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Evolution of spatio-kinematic structures in star-forming regions: are Friends of Friends worth knowing?

Wright, Nick

Evolution of spatio-kinematic structures in star-forming regions: are Friends of Friends worth knowing? Thumbnail


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Abstract

The Friends of Friends algorithm identifies groups of objects with similar spatial and kinematic properties, and has recently been used extensively to quantify the distributions of gas and stars in young star-forming regions. We apply the Friends of Friends algorithm to $N$-body simulations of the dynamical evolution of subvirial (collapsing) and supervirial (expanding) star-forming regions. We find that the algorithm picks out a wide range of groups (1 -- 25) for statistically identical initial conditions, and cannot distinguish between subvirial and supervirial regions in that we obtain similar mode and median values for the number of groups it identifies. We find no correlation between the number of groups identified initially and either the initial or subsequent spatial and kinematic tracers of the regions' evolution, such as the amount of spatial substructure, dynamical mass segregation, or velocity dispersion. We therefore urge caution in using the Friends of Friends algorithm to quantify the initial conditions of star formation.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 29, 2018
Publication Date Sep 3, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Publisher Oxford University Press
Volume 481
Issue 2
Pages 1679-1689
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty2372
Keywords stars: formation – kinematics and dynamics – open clusters and associations: general – methods: numerical
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty2372

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