|
Description
The nearby (distance ~350-400pc), rich Vela OB2 association, includes gamma^2^ Velorum, one of the most massive binaries in the solar neighborhood, and is an excellent laboratory for investigating the formation and early evolution of young clusters. Recent Gaia-ESO survey observations led to the discovery of two kinematically distinct populations in the young (10-15Myr) cluster immediately surrounding gamma^2^ Velorum. Here we analyse the results of Gaia-ESO survey observations of NGC 2547, a 35Myr cluster located two degrees south of gamma^2^ Velorum. The radial velocity distribution of lithium-rich pre-main sequence stars shows a secondary population, kinematically distinct and younger than NGC 2547. The radial velocities, lithium absorption lines, and the positions in a color-magnitude diagram of this secondary population are consistent with those of one of the components discovered around gamma^2^ Velorum. This result shows that there is a young, low-mass stellar population spread over at least several square degrees in the Vela OB2 association. This population could have originally been part of a cluster around gamma^2^ Velorum that expanded after gas expulsion, or formed in a less dense environment spread over the whole Vela OB2 region.
|
