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Paper: Star Formation in the GUM Nebula (Cometary Globules 30, 31, 38)
Volume: 154, Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun: Tenth Cambridge Workshop
Page: 1800
Authors: Wolk, Scott J.; Walter, Frederick M. W.
Abstract: We report the initial results of our study of X-ray sources in the Gum nebula. For this presentation, we have concentrated on a region which includes 3 cometary globules, (#30, #31 and #38). We have found about 30 X-ray sources in the 3 square degree region near these globules. Photometric investigations find that about 50% of the X-ray sources have a pre-main sequence (PMS) star within 10^{''}. Further, these PMS stars all lie about a common locus indicating an age of less than a few million years. We continue to carry out a more global study of the stellar colors across the globule. To date, photometry of over 6000 stars has been carried out. We find a well defined main sequence for galactic stars beyond the fiducial distance of 450 pc. There is a small fraction (about 1%) of stars which lie significantly above the main sequence and are probably PMS stars. We are using these data to study star formation in the environment of small clouds.
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