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We present the first large-scale 3D kinematic study of |$\sim$| 2700 spectroscopically confirmed young stars (⁠|$\lt $| 20 Myr) in 18 star clusters and OB associations (hereafter groups) from the combination of Gaia astrometry and Gaia –ESO Survey spectroscopy. We measure 3D velocity dispersions for all groups, which range from 0.61 to 7.4 km s |$^{-1}$| (1D velocity dispersions of 0.35–4.3 km s |$^{-1}$| ). We find the majority of groups have anisotropic velocity dispersions, suggesting they are not dynamically relaxed. From the 3D velocity dispersions, measured radii, and estimates of total mass, we estimate the virial state and find that all systems are super-virial when only the stellar mass is considered, but that some systems are sub-virial when the mass of the molecular cloud is taken into account. We observe an approximately linear correlation between the 3D velocity dispersion and the group mass, which would imply that the virial state of groups scales as the square root of the group mass. However, we do not observe a strong correlation between virial state and group mass. In agreement with their virial state, we find that nearly all of the groups studied are in the process of expanding and that the expansion is anisotropic, implying that groups were not spherical prior to expansion. One group, Rho Oph, is found to be contracting and in a sub-virial state (when the mass of the surrounding molecular cloud is considered). This work provides a glimpse of the potential of the combination of Gaia and data from the next generation of spectroscopic surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of precise radial velocities from multi-object spectroscopy and highly accurate proper motions from Gaia DR2 opens up the possibility for detailed 3D kinematic studies of young star-forming regions and clusters. Here, we perform such an analysis by combining Gaia -ESO Survey spectroscopy with Gaia astrometry for ∼900 members of the Lagoon Nebula cluster, NGC 6530. We measure the 3D velocity dispersion of the region to be |$5.35^{+0.39}_{-0.34}$|  km s−1, which is large enough to suggest the region is gravitationally unbound. The velocity ellipsoid is anisotropic, implying that the region is not sufficiently dynamically evolved to achieve isotropy, though the central part of NGC 6530 does exhibit velocity isotropy that suggests sufficient mixing has occurred in this denser part. We find strong evidence that the stellar population is expanding, though this is preferentially occurring in the declination direction and there is very little evidence for expansion in the right ascension direction. This argues against a simple radial expansion pattern, as predicted by models of residual gas expulsion. We discuss these findings in the context of cluster formation, evolution, and disruption theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The Vela-Puppis region is known to host the Vela OB2 association as well as several young clusters featuring OB and pre-main-sequence stars. Several spatial and kinematic subgroups have been identified in recent years. Aims. By grouping stars based on their positions and velocity, we can address the question of the dynamical history of the region and the mechanisms that drove stellar formation. The Gaia DR2 astrometry and photometry enables us to characterise the 3D spatial and 3D kinematic distribution of young stars and to estimate the ages of the identified components. Methods. We used an unsupervised classification method to group stars based on their proper motions and parallax. We studied the expansion rates of the different identified groups based on 3D velocities and on corrected tangential velocities. We used theoretical isochrones to estimate ages. Results. The young stars can be separated into seven main groups of different ages and kinematical distribution. All groups are found to be expanding, although the expansion is mostly not isotropic. Conclusions. The size of the region, the age substructure, and the anisotropic expansion rates are compatible with a prolonged period of star formation in a turbulent molecular cloud. The current kinematics of the stars cannot be explained by internal processes alone (such as gas expulsion). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the kinematically unbiased technique described in Binks, Jeffries & Maxted (2015), we present optical spectra for a further 122 rapidly rotating (rotation periods <6 d), X-ray active FGK stars, selected from the SuperWASP survey. We identify 17 new examples of young, probably single stars with ages of <200 Myr and provide additional evidence for a new Northern hemisphere kinematic association: the Pisces moving group (MG). The group consists of 14 lithium-rich G- and K-type stars that have a dispersion of only ∼3 kms-1 in each Galactic space velocity coordinate. The group members are approximately coeval in the colour–magnitude diagram, with an age of 30-50 Myr, and have similar, though not identical, kinematics to the Octans-Near MG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Reconstructing the structure and history of young clusters is pivotal to understanding the mechanisms and timescales of early stellar evolution and planet formation. Recent studies suggest that star clusters often exhibit a hierarchical structure, possibly resulting from several star formation episodes occurring sequentially rather than a monolithic cloud collapse. Aims. We aim to explore the structure of the open cluster and star-forming region NGC 2264 (~3 Myr), which is one of the youngest, richest and most accessible star clusters in the local spiral arm of our Galaxy; we link the spatial distribution of cluster members to other stellar properties