Revealing a Ring-like Cluster Complex in a Tidal Tail of the Starburst
  Galaxy NGC 2146
  We report the discovery of a ring-like cluster complex in the starburst
galaxy NGC 2146. The Ruby Ring, so named due to its appearance, shows a clear
ring-like distribution of star clusters around a central object. It is located
in one of the tidal streams which surround the galaxy. NGC 2146 is part of the
Snapshot Hubble U-band Cluster Survey (SHUCS). The WFC3/F336W data has added
critical information to the available archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging
set of NGC 2146, allowing us to determine ages, masses, and extinctions of the
clusters in the Ruby Ring. These properties have then been used to investigate
the formation of this extraordinary system. We find evidence of a spatial and
temporal correlation between the central cluster and the clusters in the ring.
The latter are about 4 Myr younger than the central cluster, which has an age
of 7 Myr. This result is supported by the H alpha emission which is strongly
coincident with the ring, and weaker at the position of the central cluster.
From the derived total H alpha luminosity of the system we constrain the star
formation rate density to be quite high, e.g. ~ 0.47 Msun/yr/kpc^2. The Ruby
Ring is the product of an intense and localised burst of star formation,
similar to the extended cluster complexes observed in M51 and the Antennae, but
more impressive because is quite isolated. The central cluster contains only 5
% of the total stellar mass in the clusters that are determined within the
complex. The ring-like morphology, the age spread, and the mass ratio support a
triggering formation scenario for this complex. We discuss the formation of the
Ruby Ring in a "collect & collapse" framework. The predictions made by this
model agree quite well with the estimated bubble radius and expansion velocity
produced by the feedback from the central cluster, making the Ruby Ring an
interesting case of triggered star formation.
