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IC 348

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IC 348
Spitzer Space Telescope image of IC 348
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Right ascension03h 44m 31.7s[1]
Declination+32° 09′ 32″[1]
Distance1,028 ly (315 pc)[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)7.3[3][failed verification]
Physical characteristics
Estimated age5±2 Million years[4]
Other designationsC 0341+321, Collinder 41
Associations
ConstellationPerseus
See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters

IC 348 is a star-forming region in the constellation Perseus located about 1,000 light years from the Sun. Together with NGC 1333 it is part of the Perseus molecular cloud.[5][6] It consists of nebulosity and an associated 2-million-year-old cluster of roughly 400 stars within an angular diameter of 20″.[2] A later work found an older age of about 5 Million years.[4] The most massive stars in the cluster are the binary star system HD 281159 (BD+31°643), which has a combined spectral class of B5,[2] and is surrounded by an accretion disk.[7] This binary is surrounded by an incomplete spherical shell open to the northwest, 50,000 AU in diameter, seen in infrared images of Spitzer[8] and JWST.[6]

Based upon infrared observations using the Spitzer Space Telescope, about half of the stars in the cluster have a circumstellar disk, of which 60% are thick or primordial disks.[9] One team observed 136 class II sources with ALMA, detecting 40 sources. The team found disk masses similar to disks in Chamaeleon I and the Sigma Orionis Cluster. 20 disks (about 5%) are massive enough to form giant planets. The 96 non-detected disks have dust masses below around 0.4 ME and might be capable to form small rocky planets.[5]

IC 348 shows a rich molecular chemistry. It contains common molecules such as hydrogen molecules, hydroxyl, water, carbon dioxide and ammonia. Additionally it contains several carbonaceous molecules, including complex molecules such as PAHs and fullerenes.[10][11] In 2023, the emission spectrum of tryptophan was claimed to be discovered in the interstellar gas of the star cluster IC 348.[12] A re-analysis of the Spitzer data did not find any tryptophan.[13] Later observations with JWST and an improved laboratory spectrum showed that IC 348 does not contain any tryptophan. The team showed that the lines were due to instrumental artifacts.[14]

Planetary-mass brown dwarfs

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A planetary-mass binary consisting out of two objects. The primary LRL 11044 has a mass of 12 MJ and the secondary LRL 11043 has a mass of 6 MJ.[6]

The young age and close proximity to earth allows astronomers to study star-formation down to the lowest masses. Astronomers have found a number of so called free-floating planetary-mass objects that probably formed like stars and are called planetary-mass brown dwarfs.[4]

Multiple works did detect planetary-mass objects (PMOs) in IC 348. These PMOs were found to have masses as low as 4-5 MJ from searches with Hubble and Spitzer. Additionally it was found that around 46% of these objects are surrounded by a disk.[15][16][17]

The relatively young age of the IC 348 star cluster has facilitated the discovery of three low-mass brown dwarfs. As these objects cool over time, they become more detectable, particularly in their youth.[18] Recent observations conducted in 2023 by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have confirmed these findings, identifying them as the smallest free-floating brown dwarfs on record, with the lightest among them weighing a mere three to four times the mass of Jupiter. This groundbreaking revelation, announced by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope team, challenges existing paradigms in the field of stellar formation. Found within the IC 348 cluster, located 1,000 light-years away in the Perseus star-forming region, these brown dwarfs serve as intriguing celestial entities, bridging the gap between stars and planets. Some share striking similarities with gas giants, boasting masses just slightly larger than Jupiter.[19] JWST has discovered new PMOs down to 2 MJ. Spectroscopy with NIRSpec has shown that the brightest PMOs resemble L dwarfs. The faintest and lowest mass objects do however show absorption of hydrocarbons at 3.4 μm, which lead the researchers to propose a new spectral type of "H". Two objects in this sample showed infrared excess due to a disk around the PMOs.[4][6]

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  • JWST NIRCam image of the shell around HD 281159 (bright star at the very center). The bright star at the middle left is IC 348 12.
    JWST NIRCam image of the shell around HD 281159 (bright star at the very center). The bright star at the middle left is IC 348 12.
  • IC 348 with PanSTARRS in visible to infrared light
    IC 348 with PanSTARRS in visible to infrared light
  • Hubble image of LRLL 54361 (lower right) and its surroundings in IC 348.[20]
    Hubble image of LRLL 54361 (lower right) and its surroundings in IC 348.[20]
  • IC 348 south of Omicron Persei
    IC 348 south of Omicron Persei

