A possible scenario for the formation of the composite Large Magellanic Cloud star cluster NGC 2214

Abstract

The total masses and relaxation times for the two stellar populations (old and young) in the star cluster NGC 2214 are estimated. The total masses are found to be comparable. While the older population may be dynamically relaxed, the relaxation time for the younger population is found to be much longer than its age. It is suggested that NGC 2214 might have resulted from two episodes of star formation in a complex of molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The first episode of star formation took place in a massive cloud near the center of the cloud-complex and produced the present older population of NGC 2214. About 60 Myr after the end of star formation in the first episode, star formation in the other smaller clouds surrounding the central core was triggered by supernova explosions in massive stars of the old population, giving rise to the more diffusely distributed younger population of NGC 2214.