such as age and evolutionary stage to probe the star formation history within the region. Methods. We combined spectroscopic data obtained as part of the Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) with multi-wavelength photometric data from the Coordinated Synoptic Investigation of NGC 2264 (CSI 2264) campaign. We examined a sample of 655 cluster members, with masses between 0.2 and 1.8 M☉ and including both disk-bearing and disk-free young stars. We used Teff estimates from GES and g; r; i photometry from CSI 2264 to derive individual extinction and stellar parameters. Results. We find a significant age spread of 4-5 Myr among cluster members. Disk-bearing objects are statistically associated with younger isochronal ages than disk-free sources. The cluster has a hierarchical structure, with two main blocks along its latitudinal extension. The northern half develops around the O-type binary star S Mon; the southern half, close to the tip of the Cone Nebula, contains the most embedded regions of NGC 2264, populated mainly by objects with disks and ongoing accretion. The median ages of objects at di erent locations within the cluster, and the spatial distribution of disked and non-disked sources, suggest that star formation began in the north of the cluster, over 5 Myr ago, and was ignited in its southern region a few Myr later. Star formation is likely still ongoing in the most embedded regions of the cluster, while the outer regions host a widespread population of more evolved objects; these may be the result of an earlier star formation episode followed by outward migration on timescales of a few Myr. We find a detectable lag between the typical age of disk-bearing objects and that of accreting objects in the inner regions of NGC 2264: the first tend to be older than the second, but younger than disk-free sources at similar locations within the cluster. This supports earlier findings that the characteristic timescales of disk accretion are shorter than those of disk dispersal, and smaller than the average age of NGC 2264 (i.e., ≲3 Myr). At the same time, we note that disks in the north of the cluster tend to be shorter-lived (~2.5 Myr) than elsewhere; this may reflect the impact of massive stars within the region (notably S Mon), that trigger rapid disk dispersal. Conclusions. Our results, consistent with earlier studies on NGC 2264 and other young clusters, support the idea of a star formation process that takes place sequentially over a prolonged span in a given region. A complete understanding of the dynamics of formation and evolution of star clusters requires accurate astrometric and kinematic characterization of its population; significant advance in this field is foreseen in the upcoming years thanks to the ongoing Gaia mission, coupled with extensive ground-based surveys like GES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of lithium-rich giants contradicts expectations from canonical stellar evolution. Here we report on the serendipitous discovery of 20 Li-rich giants observed during the Gaia-ESO Survey, which includes the first nine Li-rich giant stars known towards the CoRoT fields. Most of our Li-rich giants have near-solar metallicities and stellar parameters consistent with being before the luminosity bump. This is difficult to reconcile with deep mixing models proposed to explain lithium enrichment, because these models can only operate at later evolutionary stages: at or past the luminosity bump. In an effort to shed light on the Li-rich phenomenon, we highlight recent evidence of the tidal destruction of close-in hot Jupiters at the sub-giant phase.We note that when coupled with models of planet accretion, the observed destruction of hot Jupiters actually predicts the existence of Li-rich giant stars, and suggests that Li-rich stars should be found early on the giant branch and occur more frequently with increasing metallicity. A comprehensive review of all known Li-rich giant stars reveals that this scenario is consistent with the data. However, more evolved or metal-poor stars are less likely to host close-in giant planets, implying that their Li-rich origin requires an alternative explanation, likely related to mixing scenarios rather than external phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gaia-ESO Survey has recently unveiled the complex kinematic signature of the Gamma Velorum cluster: this cluster is composed of two kinematically distinct populations (hereafter, population A and B), showing two different velocity dispersions and a relative ~2 kms-1 radial velocity (RV) shift. In this paper, we propose that the two populations of the Gamma Velorum cluster originate from two different sub-clusters, born from the same parent molecular cloud. We investigate this possibility by means of direct-summation N-body simulations. Our scenario is able to reproduce not only the RV shift and the different velocity dispersions, but also the different centroid (~0.5 pc), the different spatial concentration and the different line-of-sight distance (~5 pc) of the two populations. The observed 1-2 Myr age difference between the two populations is also naturally explained by our scenario, in which the two subclusters formed in two slightly different star formation episodes. Our simulations suggest that population B is strongly supervirial, while population A is close to virial equilibrium. We discuss the implications of our models for the formation of young star clusters and OB associations in the Milky Way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nearby (distance ~ 350-400 pc), rich Vela OB2 association, includes γ² Velorum, one of the most massive binaries in the solar neighbourhood and an excellent laboratory for investigating the formation and