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On the current status of open-cluster parameters
We aim to characterize the current status of knowledge on the accuracyof open-cluster parameters such as the age, reddening and distance.These astrophysical quantities are often used to study the globalcharacteristics of the Milky Way down to the very local stellarphenomena. In general, the errors of these quantities are neglected orset to some kind of heuristic standard value. We attempt to give somerealistic estimates for the accuracy of available cluster parameters byusing the independently derived values published in the literature. Intotal, 6437 individual estimates for 395 open clusters were used in ourstatistical analysis. We discuss the error sources depending ontheoretical as well as observational methods and compare our resultswith those parameters listed in the widely used catalogue by Dias et al.In addition, we establish a list of 72 open clusters with the mostaccurate known parameters which should serve as a standard table in thefuture for testing isochrones and stellar models.
| Kinematics of the Open Cluster System in the Galaxy
Absolute proper motions and radial velocities of 202 open clusters inthe solar neighborhood, which can be used as tracers of the Galacticdisk, are used to investigate the kinematics of the Galaxy in the solarvicinity, including the mean heliocentric velocity components(u1,u2,u3) of the open cluster system,the characteristic velocity dispersions(σ1,σ2,σ3), Oortconstants (A,B) and the large-scale radial motion parameters (C,D) ofthe Galaxy. The results derived from the observational data of propermotions and radial velocities of a subgroup of 117 thin disk young openclusters by means of a maximum likelihood algorithm are:(u1,u2,u3) =(-16.1+/-1.0,-7.9+/-1.4,-10.4+/-1.5) km s-1,(σ1,σ2,σ3) =(17.0+/-0.7,12.2+/-0.9,8.0+/-1.3) km s-1,(A,B) =(14.8+/-1.0,-13.0+/-2.7) km s-1 kpc-1, and (C,D) =(1.5+/-0.7,-1.2+/-1.5) km s-1 k pc-1. A discussionon the results and comparisons with what was obtained by other authorsis given.
| The new space telescope Kepler and its asteroseismological targets .
We present primary and secondary asteroseismological targets for Kepler,the new NASA space mission. We derive log T_eff and logL/Lȯ values for the selected stars and we put the starsin the log L/Lȯ - log T_eff diagram. Then, we presentour program of ground-based spectroscopic and photometric observationsof the selected targets and we show first results obtained from theseobservations.
| Astrophysical parameters of Galactic open clusters
We present a catalogue of astrophysical data for 520 Galactic openclusters. These are the clusters for which at least three most probablemembers (18 on average) could be identified in the ASCC-2.5, a catalogueof stars based on the Tycho-2 observations from the Hipparcos mission.We applied homogeneous methods and algorithms to determine angular sizesof cluster cores and coronae, heliocentric distances, mean propermotions, mean radial velocities, and ages. For the first time we derivedistances for 200 clusters, radial velocities for 94 clusters, and agesof 196 clusters. This homogeneous new parameter set is compared withearlier determinations, where we find, in particular, that the angularsizes were systematically underestimated in the literature.
| WIYN Open Cluster Study: New UBVRI CCD Photometry of the Hyades-aged Open Cluster NGC 6811
We present new UBVRI photometry of the Hyades-aged open cluster NGC 6811taken at the WIYN 0.9m. Spatially-dependent PSF photometry was performedusing DAOPHOT, and aperture corrections were applied. Using multiplecolor-color and color-magnitude diagrams, we re-evaluate the cluster'sreddening, metallicity, distance, and age. This project falls under theauspices of the WIYN Open Cluster Study, a collaboration between IndianaUniversity, Yale University, the University of Wisconsin, and NOAO. Thiswork is supported by the National Science Foundation under grantAST-0206202 to CPD.
| An Examination of Main Sequence Stars within the Instability Strip for Open Clusters Over a Range of Ages
We are conducting a study of 14 open clusters which have an approximateage range of 7 to 9 Gyr. The observations for this project were takenwith the 1.8-m telescope at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory usinga y filter and with the 0.4-m David Derrick telescope of the Orson PrattObservatory using a set of VRI filters. The exposure lengths wereoptimized for main sequence stars in the A-F range in order to bracketthe instability strip. We plan to correlate the cluster ages with 1) thenumber of pulsating variables in the instability strip, 2) thepercentage of variable stars in the instability strip, and 3) theamplitude of the pulsations. We will present preliminary results for 4of the 14 clusters: NGC 6811, NGC 6940, NGC 7142, and NGC 7160.We wish to thank the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory for access tothe 1.8-m telescope. We also acknowledge funding from an AAS SmallResearch Grant that helped make the telescope time at DAO possible.
