Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-09-28
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
34 pages, 12 figures, submitted to ApJ
Scientific paper
We present a catalog of photometrically variable stars discovered within two 21'.3 X 21'.3 fields centered on the Cygnus OB2 association. There have hitherto been no deep optical variability studies of Cyg OB2 despite it being replete with early-type massive stars, perhaps due to the high and variable extinction (up to A_V ~ 20) that permeates much of the region. Here we provide results of the first variability study with this combination of spatial coverage (~ 0.5 deg) and photometric depth (R ~ 21 mag). We find 121 stars to be variable in both R- and I-band, 116 of them newly discovered. Of the 121 variables, we identify 27 eclipsing binaries (EBs) and eclipsing binary candidates, 20 potential Herbig Ae/Be stars, and 52 pulsating variables. Confirming both the status and the cluster membership of the Herbig Ae/Be stars would address the uncertainty regarding the age and star formation history of Cyg OB2. We match our catalog to known variables and binaries in the region, 2MASS near-IR (NIR) data, and Chandra X-ray observations to find counterparts to new variables in other wavelengths.
Henderson Calen B.
Pejcha Ondrej
Prieto Jose Luis
Stanek Kris Z.
No associations
LandOfFree
An R- and I-Band Photometric Variability Survey of the Cygnus OB2 Association does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with An R- and I-Band Photometric Variability Survey of the Cygnus OB2 Association, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and An R- and I-Band Photometric Variability Survey of the Cygnus OB2 Association will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-521100