- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/618/A59
- Title:
- Gaia DR2 confirmed new nearby open clusters
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/618/A59
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The publication of the Gaia Data Release 2 (Gaia DR2) opens a new era in astronomy. It includes precise astrometric data (positions, proper motions, and parallaxes) for more than 1.3 billion sources, mostly stars. To analyse such a vast amount of new data, the use of data-mining techniques and machine-learning algorithms is mandatory. A great example of the application of such techniques and algorithms is the search for open clusters (OCs), groups of stars that were born and move together, located in the disc. Our aim is to develop a method to automatically explore the data space, requiring minimal manual intervention. We explore the performance of a density-based clustering algorithm, DBSCAN, to find clusters in the data together with a supervised learning method such as an artificial neural network (ANN) to automatically distinguish between real OCs and statistical clusters. The development and implementation of this method in a five-dimensional space (l, b, p, {mu}_{alpha}_^*^, {mu}_{delta}_) with the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) data, and a posterior validation using Gaia DR2 data, lead to the proposal of a set of new nearby OCs. We have developed a method to find OCs in astrometric data, designed to be applied to the full Gaia DR2 archive.
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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/630/A119
- Title:
- Gaia DR2 distances to two clusters
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/630/A119
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- On the one hand, the second data release of the Gaia mission (GaiaDR2, Cat. I/345) has opened a trove of astrometric and photometric data for Galactic clusters within a few kpc of the Sun. On the other hand, lucky imaging has been an operational technique to measure the relative positions of visual binary systems for a decade and a half, a time sufficient to apply its results to the calculation of orbits of some massive multiple systems within ~1kpc of the Sun. As part of an ambitious research program to measure distances to Galactic stellar groups (including clusters) containing O stars,I start with two of the nearest examples: Collinder 419 in Cygnus and NGC 2264 in Monoceros. The main ionizing source for both clusters is a multiple system with an O-type primary: HD 193322 and 15 Mon, respectively. For each of those two multiple systemsI aim to derive new astrometric orbits for the Aa,Ab components. First, I present a method that usesGaiaDR2 G+G_BP_+G_RP_ photometry, positions, proper motions, and parallaxes to obtain the membership and distance of a stellar group and apply it to Collinder 419 and NGC 2264. Second, I present a new code that calculates astrometric orbits by searching the whole seven-parameter orbit space and apply it to HD 193 322 Aa,Ab and 15 Mon Aa,Abusing as input literature data from the Washington Double Star Catalog (WDS) and the AstraLux measurements recently presented by Maiz Apellaniz et al. (2019, Cat. J/A+A/626/A20) I obtain GaiaDR2 distances of 1006^+37^_-34_pc for Collinder 419 and 719+/-16pc for NGC 2264, with the main contribution to the uncertainties coming from the spatial covariance of the parallaxes. The two NGC 2264 subclusters are at the same distance (within the uncertainties) and they show a significant relative proper motion. The distances are shown to be robust. HD 193322 Aa,Ab follows an eccentric (e=0.58^+0.03^_-0.04_) orbit with a period of 44+/-1 a and the three stars it contains have a total mass of 76.1^+9.9^_-7.4_M_{sun}_. The orbit of 15 Mon Aa,Ab is even more eccentric (e=0.770^+0.023^_-0.030_), with a period of 108+/-12 a and a total mass of 45.1^+3.6^_-3.3_M_{sun}_ for its two stars.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/495/663
- Title:
- Gaia DR2 OB associations
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/495/663
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Historically, it has often been asserted that most stars form in compact clusters. In this scenario, present-day gravitationally-unbound OB associations are the result of the expansion of initially gravitationally-bound star clusters. However, this paradigm is inconsistent with recent results, both theoretical and observational, that instead favour a hierarchical picture of star formation in which stars are formed across a continuous distribution of gas densities and most OB associations never were bound clusters. Instead they are formed in-situ as the low-density side of this distribution, rather than as the remnants of expanding clusters. We utilise the second Gaia data release to quantify the degree to which OB associations are undergoing expansion and, therefore, whether OB associations are the product of expanding clusters, or whether they were born in-situ, as the large-scale, globally-unbound associations that we see today. We find that the observed kinematic properties of associations are consistent with highly substructured velocity fields and additionally require some degree of localised expansion from sub-clusters within the association. While most present-day OB associations do exhibit low levels of expansion, there is no significant correlation between radial velocity and radius. Therefore, the large-scale structure of associations is not set by the expansion of clusters, rather it is a relic of the molecular gas cloud from which the association was formed. This finding is inconsistent with a monolithic model of association formation and instead favours a hierarchical model, in which OB associations form in-situ, following the fractal structure of the gas from which they form.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/601/A19
- Title:
- Gaia DR1 open cluster members
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/601/A19
