates result in 8 +/- 2 * 10^7 M_sun. With an effective radius of about 18 pc and a velocity dispersion of 45 km/s this object is rather one of the recently discovered ultra-compact dwarf (UCD) galaxies than a star cluster. In our model we propose a formation scenario for W3. Observations of interacting galaxies reveal regions of strong star formation forming dozens up to hundreds of star clusters in confined regions of several hundred parsec in diameter. The total mass of new stars in these regions can reach 10^7 or even 10^8 solar masses. By means of numerical simulations we have shown that the star clusters in these regions merge on short time-scales forming objects like UCD galaxies or W3.

6 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of 'Starburst 2004 - from 30 Doradus to Lyman break galaxies', September 6-10 2004, Cambridge,UK