From ASHES to ASSEMBLE: A Dynamic View of Massive Protocluster Formation and Evolution
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At YERAC 2024, I presented results from ASSEMBLE, an ALMA survey of 11 massive, luminous protoclusters observed at resolutions of 2,200–5,500 au. The survey identified 248 dense cores, including 142 prestellar-core candidates and 106 cores with protostellar signatures.
Comparison with the younger infrared-dark-cloud sample from ASHES shows that cores become more massive and denser as protoclusters evolve. The results also reveal increasingly compact cluster structure, a relationship between clump mass and the most massive core, and evidence for primordial mass segregation—signposts of continued accretion and gravitational contraction during cluster assembly.