| Comparison of the Luminosity Functions of Open Clusters Based on USNO-A1 Data
The luminosity and mass functions of a group of Galactic open clustersare constructed by applying a statistical method to photometric datafrom the USNO-A1 catalog. Despite some limitations, this catalog can beused for statistical analyses in Galactic astronomy. Pairwisecomparisons of the derived cluster luminosity functions are performedfor five age intervals. The differences between the luminosity functionsof the open clusters are not statistically significant in most cases. Itis concluded that the luminosity functions are approximately universalthroughout a large volume in the solar neighborhood. Combined luminosityand mass functions are constructed for six age intervals. The slope ofthe mass spectrum may vary somewhat from cluster to cluster, and themean slope may be somewhat higher than the Salpetervalue.
| Intermediate-age Galactic open clusters: fundamental parameters of NGC 2627
Charge-coupled device (CCD) photometry in the Johnson V, Kron-Cousins Iand Washington CMT1 systems is presented in the field of thepoorly known open cluster NGC 2627. Four independent Washingtonabundance indices yield a mean cluster metallicity of [Fe/H]=-0.12 +/-0.08, which is compatible with the existence of a radial gradient in theGalactic disc. The resultant colour-magnitude diagrams indicate that thecluster is an intermediate-age object of 1.4 Gyr. Based on the best fitsof the Geneva group's isochrones to the (V, V-I) and (T1,C-T1) diagrams, we estimate E(V-I) = 0.25 +/- 0.05 andV-MV= 11.80 +/- 0.25 for logt= 9.15, and E(C-T1) =0.23 +/- 0.07 and T1-MT1= 11.85 +/-0.25 for logt= 9.10, respectively, assuming solar metal content. Thederived reddening value E(C-T1) implies E(B-V) = 0.12 +/-0.07 and a distance from the Sun of 2.0 +/- 0.4 kpc. Using the WEBDAdata base and the available literature, we re-examined the overallproperties of all the open clusters with ages between 0.6 and 2.5 Gyr.We identified peaks of cluster formation at 0.7-0.8, 1.0-1.1, 1.6-1.7and 2.0-2.1 Gyr, separated by relative quiescent epochs of ~0.2-0.3 Gyr.We also estimated a radial abundance gradient of -0.08 +/- 0.02, whichis consistent with the most recent determinations for the Galactic disc,but no clear evidence for a gradient perpendicular to the Galactic planeis found.
| On the Galactic Disk Metallicity Distribution from Open Clusters. I. New Catalogs and Abundance Gradient
We have compiled two new open cluster catalogs. In the first one, thereare 119 objects with ages, distances, and metallicities available, whilein the second one, 144 objects have both absolute proper motion andradial velocity data, of which 45 clusters also have metallicity dataavailable. Taking advantage of the large number of objects included inour sample, we present an iron radial gradient of about -0.063+/-0.008dex kpc-1 from the first sample, which is quite consistentwith the most recent determination of the oxygen gradient from nebulaeand young stars, about -0.07 dex kpc-1. By dividing clustersinto age groups, we show that the iron gradient was steeper in the past,which is consistent with the recent result from Galactic planetarynebulae data, and also consistent with inside-out galactic diskformation scenarios. Based on the cluster sample, we also discuss themetallicity distribution, cluster kinematics, and space distribution. Adisk age-metallicity relation could be implied by those properties,although we cannot give conclusive result from the age- metallicitydiagram based on the current sample. More observations are needed formetal-poor clusters. From the second catalog, we have calculated thevelocity components in cylindrical coordinates with respect to theGalactic standard of rest for 144 open clusters. The velocitydispersions of the older clusters are larger than those of youngclusters, but they are all much smaller than that of the Galactic thickdisk stars.
| Proper Motions of Open Star Clusters and the Rotation Rate of the Galaxy
The mean proper motions of 167 Galactic open clusters withradial-velocity measurements are computed from the data of the Tycho-2catalog using kinematic and photometric cluster membership criteria. Theresulting catalog is compared to the results of other studies. The newproper motions are used to infer the Galactic rotation rate at the solarcircle, which is found to be ω0=+24.6±0.8 km s-1 kpc-1.Analysis of the dependence of the dispersion of ω0 estimates onheliocentric velocity showed that even the proper motions of clusterswith distances r>3 kpc contain enough useful information to be usedin kinematic studies demonstrating that the determination of propermotions is quite justified even for very distant clusters.
