Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001aas...19915612s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, 199th AAS Meeting, #156.12; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 34, p.564
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Some of the most fundamental questions one can address using stellar clusters include: Is the initial mass function universal? Do all the stars in a cluster form at the same time or is formation rate mass dependent? Despite the importance of these questions, they remain unanswered. This is due in part to the dearth of young-intermediate age, dense clusters within our local neighborhood of the galaxy. Such clusters are particularly valuable because they contain massive stars which are just beginning to peel off the main sequence. The double cluster h and Chi Persei (NGC 869 and NGC 884, respectively) is one of the closest, brightest dense clusters to us. It can also be thought of as an old OB association and therefore can tell us a lot about stellar evolution within clusters. In this study we investigate the stellar content of h and Chi Per and infer both age and masses via evolutionary tracks for member stars. Mosaic CCD imaging over a 1-deg2 field around the center of the cluster resulted in photometry of 4527 stars. Spectroscopic data from a variety of instruments including the multi-object fiber positioner Hydra and the KPNO RC and Coude Feed Spectrographs produced new spectral classifications for 200 stars, ranging on the main sequence from O6 to A1, plus evolved B-M supergiants and giants. The reddening and distance modulus of h and Chi are redetermined from these data and used to construct new HR diagrams. Though several studies of these clusters have been undertaken, both recently and in the more distant past, no mass values for individual cluster members have been derived previously. From the HR diagram we derive masses of member stars and determine an IMF from 1600 stars in the 4-20 solar mass range. Combining these masses with age determinations allows us to explore trends between mass and stellar formation rate within the cluster. We also explore the possibility of spatial mass segregation.
Hillenbrand Lynne A.
Massey Pedro
Slesnick Catherine L.
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