Westerlund 1: monolithic formation of a starburst cluster

Westerlund 1 is in all likelihood the most massive young cluster in the Milky Way, with a mass on the order of 10(5) M-circle dot. To determine its bulk properties we have made multi-epoch radial velocity measurements for a substantial fraction of its OB stars and evolved supergiants and obtained multi-object spectroscopy of candidate cluster members in its locale. The results of these two studies show that Westerlund 1 is apparently subvirial and appears completely isolated, with hardly any massive star in its vicinity that could be associated with it in terms of distance modulus or radial velocity. The cluster halo does not extend much further than five parsec away from the centre. All these properties are very unusual among starburst clusters in the Local Universe, which tend to form in the context of large star-forming regions.