Abstract

Stellar Feedback at Low Metallicity: The Gas Dynamics of the Young SMC Cluster NGC 346

Linda Smith (STScI)

Young resolved clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) provide us with the opportunity to study the details of cluster formation and the ionized gas dynamics within the first few million years. I will present and discuss imaging and spectroscopic observations of the SMC cluster NGC 346 and its associated H II region N66. Surprisingly, we find little evidence for gas motions in the ionized gas associated with this cluster. This suggests that stellar radiation rather than stellar winds is the dominant process shaping the cluster environment. The implications of these results will be discussed in the context of the early evolution of clusters and removal of residual gas.