Physics Colloquium: Constraining Star and Planet Formation Timescales in the Nearest OB Association

How do we constrain the time it takes to evolve from newborn stars to a stellar system with giant Jupiter-like planets? How long does star formation persist over large scales like that found in giant molecular clouds? What can we learn from the nearest site of recent massive star formation? We we have performed a survey for new, solar mass (0.7 -1.3 Msun) members of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB Association, the nearest site of recent massive star formation to the Sun (~100-200 pc, 10-20 Myr). We identify ~150 new members and place the known B/A/F/G/K/M-type members on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Using the mean ages from each subgroup and a census of accretion disks, we find a protoplanetary disk half-life of ~3.3 Myr for solar-mass stars, constraining the timescale for giant planets. From these data, we construct an age map of Sco-Cen, occupying approximately 2,000 square degrees on the sky. These results indicate there is substantial substructure in Sco-Cen, and present the possibility that star formation on the largest scales can be considered a collection of many individual, small-scale star formation events along a giant molecular cloud.