| Proper motions of open clusters based on the TYCHO2 Catalogue. II. Clusters farther than 1 kpc
We determined the mean absolute proper motion of 94 open clusterssituated farther than 1 kpc from the Sun. The results are derived fromthe stellar proper motion data given in the Tycho2 Catalogue. The meanproper motion of the clusters and membership probability of individualstars were obtained from the proper motion data by applying thestatistical method proposed by Sanders (\cite{Sanders1971}). Themeasurements made use of a large number of stars, usually several tens,for each cluster. The total number of stars investigated in the fieldsof the clusters is 4864 of which 2021 were considered members. For 55clusters, this is the first determination of the proper motion. Based onobservations of the ESA Hipparcos satellite. Tables 1 to 95 are onlyavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/388/168
| A study of spatial structure of galactic open star clusters
In order to study the relation between the core and corona in galacticstar clusters, the spatial structure of 38 rich open star clusters hasbeen studied using radial density profiles derived from the photometricdata of the Digital Sky Survey. The shape of the radial density profileindicates that the corona, most probably, is the outer region around thecluster. It can exist from the very beginning of the cluster formationand dynamical evolution is not the reason for its occurrence. The studydoes not find any relation between cluster size and age but indicatesthat the clusters with galacto-centric distances >9.5 kpc have largersizes. Further, we find that the average value of the core radius is1.3+/- 0.7 pc and that of annular width of the corona is 5.6+/- 1.9 pc,while average values of densities of cluster members in the core andcorona are 15.4+/- 9.9 star/pc2 and 1.6+/- 0.99star/pc2 respectively. Average field star contaminations inthe core and corona are ~ 35% and 80% respectively. In spite of smallerdensities in the coronal region, it contains ~ 75% of the clustermembers due to its larger area in comparison to the core region. Thisclearly demonstrates the importance of the coronal region in studiesdealing with the entire stellar contents of open star clusters as wellas their dynamical evolution. In contrast to the cluster cores, thestructure of coronal regions differs significantly from one cluster toother.
| Absolute proper motions of open clusters. I. Observational data
Mean proper motions and parallaxes of 205 open clusters were determinedfrom their member stars found in the Hipparcos Catalogue. 360 clusterswere searched for possible members, excluding nearby clusters withdistances D < 200 pc. Members were selected using ground basedinformation (photometry, radial velocity, proper motion, distance fromthe cluster centre) and information provided by Hipparcos (propermotion, parallax). Altogether 630 certain and 100 possible members werefound. A comparison of the Hipparcos parallaxes with photometricdistances of open clusters shows good agreement. The Hipparcos dataconfirm or reject the membership of several Cepheids in the studiedclusters. Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Foreground and background dust in star cluster directions
This paper compares reddening values E(B-V) derived from the stellarcontent of 103 old open clusters and 147 globular clusters of the MilkyWay with those derived from DIRBE/IRAS 100 mu m dust emission in thesame directions. Star clusters at |b|> 20deg showcomparable reddening values between the two methods, in agreement withthe fact that most of them are located beyond the disk dust layer. Forvery low galactic latitude lines of sight, differences occur in thesense that DIRBE/IRAS reddening values can be substantially larger,suggesting effects due to the depth distribution of the dust. Thedifferences appear to arise from dust in the background of the clustersconsistent with a dust layer where important extinction occurs up todistances from the Plane of ~ 300 pc. For 3 % of the sample asignificant background dust contribution might be explained by higherdust clouds. We find evidence that the Milky Way dust lane and higherdust clouds are similar to those of several edge-on spiral galaxiesrecently studied in detail by means of CCD imaging.
| A study of the open cluster NGC 6811
We made 191 radial-velocity measurements for 60 late-type stars in awide field of the open cluster NGC 6811 using a correlationspectrometer. Based on the similarity of their mean radial velocities(V_r) to the cluster velocity, we identified seven new members within 35arcmin of the cluster center. Photoelectric UBVRI magnitudes weremeasured for 117 probable cluster members as identified by their propermotions (Sanders 1971). We refined the distance to the cluster (1040 pc)and estimated its age (7 x 10^8 years). Using the photometric data, weconfirmed the cluster membership for 88 stars.
| The STACC Open Cluster Target List
Observations of variable stars offer a potential to test stellarstructure and evolution. The observations can be either of single,isolated stars, or of variable stars in clusters. The STACC group(Frandsen 1992) has for the last several years searched for openclusters with a population of delta Scuti stars. To make this searchmore efficient, we have produced a target list with a number ofpromising open clusters. The list includes parameters, finding charts,Colour-Magnitude diagrams (CM diagrams) and references for the clusters.This target list is presented here, and is thus made available toobservers interested in participating in the search for variable starsin open clusters. In this paper we describe the motivation, contents anduse of the STACC Open Cluster Target List. We also give some guidelineson how to make CCD observations of open clusters in order to search forvariable stars.
