Constraining globular cluster formation through studies of young massive clusters - II. A single stellar population young massive cluster in NGC 34

Abstract

Currently there are two competing scenarios to explain the origin of the stellar population in globular clusters (GCs). Themain difference between them is whether or not multiple events of star formation took place within GCs. In this paper, we present the star formation history (SFH) of Cluster 1, a massive young cluster in NGC 34 (~ 107M⊙). We use DynBaS (Dynamical Basis Selection), a spectrum fitting algorithm, to retrieve the SFH and find that Cluster 1 is consistent with a single stellar population of solar metallicity with an age of 100 ± 30 Myr and a mass of 1.9 ± 0.4 × 107M⊙. These results are in conflict with the expectations/predictions of the scenarios that invoke extended or multiple episodes within 30-100 Myr of the initial star formation burst in young massive clusters. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.