Hierarchical Star Formation from the Time-Space Distribution of Star Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The average age difference between pairs of star clusters in the Large Magellanic Clouds increases with their separation as the ~0.35 power. This suggests that star formation is hierarchical in space and time. Small regions form stars quickly and large regions, which often contain the small regions, form stars over a longer period. A similar result found previously for Cepheid variables is statistically less certain than the cluster result.