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The first Gaia Data Release contains the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). This is a subset of about 2 million stars for which, besides the position and photometry, the proper motion and parallax are calculated using Hipparcos and Tycho-2 positions in 1991.25 as prior information. We investigate the scientific potential and limitations of the TGAS component by means of the astrometric data for open clusters. Mean cluster parallax and proper motion values are derived taking into account the error correlations within the astrometric solutions for individual stars, an estimate of the internal velocity dispersion in the cluster, and, where relevant, the effects of the depth of the cluster along the line of sight. Internal consistency of the TGAS data is assessed. . Values given for standard uncertainties are still inaccurate and may lead to unrealistic unit-weight standard deviations of least squares solutions for cluster parameters. Reconstructed mean cluster parallax and proper motion values are generally in very good agreement with earlier Hipparcos-based determination, although the Gaia mean parallax for the Pleiades is a significant exception. We have no current explanation for that discrepancy. Most clusters are observed to extend to nearly 15 pc from the cluster centre, and it will be up to future Gaia releases to establish whether those potential cluster-member stars are still dynamically bound to the clusters. The Gaia DR1 provides the means to examine open clusters far beyond their more easily visible cores, and can provide membership assessments based on proper motions and parallaxes. A combined HR diagram shows the same features as observed before using the Hipparcos data, with clearly increased luminosities for older A and F dwarfs.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/618/A93
- Title:
- Gaia DR2 open clusters in the Milky Way
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/618/A93
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Open clusters are convenient probes of the structure and history of the Galactic disk. They are also fundamental to stellar evolution studies. The second Gaia data release contains precise astrometry at the submilliarcsecond level and homogeneous photometry at the mmag level, that can be used to characterise a large number of clusters over the entire sky. In this study we aim to establish a list of members and derive mean parameters, in particular distances, for as many clusters as possible, making use of Gaia data alone. We compiled a list of thousands of known or putative clusters from the literature. We then applied an unsupervised membership assignment code, UPMASK, to the Gaia DR2 (Cat. I/345) data contained within the fields of those clusters. We obtained a list of members and cluster parameters for 1229 clusters. As expected, the youngest clusters are seen to be tightly distributed near the Galactic plane and to trace the spiral arms of the Milky Way, while older objects are more uniformly distributed, deviate further from the plane, and tend to be located at larger Galactocentric distances. Thanks to the quality of Gaia DR2 astrometry, the fully homogeneous parameters derived in this study are the most precise to date. Furthermore, we report on the serendipitous discovery of 60 new open clusters in the fields analysed during this study.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/633/A99
- Title:
- Gaia DR2 open clusters in the Milky Way. II
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/633/A99
- Date:
- 02 Mar 2022 11:45:02
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Many of the open clusters listed in modern catalogues were first reported by visual astronomers as apparent over-densities of bright stars. As observational techniques and analysis methods improved, some of them have been shown to be chance alignments of stars and are not true clusters. Recent publications making use of Gaia DR2 data provided membership list for over a thousand clusters, but many nearby objects listed in the literature have so far evaded detection. We update the Gaia DR2 cluster census by performing membership determinations for known clusters that had been missed by previous studies, and for recently discovered clusters. We investigate a subset of non-detected clusters that according to their literature parameters should be easily visible in the Gaia . Confirming or disproving the existence of old, inner-disc, high-altitude clusters is especially important as their survival or disruption is linked to the dynamical processes that drive the evolution of the Milky Way. We employ the Gaia DR2 catalogue and a membership assignment procedure, as well as visual inspection of spatial, proper motion, and parallax distributions. We use membership lists provided by other authors when they are available. We derive membership lists for 150 objects, including 10 that were known prior to Gaia . We compile a final list of members for 1481 clusters. Among the objects that we are still unable to identify with Gaia data, we argue that many (mostly putative old, relatively nearby, high-altitude objects) are not true clusters. At present, the only confirmed cluster located further than 500pc away from the Galactic plane within the Solar circle is NGC 6791. It is likely that the objects discussed in this study only represent a fraction of the non-physical groupings erroneously listed in the catalogues as genuine open clusters, and that those lists need further cleaning.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/618/A12
- Title:
- Gaia DR1 Upper Scorpius new member candidates
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/618/A12
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Selecting a cluster in proper motion space is an established method for identifying members of a star forming region. The first data release from Gaia (DR1) provides an extremely large and precise stellar catalogue, which when combined with the Tycho-2 catalogue gives the 2.5 million parallaxes and proper motions contained within the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). We aim to identify new member candidates of the nearby Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Scorpius-Centaurus Complex within the TGAS catalogue. In doing so, we also aim to validate the use of the DBSCAN clustering algorithm on spatial and kinematic data as a robust member selection method. We constructed a method for member selection using a density-based clustering algorithm (DBSCAN) applied over proper motion and distance. We then applied this method to Upper Scorpius, and evaluated the results and performance of the method. We identified 167 member candidates of Upper Scorpius, of which 78 are new, distributed within a 10{deg} radius from its core. These member candidates have a mean distance of 145.6+/-7.5pc, and a mean proper motion of (-11.4, -23.5)+/-(0.7, 0.4)mas/yr. These values are consistent with measured distances and proper motions of previously identified bona-fide members of the Upper Scorpius association.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/601/A97
