A Lifetime of Influence: Abstracts, Talks, and Posters
 

Massive Stellar Clusters in the Galaxy: Multi-wavelength Observations of New Candidate Clusters

Cornelia Lang
University of Iowa

Maria Messineo
Rochester Institute of Technology

Lucy Hadfield
Rochester Institute of Technology

Don Figer
Rochester Institute of Technology

Zhu Quingfeng
Rochester Institute of Technology

Due to their rarity and short lifetimes, massive stars are predominantly observed in young (few Myrs) massive (ten thousand solar mass) clusters. In the Milky Way, only a handful of such clusters have been detected thus far, including the spectacular Arches, Quintuplet, Central clusters in the Galactic center, and Westerland 1+2. Recent multi-wavelength surveys have suggested that many more candidates may be hiding behind dust and gas in the Galactic plane. Here, I summarize observational efforts to uncover these candidates, using high-resolution data from optical, near- and mid-infrared, radio and X-ray instruments. In particular, I will report on recent radio continuum observations of a small sample of candidate massive clusters and present multi-wavelength analysis of the impact that such massive clusters have on the surrounding interstellar medium in our Galaxy. In addition, I will compare these candidate massive stellar clusters to the well-known clusters in the Galactic center region.