early evolution of young clusters. Recent Gaia-ESO survey observations have led to the discovery of two kinematically distinct populations in the young (10-15 Myr) cluster immediately surrounding γ² Velorum. Here we analyse the results of Gaia-ESO survey observations of NGC 2547, a 35 Myr cluster located two degrees south of γ² Velorum. The radial velocity distribution of lithium-rich pre-main sequence stars shows a secondary population that is kinematically distinct from and younger than NGC 2547. The radial velocities, lithium absorption lines, and the positions in a colour-magnitude diagram of this secondary population are consistent with those of one of the components discovered around γ² Velorum. This result shows that there is a young, low-mass stellar population spread over at least several square degrees in the Vela OB2 association. This population could have originally been part of a cluster around γ² Velorum that expanded after gas expulsion or formed in a less dense environment that is spread over the whole Vela OB2 region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an isochrone server for semi-empirical pre-main-sequence model isochrones in the following systems: Johnson–Cousins, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Two-Micron All-Sky Survey, Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) Wide-Field Camera and INT Photometric Hα Survey (IPHAS)/UV-Excess Survey (UVEX). The server can be accessed via the Cluster Collaboration webpage http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/timn/isochrones/. To achieve this, we have used the observed colours of member stars in young clusters with well-established age, distance and reddening to create fiducial loci in the colour–magnitude diagram. These empirical sequences have been used to quantify the discrepancy between the models and data arising from uncertainties in both the interior and atmospheric models, resulting in tables of semi-empirical bolometric corrections (BCs) in the various photometric systems. The model isochrones made available through the server are based on existing stellar interior models coupled with our newly derived semi-empirical BCs. As part of this analysis, we also present new cluster parameters for both the Pleiades and Praesepe, yielding ages of $135^{+20}_{-11}$ and $665^{+14}_{-7}\,\rm {Myr}$ as well as distances of 132 ± 2 and 184 ± 2 pc, respectively (statistical uncertainty only). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. A key science goal of the Gaia-ESO survey (GES) at the VLT is to use the kinematics of low-mass stars in young clusters and star forming regions to probe their dynamical histories and how they populate the field as they become unbound. The clustering of low-mass stars around the massive Wolf-Rayet binary system γ2 Velorum was one of the first GES targets. Aims. We empirically determine the radial velocity precision of GES data, construct a kinematically unbiased sample of cluster members and characterise their dynamical state. Methods. Targets were selected from colour-magnitude diagrams and intermediate resolution spectroscopy was used to derive radial velocities and assess membership from the strength of the Li i 6708 Å line. The radial velocity distribution was analysed using a maximum likelihood technique that accounts for unresolved binaries. Results. The GES radial velocity precision is about 0.25 km s-1 and sufficient to resolve velocity structure in the low-mass population around γ2 Vel. The structure is well fitted by two kinematic components with roughly equal numbers of stars; the first has an intrinsic dispersion of 0.34 ± 0.16 km s-1, consistent with virial equilibrium. The second has a broader dispersion of 1.60 ± 0.37 km s-1 and is offset from the first by ≃2 kms-1. The first population is older by 1-2 Myr based on a greater level of Li depletion seen among its M-type stars and is probably more centrally concentrated around γ2 Vel. Conclusions. We consider several formation scenarios, concluding that the two kinematic components are a bound remnant of the original, denser cluster that formed γ2 Vel, and a dispersed population from the wider Vela OB2 association, of which γ2 Vel is the most massive member. The apparent youth of γ2 Vel compared to the older (⩾10 Myr) low-mass population surrounding it suggests a scenario in which the massive binary formed in a clustered environment after the formation of the bulk of the low-mass stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The wide luminosity dispersion seen for stars at a given effective temperature in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams of young clusters and star-forming regions is often interpreted as due to significant (∼10 Myr) spreads in stellar contraction age. In the scenario where most stars are born with circumstellar discs, and that disc signatures decay monotonically (on average) over time-scales of only a few Myr, any such age spread should lead to clear differences in the age distributions of stars with and without discs. We have investigated large samples of stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) using three methods to diagnose disc presence from infrared measurements. We find no significant difference in the mean ages or age distributions of stars with and without discs, consistent with expectations for a coeval population. Using a simple quantitative model, we show that any real age spread must be smaller than the median disc lifetime. For a lognormal age distribution, there is an upper limit of <0.14 dex (at 99 per cent confidence) to any real age dispersion, compared to the ≃0.4 dex implied by the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. If the mean age of the ONC is 2.5 Myr, this would mean at least 95 