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K.E. Johnson (Univ. Wisconsin), S. Plante (Univ. Laval & Obs. du Mont Mégantic)
We present new high resolution radio observations of the ultra-young starburst in the metal-poor (Z=Z\odot/41) galaxy SBS0335-052. These radio data were obtained with the Very Large Array, and include observations at 1.3cm, 2cm, 3.6cm, and 6cm with relatively well-matched synthesized beams of ~0.5'' \times 0.4''. The radio emission is dominated by a single source that is not resolved by these observations, and therefore has a linear size of approximately < 75~pc. This main radio source is thermal in nature, and has a flux density that indicates the presence of ~12,000 equivalent O7-type stars, or a total stellar mass of ~2 \times 106 M\odot. The radio images are also compared to optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope; within the astrometric uncertainty, the luminous radio source may correspond to an optically visible super star cluster. However, the best astrometry available indicates that the radio source lies just to the south of the optical super star cluster, suggesting the radio source is completely enshrouded. This scenario is supported by the thermal-infrared observations of Plante & Sauvage (2002) that indicate the presence of a massive star cluster embedded in a dust cocoon with an 30 magnitudes of visual extinction. We suggest that this object is a super star cluster nursery, containing at least one of these massive clusters in its infancy.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
© YEAR. The American Astronomical Soceity.