References

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  1. ^ a b Tarricq, Y.; Soubiran, C.; Casamiquela, L.; Cantat-Gaudin, T.; Chemin, L.; Anders, F.; Antoja, T.; Romero-Gómez, M.; Figueras, F.; Jordi, C.; Bragaglia, A.; Balaguer-Núñez, L.; Carrera, R.; Castro-Ginard, A.; Moitinho, A.; Ramos, P.; Bossini, D. (2021). "3D kinematics and age distribution of the open cluster population". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 647: A19. arXiv:2012.04017. Bibcode:2021A&A...647A..19T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039388.
  2. ^ a b c Luhman, K. L.; et al. (August 2003). "A Census of the Young Cluster IC 348". The Astrophysical Journal. 593 (2): 1093–1115. arXiv:astro-ph/0304409. Bibcode:2003ApJ...593.1093L. doi:10.1086/376594. S2CID 18040934.
  3. ^ "IC 348 -- Open (galactic) Cluster". SIMBAD. Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  4. ^ a b c d Luhman, K. L.; Alves de Oliveira, C.; Baraffe, I.; Chabrier, G.; Geballe, T. R.; Parker, R. J.; Pendleton, Y. J.; Tremblin, P. (January 2024). "A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348". The Astronomical Journal. 167 (1): 19. Bibcode:2024AJ....167...19L. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ad00b7. ISSN 0004-6256.
  5. ^ a b Ruíz-Rodríguez, D.; Cieza, L. A.; Williams, J. P.; Andrews, S. M.; Principe, D. A.; Caceres, C.; Canovas, H.; Casassus, S.; Schreiber, M. R.; Kastner, J. H. (August 2018). "ALMA survey of circumstellar discs in the young stellar cluster IC 348". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 478 (3): 3674–3692. arXiv:1805.07590. Bibcode:2018MNRAS.478.3674R. doi:10.1093/mnras/sty1351. ISSN 0035-8711.
  6. ^ a b c d Luhman, K. L.; Alves de Oliveira, C. (June 2025). "A New Spectral Class of Brown Dwarfs at the Bottom of the IMF in IC 348". The Astrophysical Journal. 986 (1): L14. arXiv:2506.08969. Bibcode:2025ApJ...986L..14L. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/addc55. ISSN 0004-637X.
  7. ^ Olofsson, G.; Nilsson, R.; Florén, H.-G.; Djupvik, A.; Aberasturi, M. (August 2012). "Polarimetric coronagraphy of BD + 31°643". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 544: A43. arXiv:1208.0155. Bibcode:2012A&A...544A..43O. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219247. ISSN 0004-6361.
  8. ^ Rebull, L. M.; Stapelfeldt, K. R.; Evans, N. J.; Jørgensen, J. K.; Harvey, P. M.; Brooke, T. Y.; Bourke, T. L.; Padgett, D. L.; Chapman, N. L.; Lai, S.-P.; Spiesman, W. J.; Noriega-Crespo, A.; Merín, B.; Huard, T.; Allen, L. E. (August 2007). "The Spitzer c2d Survey of Large, Nearby, Interstellar Clouds. VI. Perseus Observed with MIPS". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 171 (2): 447–477. arXiv:astro-ph/0701711. Bibcode:2007ApJS..171..447R. doi:10.1086/517607. ISSN 0067-0049.
  9. ^ Lada, Charles J.; et al. (March 2006). "Spitzer Observations of IC 348: The Disk Population at 2-3 Million Years". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (3): 1574–1607. arXiv:astro-ph/0511638. Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1574L. doi:10.1086/499808. S2CID 5277677.
  10. ^ Iglesias-Groth, Susana; Marin-Dobrincic, Martina (May 2023). "A rich molecular chemistry in the gas of the IC 348 star cluster of the Perseus Molecular Cloud". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 521 (2): 2248–2269. arXiv:2301.07224. Bibcode:2023MNRAS.521.2248I. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad495. ISSN 0035-8711.
  11. ^ Iglesias-Groth, S. (October 2019). "Fullerenes in the IC 348 star cluster of the Perseus molecular cloud". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 489 (2): 1509–1518. arXiv:1901.02281. Bibcode:2019MNRAS.489.1509I. doi:10.1093/mnras/stz1854. ISSN 0035-8711.
  12. ^ "Amino Acid Tryptophan Detected in Young Star Cluster". www.sci.news. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  13. ^ Hudson, Reggie L. (December 2023). "Interstellar tryptophan revisited". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 526 (3): 4051–4053. Bibcode:2023MNRAS.526.4051H. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3058. ISSN 0035-8711.
  14. ^ Dhariwal, Aditya; Speak, Thomas H.; Zeng, Linshan; Rashidi, Amirhossein; Moore, Brendan; Berné, Olivier; Remijan, Anthony J.; Schroetter, Ilane; McGuire, Brett A.; Rivilla, Víctor M.; Belloche, Arnaud; Jørgensen, Jes K.; Djuricanin, Pavle; Momose, Takamasa; Cooke, Ilsa R. (June 2024). "On the Origin of Infrared Bands Attributed to Tryptophan in Spitzer Observations of IC 348". The Astrophysical Journal. 968 (1): L9. arXiv:2405.16773. Bibcode:2024ApJ...968L...9D. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad4d9a. ISSN 0004-637X.
  15. ^ Alves de Oliveira, C.; Moraux, E.; Bouvier, J.; Duchêne, G.; Bouy, H.; Maschberger, T.; Hudelot, P. (2013-01-01). "Spectroscopy of brown dwarf candidates in IC 348 and the determination of its substellar IMF down to planetary masses". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 549: A123. arXiv:1211.4029. Bibcode:2013A&A...549A.123A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220229. ISSN 0004-6361.
  16. ^ Luhman, K. L.; Hapich, C. J. (August 2020). "New Candidates for Planetary-mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348". The Astronomical Journal. 160 (2): 57. arXiv:2006.04923. Bibcode:2020AJ....160...57L. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab96bb. ISSN 0004-6256. PMC 7402408. PMID 32753765.
  17. ^ Seo, Holly Hanbee; Scholz, Aleks (March 2025). "Discs around young free-floating planetary-mass objects: ultradeep Spitzer imaging of IC348". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 537 (3): 2579–2585. arXiv:2501.15930. Bibcode:2025MNRAS.537.2579S. doi:10.1093/mnras/staf163. ISSN 0035-8711.
  18. ^ "Astronomers Discover Youngest And Lowest Mass Dwarfs In Solar Neighborhood". Science Daily. April 24, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  19. ^ "NASA's Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf". NASA. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Hubble captures strobe flashes from a young star". ESA/Hubble Press Release. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
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