spatial distribution. They compiled important evidence that projected distances among YSOs are consistent with cluster forming clump scales, favoring the cluster forming mode. They also concluded that small aggregations and distributed populations, account for a significant fraction of the recent stellar production in the region. They suggest relative large age spreads from central to external regions in W3 and proposed a “convergent constructive feedback" scenario, where the gas flows from massive star formation clumps and collects into new dense regions, favoring a progression of formation and the age spread.

In this study we emphasize the relative importance of different young stellar groupings in and around IC 1795, W3-Main and W3(OH), augmenting the level of detail achieved in previous studies. We present a new set of deep, high resolution near-IR photometry that we combine with other available datasets, allowing us to increase the number of young star candidates in the complex. We use a K-band luminosity function analysis to investigate the presence of an age spread, and to help reconstruct the history of star formation in the cloud. Finally, we investigate gas kinematics near the clusters, providing additional information on the gas-star interaction during the early evolution of the complex.

Observations 