A Chandra ACIS Study of the Young Star Cluster Trumpler 15 in Carina and Correlation with Near-infrared Sources

Using the highest-resolution X-ray observation of the Trumpler 15 star cluster taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, we estimate the total size of its stellar population by comparing the X-ray luminosity function of the detected sources to a calibrator cluster, and identify for the first time a significant fraction (~14%) of its individual members. The highest-resolution near-IR observation of Trumpler 15 (taken by the HAWK-I instrument on the VLT) was found to detect most of our X-ray selected sample of cluster members, with a K-excess disk frequency of 3.8+-0.7%. The near-IR data, X-ray luminosity function, and published spectral types of the brightest members support a cluster age estimate (5-10 Myr) that is older than those for the nearby Trumpler 14 and Trumpler 16 clusters, and suggest that high-mass members may have already exploded as supernovae. The morphology of the inner ~0.7 pc core of the cluster is found to be spherical. However, the outer regions (beyond 2 pc) are elongated, forming an `envelope' of stars that, in projection, appears to connect Trumpler 15 to Trumpler 14; this morphology supports the view that these clusters are physically associated. Clear evidence of mass segregation is seen. This study appears in a Special Issue of the ApJS devoted to the Chandra Carina Complex Project (CCCP), a 1.42 square degree Chandra X-ray survey of the Great Nebula in Carina.
Comment: Accepted for the ApJS Special Issue on the Chandra Carina Complex Project (CCCP), scheduled for publication in May 2011. All 16 CCCP Special Issue papers are available at http://cochise.astro.psu.edu/Carina_public/special_issue.html through 2011 at least. 30 pages; 8 figures; 3 tables