Evaluating Helium Variations By Modeling Red Giant Branch Bump of Large Magellanic Cluster NGC 1978

Many evidences show that the Multiple Population(MP)features exist not only in old clusters but also in intermediate-age clusters in the Megallanic Clouds(MCs),which are characterized by star-to-star abundance scatter of several elements,including helium(He).The red giant branch bump(RGBB)’s photometric properties are proved to be related to the variation in helium abundances of the member stars in star clusters.We use the"Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics"(MESA)stellar evolution code to calculate the evolution sequences of stars along the red giant branch(RGB)with changing helium content.Following the RGB sequences,we then generate a luminosity function of the RGB stars within the grid of input helium abundances,which are compared with the observational data of an intermediate-age MC cluster NGC 1978.

Variable stars in the 50BiN open cluster survey.Ⅱ.NGC 869

This work presents a time-series photometric variability survey of the young open cluster NGC 869.More than 13000 CCD frames in the BV filters were collected on 19 nights between 2014 November 6 and 2014 December 24.In a 20’×20’field centered on the cluster,we detected a total of 28 stars showing photometric variability,12 of which are new discoveries.The classifications and memberships of the variable stars are discussed according to the behaviors and periods of the light curves as well as their positions on the H-R diagram.These results conclude that 22 variable stars are probable members of the cluster while six other stars belong to the field star population.They are categorized as 18 pulsating variable stars(fourβCep,seven SPB,oneβCep/SPB,four Be stars,and twoδSct/γDor candidates),seven eclipsing binaries(five EA and two EB)and three unknown type stars.

Stellar populations in star clusters

Stellar populations contain the most important information about star cluster formation and evo- lution. Until several decades ago, star clusters were believed to be ideal laboratories for studies of simple stellar populations （SSPs）. However, discoveries of multiple stellar populations in Galactic globular clus- ters have expanded our view on stellar populations in star clusters. They have simultaneously generated a number of controversies, particularly as to whether young star clusters may have the same origin as old globular clusters. In addition, extensive studies have revealed that the SSP scenario does not seem to hold for some intermediate-age and young star clusters either, thus making the origin of multiple stellar popu- lations in star clusters even more complicated. Stellar population anomalies in numerous star clusters are well-documented, implying that the notion of star clusters as true SSPs faces serious challenges. In this review, we focus on stellar populations in massive clusters with different ages. We present the history and progress of research in this active field, as well as some of the most recent improvements, including ob- servational results and scenarios that have been proposed to explain the observations. Although our current ability to determine the origin of multiple stellar populations in star clusters is unsatisfactory, we propose a number of promising projects that may contribute to a significantly improved understanding of this subject.