per cent of its low-mass stellar population have ages between 1.3-4.8 Myr. We suggest that the observed luminosity dispersion is caused by a combination of observational uncertainties and physical mechanisms that disorder the conventional relationship between luminosity and age for pre-main-sequence stars. This means that individual stellar ages from the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram are unreliable and cannot be used to directly infer a star formation history. Irrespective of what causes the wide luminosity dispersion, the finding that any real age dispersion is less than the median disc lifetime argues strongly against star formation scenarios for the ONC lasting longer than a few Myr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a photometric study of I-band variability in the young association Cepheus OB3b. The study is sensitive to periodic variability on time-scales of less than a day, to more than 20 d. After rejection of contaminating objects using and narrow-band Hα photometry, we find 475 objects with measured rotation periods, which are very likely pre-main-sequence members of the Cep OB3b star-forming region. We revise the distance and age to Cep OB3b, putting it on the self-consistent age and distance ladder of Mayne & Naylor. This yields a distance modulus of 8.8 ± 0.2 mag, corresponding to a distance of 580 ± 60 pc, and an age of 4–5 Myr. The rotation period distribution confirms the general picture of rotational evolution in young stars, exhibiting both the correlation between accretion (determined in this case through narrow-band Hα photometry) and rotation expected from disc locking, and the dependence of rotation upon mass that is seen in other star-forming regions. However, this mass dependence is much weaker in our data than found in other studies. Comparison to the similarly aged NGC 2362 shows that the low-mass stars in Cep OB3b are rotating much more slowly. This points to a possible link between star-forming environment and rotation properties. Such a link would call into question models of stellar angular momentum evolution, which assume that the rotational period distributions of young clusters and associations can be assembled into an evolutionary sequence, thus ignoring environmental effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of a photometric BVI survey of 0.9 deg2 around the Wolf–Rayet binary Vel and its early-type common proper motion companion Vel (together referred to as the γ Vel system). Several hundred pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars are identified and the youth of a subset of these is spectroscopically confirmed by the presence of lithium in their atmospheres, Hα emission and high levels of X-ray activity. We show that the PMS stars are kinematically coherent and spatially concentrated around γ Vel. The PMS stars have similar proper motions to γ Vel, to main-sequence (MS) stars around γ Vel and to early-type stars of the wider Vela OB2 association of which Vel is the brightest member. The ratio of MS stars to low-mass PMS stars is consistent with a Kroupa mass function. MS fitting to stars around γ Vel gives an association distance modulus of , which is consistent with a similarly determined distance for Vela OB2 and also with interferometric distances to Vel. High-mass stellar models indicate an age of 3–4 Myr for Vel, but the low-mass PMS stars have ages of ≃10 Myr according to low-mass evolutionary models and 5–10 Myr by empirically placing them in an age sequence with other clusters based on colour–magnitude diagrams and lithium depletion. We conclude that the low-mass PMS stars form a genuine association with γ Vel, and this is a subcluster within the larger Vela OB2 association. We speculate that Vel formed after the bulk of the low-mass stars, expelling gas, terminating star formation and unbinding the association. The velocity dispersion of the PMS stars is too low for this star-forming event to have produced all the stars in the extended Vela OB2 association. Instead, star formation must have been initiated at several sites within a molecular cloud either sequentially or simultaneously after some triggering event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have obtained multi-epoch, high-resolution spectroscopy of 218 candidate low-mass stars and brown dwarfs (BDs) in the young clusters around σ Ori and λ Ori. We find that 196 targets are cluster members based on their radial velocity, the equivalent width of their Na i 8200 lines and the spectral type from their TiO band strength. We have identified 11 new binary stars among the cluster members based on their variable radial velocity and an additional binary from the variation in its linewidth and shape. Of these, six are double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2) where the components of the binary are of comparable brightness. The others are single-lined binaries (SB1) in which the companion is faint or the spectra of the stars are blended. There are three narrow-lined SB1 binaries in our sample for which the companion is more than 2.5 mag fainter than the primary. This suggests that the mass ratio distribution for the spectroscopic binaries in our sample is broad but that there may be a peak in the distribution near . The sample covers the magnitude range (mass ), but all of the binary stars are brighter than (mass ) and 10 are brighter than (mass ). There is a significant lack of spectroscopic binaries in our sample at faint magnitudes even when we account for the decrease in sensitivity with increasing magnitude. We can reject the hypothesis that the fraction of spectroscopic binaries is a uniform function of IC magnitude with more than 99 per cent confidence. The spectroscopic binary fraction for stars