| Baldone Schmidt Telescope Plate Archive and Catalogue
The article presents information on the archive and catalogue of theastrophotos taken with the Schmidt telescope of the Institute ofAstronomy of the University of Latvia (until July 1, 1997 --Radioastrophysical Observatory of the Latvian Academy of Sciences) inthe period 1967--1998. The archive and catalogue contain more than 22000direct and 2300 spectral photos of various sky regions. Information onthe types of photo materials and color filters used as well as on mostfrequently photographed sky fields or objects is given. The catalogue isavailable in a computer readable form at the Institute of Astronomy ofthe University of Latvia and at the Astrophysical Observatory in Baldone(Riekstukalns, Baldone, LV-2125, Latvia), e-mail: astra@latnet.lv.
| Thirty years of research with the Baldone Schmidt Telescope
We describe the research done with the Baldone Schmidt telescope(80/120/240 cm) of the Radioastrophysical Observatory. The telescope hastwo objective prisms with reciprocal dispersions of 600 and 1130 A/mm atH-gamma. One of the main research projects is the search for andphotometric study of galactic carbon stars. The telescope has also beenused for novae studies in M 31 and stellar photometry in open clustersand fields of special interest. Comet studies, particularly during theInternational Halley Watch, proved to be another successful applicationof the telescope. The archive of the Baldone Schmidt telescope containsnearly 20,000 direct and 2000 spectral plates and films.
| Ultraviolet Extinction by Interstellar Dust in External Galaxies: M31
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) spectra ofstars in OB associations of M31 are used to derive the UV extinction byinterstellar dust in M31 by three different methods: (1) comparingspectra of M31 star pairs, (2) comparing spectra of M31 stars to thoseof Galactic standard stars, and (3) comparing M31 star spectra toatmOsphere models. The derived intrinsic M31 extinction curve has anoverall wavelength dependence very similar to that of the averageGalactic extinction curve but possibly has a weaker 2175 A bump,however, with a significance of only 1 σ. This result is differentfrom the LMC (30 Dor)-like curves published earlier, which containedboth intrinsic M31 extinction and "foreground" extinction, and werebased either on low- signal IUE spectra, or on FOS data affected byinaccuracy in the preliminary flux calibration, and were not computedwith the pair method used in this work. In this work, the foregroundextinction component from the Galactic halo is also investigated. Theforeground curve is consistent with the standard curve. While there is aslight indication for a steeper foreground curve than the standard one,the difference is not significant considering the data uncertainties.
| Red giants in open clusters. V. NGC 2099
474 radial-velocity observations and new UBV photoelectric data for 55and 20 red giants respectively, in the field of the intermediate-ageopen cluster NGC 2099 are presented and analysed for membership andduplicity. The membership of 35 red giants has been confirmed, 16spectroscopic binaries have been discovered and 11 orbits have beendetermined. The cluster binary-frequency lower limit is slightly abovethe average (9/35=26%). The radial distribution of the red giants showsa sharp limit between members and non-members. No mass segregation isobserved between the binary and single red giants. The latest isochronesfrom the Geneva and Padova groups reproduce very well the observedmorphology in the colour-magnitude diagram for log t=8.65 and z=0.02,with (m-M)=11.50 and E(B-V)=0.29.
| Observations of Clusters Using the Stromvil System. I. Standard Areas
A set of standard areas of the Stromvil system is described. Preliminaryvalues of the color indices for standard stars for photoelectric workmay be obtained from their published values in both parent (uvby andVilnius) systems. Stars in 19 open clusters already observed in bothsystems may be used as preliminary standards. Standard areas for the CCDwork are to be measured anew. For this, a set of 12 compact openclusters and globular clusters have been selected, six areas in eachhemisphere, mostly at declinations +30 deg and --30 deg. The 10--20arcmin areas will contain standard stars of 10--16 mag. They will begood for fixing the zero-point of magnitudes and color indices, for thedetermination of extinction coefficients in the Earth's atmosphere andfor the determination of color equations between instrumental CCDsystems and the standard Stromvil system. The first observations in thisprogram are planned with the new 1.8-m Vatican telescope on Mt. Graham,Arizona.
| Rotation Curve of the System of Classical Cepheids and the Distance to the Galactic Center
Not Available
| Catalogue of blue stragglers in open clusters.
