Young massive clusters (YMCs) with stellar masses of 10 4 -10 5 M and core stellar densities of 10 4 -10 5 stars per cubic pc are thought to be the "missing link" between open clusters and extreme extragalactic super star clusters and globular clusters. As such, studying the initial conditions of YMCs offers an opportunity to test cluster formation models across the full cluster mass range. G0.253 + 0.016 is an excellent candidate YMC progenitor. We make use of existing multi-wavelength data including recently available far-IR continuum (Herschel/Herschel Infrared Galactic Plane Survey) and mm spectral line (H 2 O Southern Galactic Plane Survey and Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz Survey) data and present new, deep, multiple-filter, near-IR (Very Large Telescope/NACO) observations to study G0.253 + 0.016. These data show that G0.253 + 0.016 is a high-mass (1.3 × 10 5 M ), low-temperature (T dust ∼ 20 K), high-volume, and column density (n ∼ 8 × 10 4 cm −3 ; N H 2 ∼ 4 × 10 23 cm −2 ) molecular clump which is close to virial equilibrium (M dust ∼ M virial ) so is likely to be gravitationally bound. It is almost devoid of star formation and, thus, has exactly the properties expected for the initial conditions of a clump that may form an Arches-like massive cluster. We compare the properties of G0.253 + 0.016 to typical Galactic cluster-forming molecular clumps and find it is extreme, and possibly unique in the Galaxy. This uniqueness makes detailed studies of G0.253 + 0.016 extremely important for testing massive cluster formation models.

We use the Gaia DR2 distances of about 700 mid-infrared selected young stellar objects in the benchmark giant molecular cloud Orion A to infer its 3D shape and orientation. We find that Orion A is not the fairly straight filamentary cloud that we see in (2D) projection, but instead a cometary-like cloud oriented toward the Galactic plane, with two distinct components: a denser and enhanced star-forming (bent) Head, and a lower density and star-formation quieter ∼75 pc long Tail. The true extent of Orion A is not the projected ∼40 pc but ∼90 pc, making it by far the largest molecular cloud in the local neighborhood. Its aspect ratio (∼30:1) and high column-density fraction (∼45%) make it similar to large-scale Milky Way filaments ("bones"), despite its distance to the galactic mid-plane being an order of magnitude larger than typically found for these structures.

Context. Most stars in the Galaxy were formed in massive clusters. To understand nature's favorite mode of star formation and the initial stages of the life of most stars one needs to characterize the youngest and resolved massive clusters in the Milky Way. Unfortunately young massive clusters are challenging observational targets as they are rare, hence found at large distances, are still embedded in their parental molecular cloud, and are swamped by relatively bright nebulae. Aims. In this paper we propose to use deep subarcsec resolution NIR data to derive the basic parameters of the unstudied population of massive cluster Westerlund 2. Methods. We present deep JHK s images (∼0.6 seeing) and photometry of Westerlund 2. This is the most complete photometric census of the cluster's population to date. Results. We detect a total of 4701, 5724, and 5397 sources in the J, H, and K s bands respectively. By comparison with mainsequence and pre-main-sequence model tracks, we determine an average visual extinction toward the cluster of 5.8 mag, a likely distance of 2.8 kpc, and an age of 2.0 ± 0.3 Myr for the core of the cluster. Although we have the sensitivity to reach beyond the hydrogen burning limit in the cluster, we are only complete to about 1 M due to source confusion. We find no evidence for a topheavy MF, and the slope of the derived mass function is −1.20 ± 0.16. Based on the extrapolation of a field IMF, we roughly estimate the total mass of the cluster to be about 10 4 M . We find compelling evidence for mass segregation in this cluster.

Aims. We present the deepest and highest resolution near-infrared imaging to date of cluster Trumpler 14 in Carina. Our goal is to identify and characterise the young stellar population of this massive cluster. Methods. We made use of deep and wide-field NIR images from NTT and VLT observations, that were sensitive enough to detect substellar sources at the distance to this cluster, and at high enough resolution (VLT diffraction limited) to fully resolve the core of the cluster crowded with O stars. Results. We find that Tr14 has a well-defined core-halo structure, where less than 30% of the cluster's members reside in the core. The core is well characterised by a King function with a core radius of 0. 17 (0.14 pc at the adopted distance) and a constant baseline, the halo, of 125 sources/pc 2 . Despite the unusually large number of OB stars, the central number density at zero radius is ∼7.3 × 10 3 pc −3 , which is loose in comparison with similar clusters. We find a normal reddening law towards the cluster and derive a global reddening of A v = 2.6 ± 0.3 mag. We find convincing evidence of a sparse foreground population (∼5 sources/arcmin 2 ) reddened by about A v = 1.4 mag, which we suggest is not associated with Tr14 but is most likely an older population produced in the nearby young clusters of this complex. The colour-magnitude diagrams are compatible with ages between "zero" and ∼5 Myr, although the sources from the core of the cluster appear to concentrate on the youngest isochrones, suggesting that the halo population is, on average, slightly older than the core population. Using a set of simplistic, fixed-age, mass-luminosity relations, we derive a mass of 10 4 M for the cluster. From the NACO JHK s L data, we estimate a fraction of infrared-excess sources of 35%, although this is likely to be an underestimate given the bright completeness limits of the L band. Finally, we argue that the formerly identified proplyd candidates that fall inside our survey are not proplyds but remnants of the disrupted molecular cloud that surround the cluster. We also find a series of interesting objects in our field that are worthy of future attention: a candidate photoionised proplyd best seen in the L band, a compact nebula surrounding an early type star, and a tentative proplyd/small shock associated with a faint source.

We have investigated the stellar content of Barnard 59 (B59), the most active star-forming core in the Pipe Nebula. Using the SpeX spectrograph on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, we obtained moderate resolution, near-infrared (NIR) spectra for 20 candidate Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) in B59 and a representative sample of NIR and mid-IR bright sources distributed throughout the Pipe. Measuring luminosity and temperature sensitive features in these spectra, we identified likely background giant stars and measured each star's spectral type, extinction, and NIR continuum excess.To measure B59's age, we place its candidate YSOs in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram and compare their location to YSOs in several well studied star forming regions, as well as predictions of pre-main sequence evolutionary models. We find that B59 is composed of late type (K4-M6) low-mass (0.9-0.1 M ⊙ ) YSOs whose median stellar age is comparable to, if not slightly older than, that of YSOs within the ρ Oph, Taurus, and Chameleon star forming regions. Deriving absolute age estimates from pre-main sequence models computed by D'Antona et al., and accounting only for statistical uncertainties, we measure B59's median stellar age to be 2.6±0.8 Myrs. Including potential systematic effects increases the error budget for B59's median (DM98) stellar age to 2.6 +4.1 −2.6Myrs. We also find that the relative age orderings implied by pre-main sequence evolutionary tracks depend on the range of stellar masses sampled, as model isochrones possess significantly different mass dependences.The maximum likelihood median stellar age we measure for B59, and the region's observed gas properties, suggest that the B59 dense core has been stable against global collapse for roughly 6 dynamical timescales, and is actively forming stars with a star formation efficiency per dynamical time of ∼6%. While the ∼150% uncertainties associated with our age measurement propagate directly into these derived star formation timescales, the maximum likelihood values nonetheless agree well with recent star formation simulations that incorporate various forms of support against collapse, such as sub-critical magnetic fields, outflows, and radiative feedback from protostellar heating.