more massive than about is . The 90 per cent confidence upper limit to the spectroscopic binary fraction for very low-mass (VLM) stars (mass ) and BDs is per cent. The hypothesis that fbright and ffaint are equal can be rejected with 90 per cent confidence. The average detection probability for our survey is 50 per cent or more for binaries with separations up to 0.28 au for stars with and 0.033 au for the fainter stars in our sample. We conclude that we have found strong evidence for a change in the fraction of spectroscopic binaries among young VLM stars and BDs when compared to more massive stars in the same star-forming region. This implies a difference in the total binary fraction between VLM stars and BDs compared to more massive stars or a difference in the distribution of semimajor axes, or both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radii of young pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) have been estimated using their rotation periods and projected equatorial velocities. Stars at a given effective temperature have a spread in their geometrically estimated projected radii, that is larger than can be accounted for with a coeval model, observational uncertainties and randomly oriented rotation axes. It is shown that the required dispersion in radius (a factor of 2–3 full width at half-maximum) can be modelled in terms of a spread in stellar ages larger than the median age of the cluster, although the detailed star formation history cannot be uniquely determined using present data. This technique is relatively free from systematic uncertainties (binarity, extinction, variability, distance) that have hampered previous studies of the ONC star formation history using the conventional Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. However, the current ONC rotational data are biased against low-luminosity objects, so the deduced dispersions in radius and inferred age are probably underestimates. In particular, the ages of a tail of PMS stars that appear to be ≥10Myr old in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram cannot be verified with present data. If projected equatorial velocities were measured for these objects it could easily be checked whether their radii are correspondingly smaller than the bulk of the ONC population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have selected pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars in 12 groups of notional ages ranging from 1 to 35 Myr, using heterogeneous membership criteria. Using these members we have constructed empirical isochrones in V, V− I colour–magnitude diagrams. This allows us to identify clearly the gap between the radiative main sequence and the convective PMS (the R–C gap). We follow the evolution of this gap with age and show that it can be a useful age indicator for groups less than ≃15 Myr old. We also observe a reduction in absolute spreads about the sequences with age. Finally, the empirical isochrones allow us to place the groups in order of age, independently of theory. The youngest groups can be collated into three sets of similar ages. The youngest set is the ONC, NGC 6530 and IC 5146 (nominally 1 Myr); next Cep OB3b, NGC 2362, λ Ori and NGC 2264 (nominally 3 Myr); and finally σ Ori and IC 348 (nominally 4–5 Myr). This suggests Cep OB3b is younger than previously thought, and IC 348 older. For IC 348 the stellar rotation rate distribution and fraction of stars with discs imply a younger age than we derive. We suggest this is because of the absence of O-stars in this cluster, whose winds and/or ionizing radiation may be an important factor in the removal of discs in other clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermediate-resolutionspectroscopy is presented for 76 photometrically selected very low-masscandidate members of the young cluster aroundσ Orionis (σ Ori). More than two-thirds appear to be genuine cluster members on the basis that they exhibit Li i6708-Å absorption, weak Na i8183/8195Å features and a radial velocity consistent with the cluster mean. Photometric selection alone therefore appears to be very effective in identifying cluster members in this mass range. Only six objects appear to be certain non-members; however, a substantial subset of 13 candidates have ambiguous or contradictory indications of membership and lack Li absorption. Together with an observed spread in the equivalent width of the Li absorption feature in the cooler stars of our sample, this indicates that there may be deficiencies in our understanding of the formation of this line in cool, low-gravity objects.Four candidate binary cluster members are identified. Consideration of sampling and radial velocity measurement precision leads us to conclude that either the fraction of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in small separationbinary systems is larger than in field M-dwarfs, or the distribution of separations is much less skewed towards large separations. This conclusion hinges critically on the correct identification of the small number of binary candidates, although it remains significant even when only the candidate members displaying Li absorption are considered.Broadened Hα emission, indicative of circum(sub)stellar accretion discs is found in five or six of the candidate cluster members, three of which probably have substellar masses. The fraction of accretorsis similar to that found in stars of higher mass in theσ Ori cluster using Hα emission as a diagnostic, but much lower than found for very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs of younger clusters. The time-scale for accretion rates to drop tois hence less than the age of theσ Ori cluster (3–7 Myr) for most low-mass objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]