- Title:
- Gaia-ESO Survey: Cha I members
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/601/A97
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Investigating the physical mechanisms driving the dynamical evolution of young star clusters is fundamental to our understanding of the star formation process and the properties of the Galactic field stars. The young (~2Myr) and partially embedded cluster Chamaeleon I is one of the closest laboratories to study the early stages of star cluster dynamics in a low-density environment. The aim of this work is to study the structural and kinematical properties of this cluster combining parameters from the high-resolution spectroscopic observations of the Gaia-ESO Survey with data from the literature. Our main result is the evidence of a large discrepancy between the velocity dispersion ({sigma}_stars_=1.14+/-0.35km/s) of the stellar population and the dispersion of the pre-stellar cores (~0.3km/s) derived from submillimeter observations. The origin of this discrepancy, which has been observed in other young star clusters is not clear. It has been suggested that it may be due to either the effect of the magnetic field on the protostars and the filaments, or to the dynamical evolution of stars driven by two-body interactions. Furthermore, the analysis of the kinematic properties of the stellar population put in evidence a significant velocity shift (~1~km/s) between the two sub-clusters located around the North and South main clouds of the cluster. This result further supports a scenario, where clusters form from the evolution of multiple substructures rather than from a monolithic collapse.Using three independent spectroscopic indicators (the gravity indicator {gamma}, the equivalent width of the Li line at 6708{AA}, and the H{alpha} 10% width), we performed a new membership selection. We found six new cluster members all located in the outer region of the cluster, proving that Chamaeleon I is probably more extended than previously thought. Starting from the positions and masses of the cluster members, we derived the level of substructure Q, the surface density {Sigma} and the level of mass segregation {Lambda}_MSR_ of the cluster. The comparison between these structural properties and the results of N-body simulations suggests that the cluster formed in a low density environment, in virial equilibrium or supervirial, and highly substructured.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/612/A99
- Title:
- Gaia-ESO Survey in 7 open star cluster fields
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/612/A99
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Determination and calibration of the ages of stars, which heavily rely on stellar evolutionary models, are very challenging, while representing a crucial aspect in many astrophysical areas. We describe the methodologies that, taking advantage of Gaia-DR1 and the Gaia-ESO Survey data, enable the comparison of observed open star cluster sequences with stellar evolutionary models. The final, long-term goal is the exploitation of open clusters as age calibrators. We perform a homogeneous analysis of eight open clusters using the Gaia-DR1 TGAS catalogue for bright members and information from the Gaia-ESO Survey for fainter stars. Cluster membership probabilities for the Gaia-ESO Survey targets are derived based on several spectroscopic tracers. The Gaia-ESO Survey also provides the cluster chemical composition. We obtain cluster parallaxes using two methods. The first one relies on the astrometric selection of a sample of bona fide members, while the other one fits the parallax distribution of a larger sample of TGAS sources. Ages and reddening values are recovered through a Bayesian analysis using the 2MASS magnitudes and three sets of standard models. Lithium depletion boundary (LDB) ages are also determined using literature observations and the same models employed for the Bayesian analysis. For all but one cluster, parallaxes derived by us agree with those presented in Gaia Collaboration (2017A&A...601A..19G, Cat. J/A+A/601/A19), while a discrepancy is found for NGC 2516; we provide evidence supporting our own determination. Inferred cluster ages are robust against models and are generally consistent with literature values. The systematic parallax errors inherent in the Gaia DR1 data presently limit the precision of our results. Nevertheless, we have been able to place these eight clusters onto the same age scale for the first time, with good agreement between isochronal and LDB ages where there is overlap. Our approach appears promising and demonstrates the potential of combining Gaia and ground-based spectroscopic datasets.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/574/L7
- Title:
- Gaia-ESO Survey: Li-rich stars in NGC2547
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/574/L7
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The nearby (distance ~350-400pc), rich Vela OB2 association, includes gamma^2^ Velorum, one of the most massive binaries in the solar neighborhood, and is an excellent laboratory for investigating the formation and early evolution of young clusters. Recent Gaia-ESO survey observations led to the discovery of two kinematically distinct populations in the young (10-15Myr) cluster immediately surrounding gamma^2^ Velorum. Here we analyse the results of Gaia-ESO survey observations of NGC 2547, a 35Myr cluster located two degrees south of gamma^2^ Velorum. The radial velocity distribution of lithium-rich pre-main sequence stars shows a secondary population, kinematically distinct and younger than NGC 2547. The radial velocities, lithium absorption lines, and the positions in a color-magnitude diagram of this secondary population are consistent with those of one of the components discovered around gamma^2^ Velorum. This result shows that there is a young, low-mass stellar population spread over at least several square degrees in the Vela OB2 association. This population could have originally been part of a cluster around gamma^2^ Velorum that expanded after gas expulsion, or formed in a less dense environment spread over the whole Vela OB2 region.