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Mubdi Rahman |
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Galactic star formation is dominated by the most massive stellar clusters and OB associations. These complexes inject substantial amounts of energy into their surrounding medium blowing bubbles and disrupting their natal molecular clouds. Being home to the most massive stars, they dominate the total ionizing luminosity of the Galaxy and will be the location of multiple supernova as these short lived stars end their lives. We combine WMAP, Spitzer GLIMPSE, and radio recombination line surveys to identify the most massive star forming complexes in the Milky Way, many of which have inferred total stellar masses greater than 104 solar masses. Within these complexes, we use 2MASS to identify candidates of the powering stellar clusters and/or OB associations. Further, we identify a candidate for the most massive OB association in the Galaxy, the Dragonfish Association, with a total stellar mass of 105 solar masses. This association is a local analog to the extragalactic super star clusters we see that dominate star formation across the Universe. |