Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We present the first results from a JWST/NIRCam study of the star-forming region N159, one of the richest H II complexes in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This region stretches over $\sim$130 pc, and exemplifies large-scale sequential star formation. We present photometric results of $>$300,000 point sources combining data from ten near-infrared JWST filters spanning 1-4.7 microns. We detect sources as faint as $\sim$27 magnitudes at F115W, corresponding to stellar masses reaching below $\sim$0.1 $M_{\odot}$. By constructing several color-magnitude and color-color diagrams, we separate young stars from main-sequence and older stars within N159, finding evidence for stellar populations younger than 0.5 Myr. Of the young population, we identify accreting, pre-main sequence stars from their Paschen-$α$ (Pa$α$) excess and a population of sources bearing strong infrared (IR) excess, representing candidate young stellar objects (YSOs). Within this population, we identify a subpopulation of sources with H$_2$O ice absorption. The IR-excess-bearing YSO candidates correlate spatially with dust filaments and molecular gas demonstrating their embedded state. The distribution of stellar and candidate YSO populations across N159 reveal more evolved star-forming populations in the N159E region and newer star formation in the N159W region, supporting the sequential star formation scenario for this region.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Habel, Nolan, Sabbi, E., Zeidler, Peter, Ziliotto, Tuila, Meixner, Laurie Chu Margaret, De Marchi, Guido, Jones, O. C., Hirschauer, Alec S., Meena, Beena, Jaspers, Jeroen, Lenkic, Laura, Indebetouw, Remy, Gordon, Karl D., Gunay, Burcu, Madden, Suzanne, Page, James Muzerolle, Nayak, Omnarayani, Nota, Antonella, Oneill, Theo, Robberto, Massimo, Wong, Tony, Mercia-Jones, Petia Yanchulova
Institutions: California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Royal Observatory, UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Morgan State University, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Dublin Institute For Advanced Studies, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Space Telescope Science Institute, Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, Johns Hopkins University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214164218