An extensive survey of blue straggler candidates in galactic openclusters of both hemispheres is presented. The blue stragglers wereselected considering their positions in the cluster colour-magnitudediagrams.They were categorized according to the accuracy of thephotometric measurements and membership probabilities. An amount of 959blue straggler candidates in 390 open clusters of all ages wereidentified and classified. A set of basic data is given for everycluster and blue straggler. The information is arranged in the form of acatalogue. Blue stragglers are found in clusters of all ages. Thepercentage of clusters with blue stragglers generally grows with age andrichness of the clusters. The mean ratio of the number of bluestragglers to the number of cluster main sequence stars is approximatelyconstant up to a cluster age of about 10^8.6^ yr and rises for olderclusters. In general, the blue stragglers show a remarkable degree ofcentral concentration.
| Detection of WC9 stars in NGC 1365
We report the discovery of a broad emission feature at 5696 A in a giantextragalactic H II region in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365,identified with a C III emission line seen in some Wolf-Rayet stars. Theabsence of comparable C IV emission in 5808 A implies the observedfeature is from stars of WC9 subtype. This constitutes the firstunequivocal detection of WC9 stars in a giant H II region and the firstexample of these stars outside our Galaxy. Their presence in thehigh-abundance environment of NGC 1365 supports the notion that lateWC-type progenitors form only in "metal-rich" circumstances.
| Red giants in open clusters. III - Binarity and stellar evolution in five intermediate-age clusters: NGC 2360, 2423, 5822, 6811, and IC 4756
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1990A&A...237...61M&db_key=AST
| On the universality of initial mass function of open star clusters
The luminosity functions of 23 open star clusters of age less than 1 Gyrare determined by the method of star counts on astronegatives obtainedwith the Schmidt telescope at the Radioastrophysical Observatory of theAcademy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR. The differential and integralluminosity functions are then used to calculate the initial luminosity(mass) functions, and the results are presented in tables. It isconcluded that, for time intervals up to 1 Gyr and distances up to 2kpc, the process of star formation leads to identical mass distributionsin different protoclouds, confirming the hypothesis that theopen-cluster zero-age luminosity function is universally valid.
| Young stellar-gas complexes in the Galaxy
It is found that about 90 percent of OB-associations and o-b2 clusterssituated within 3 kpc of the sun can be united into complexes withdiameters of 150-700 pc. Almost all of these clusters contain giantmolecular clouds with a mass greater than about 100,000 solar masses. Anumber of complexes are associated with giant H I clouds; a few of thesmall complexes are situated in the HI caverns. The concentration ofOB-associations and young clusters in star complexes attests to theircommon origin in the supergiant gaseous clouds.
| The classification of open clusters by the centroid method of cluster analysis
The distribution of open clusters in the Galaxy are considered, withspace coordinates including mass, absolute magnitude, integrated colorindex, diameter, metallicity, and age. It is shown that the majority ofclusters belong to several classes which have parameter values in asufficiently narrow range. The classes form a linear sequence by age andmonotonic sequence on a color-magnitude diagram. They are not isolated,but move into each other continuously. This suggests that the process ofcluster formation contains no significant gaps. The bifurcation of theage sequence of classes depending on the mass and diameter values isfound. This bifucation makes an evolutionary interpretation possible.
| Hydrodynamic and turbulent motions in the Galactic disk. II
A study of the sizes and velocity dispersions in stellar clusters andinterstellar clouds shows that 'typical' Galactic clusters were bornfrom 'typical' dark clouds, such as those of the Lynds catalog. Instable interstellar clouds, a Kolmogorov hierarchy of motions is foundwhich has a stellar counterpart. It is suggested that the magneticenergy in the clouds does not exceed the kinetic energy, and that thisdetermines the freezing criteria. Hypotheses concerning the origin oflow-density globular clusters and the type of clouds from which theywere born are also considered.
| Age distribution of open clusters as a function of their linear diameter and age-dependence of cluster masses
From the well-observed data of star clusters, the age distribution ofgalactic clusters is obtianed as a function of their linear diameter andit is concluded that the observed age distribution of clusters fordifferent linear diameter intervals within 1500 pc, is not seriouslyaffected by the selection effects. If we assume that the rate offormation of clusters is constant, the lifetimes r112 of the clustersfor different linear diameter intervals have been obtained and it isfound that the clusters with a linear diameter in the range 0-1.9 Pchave longer lifetimes than the clusters having linear diameters largerthan 2.0 Pc. Total masses of 57 clusters have been obtained using thecatalogues of Piskunov (1983) and Myakutin et al. (1984). A study ofage-dependence of cluster masses, based on the total masses of theclusters obtained in the present study and the cluster masses given byBruch and Sanders (1983) and Lynga (1983b), shows that there is adecreasing trend in the total mass with the age, however, there is anincreasing trend after the age of about 108 yr. It is also concludedthat the initial rate of formation of rich clusters was relativelyhigher than the present rate of formation
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