Stellar Clusters in the NGC 6334 Star Forming Complex
  The full stellar population of NGC 6334, one of the most spectacular regions
of massive star formation in the nearby Galaxy, have not been well-sampled in
past studies. We analyze here a mosaic of two Chandra X-ray Observatory images
of the region using sensitive data analysis methods, giving a list of 1607
faint X-ray sources with arcsecond positions and approximate line-of-sight
absorption. About 95 percent of these are expected to be cluster members, most
lower mass pre-main sequence stars. Extrapolating to low X-ray levels, the
total stellar population is estimated to be 20-30,000 pre-main sequence stars.
The X-ray sources show a complicated spatial pattern with about 10 distinct
star clusters. The heavily-obscured clusters are mostly associated with
previously known far-infrared sources and radio HII regions. The
lightly-obscured clusters are mostly newly identified in the X-ray images.
Dozens of likely OB stars are found, both in clusters and dispersed throughout
the region, suggesting that star formation in the complex has proceeded over
millions of years. A number of extraordinarily heavily absorbed X-ray sources
are associated with the active regions of star formation.
