BSEC Method for Unveiling Open Clusters and its Application to Gaia DR3:83 New Clusters

Open clusters(OCs) are common in the Milky Way, but most of them remain undiscovered. There are numerous techniques, including some machine-learning algorithms, available for the exploration of OCs. However, each method has its limitations and therefore, different approaches to discovering OCs hold significant values. We develop a comprehensive approach method to automatically explore the data space and identify potential OC candidates with relatively reliable membership determination. This approach combines the techniques of Hierarchical Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise, Gaussian mixture model, and a novel cluster member identification technique, color excess constraint. The new method exhibits efficiency in detecting OCs while ensuring precise determination of cluster memberships. Because the main feature of this technique is to add an extra constraint(EC) for the members of cluster candidates using the homogeneity of color excess,compared to typical blind search codes, it is called Blind Search-Extra Constraint(BSEC) method. It is successfully applied to the Gaia Data Release 3, and 83 new OCs are found, whose color–magnitude diagrams(CMDs) are fitted well to the isochrones. In addition, this study reports 621 new OC candidates with discernible main sequence or red giant branch. It is shown that BSEC technique can discard some false negatives of previous works, which takes about three percentage of known clusters. It shows that as an EC, the color excess(or twocolor) constraint is useful for removing fake cluster member stars from the clusters that are identified from the positions and proper motions of stars, and getting more precise CMDs, when differential reddening of member stars of a cluster is not large(e.g., ΔE(G_(BP)-G_(RP)) < 0.5 mag). It makes the CMDs of 15% clusters clearer(in particular for the region near turnoff) and therefore is helpful for CMD and stellar population studies. Our result suggests that the color excess constraint is more appropriate for clusters with small differential reddening, such as globular clusters or older OCs, and clusters that the distances of member stars cannot be determined accurately.

Variable Stars in the 50BiN Open Cluster Survey.Ⅲ.NGC 884

Open clusters are the basic building blocks that serve as a laboratory for the study of young stellar populations in the Milky Way.Variable stars in open clusters provide a unique way to accurately probe the internal structure,temporal and dynamical evolutionary stages of individual stars and the host cluster.The most powerful tool for such studies is time-domain photometric observations.This paper follows the route of our previous work,concentrating on a photometric search for variable stars in NGC 884.The target cluster is the companion of NGC869,forming the well-known double cluster system that is gravitationally bound.From the observation run in 2016 November,a total of 9247 B-band CCD images and 8218Ⅴ-band CCD images were obtained.We detected a total of 15 stars with variability in visual brightness,including five Be stars,three eclipsing binaries,and seven of unknown types.Two new variable stars were discovered in this work.We also compared the variable star content of NGC 884 with its companion NGC 869.

Study of 26 Galactic Open Clusters with Extended Main-sequence Turnoffs

Recent studies indicate that some Galactic open clusters(OCs)exhibit extended main-sequence turnoff(eMSTO)in their color–magnitude diagrams(CMDs).However,the number of Galactic OCs with eMSTO structures detected so far is limited,and the reasons for their formation are still unclear.This work identifies 26 Galactic OCs with undiscovered eMSTOs and investigates the causes of these features.Stellar population types and fundamental parameters of cluster samples are acquired using CMD fitting methods.Among them,the results of 11 OCs are reliable as the observed CMDs are well-reproduced.We propose the crucial role of stellar binarity and confirm the importance of stellar rotation in reproducing eMSTO morphologies.The results also show that the impact of age spread is important,as it can adequately explain the structure of young OCs and fit the observed CMDs of intermediate-age OCs better.

Variable Star Detection in the Field of Open Cluster NGC 188

This work presents the charge-coupled device(CCD)photometric survey of the old open cluster NGC 188.Timeseries V-band photometric observations were conducted for ten nights in 2017 January using the Nanshan Onemeter Wide-field Telescope to search for variable stars in the field of the cluster.A total of 25 variable stars,including one new variable star,were detected in the target field.Among the detected variables,16 are cluster member stars,and the others are identified as field stars.The periods,radial velocities,effective temperatures,and classifications of the detected variables are discussed in this work.Most of the stars’effective temperatures are between 4200 and 6600 K,indicating their spectral types are G or K.The newly discovered variable is probably a W UMa system.In this study,a known cluster variable star(V21=V0769 Cep)is classified as an EA-type variable star based on the presence of an 0.5 mag eclipse in its light curve.

Kinematic and chemical properties of five open clusters based on SDSS DR7

We present metallicities and radial velocities for five old open clusters （NGC 6791, NGC 2420, NGC 2682, NGC 2158, and NGC 7789） using data from the seventh public data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS）, which includes the directed stellar program SEGUE： Sloan Extension For Galactic Understanding and Exploration. The radial velocities are used to calculate cluster membership probabilities for stars in each cluster region. NGC 6791, NGC 2420, NGC 2682, NGC 2158 and NGC 7789 are found to have mean metallicities [Fe/H]= ＋0.08 ± 0.09, -0.38± 0.11, -0.08±0.05, -0.41 ±0.13 and -0.19 ± 0.13 dex （s.d.）, respectively. The mean radial velocities for NGC 6791, NGC 2420, NGC 2682, NGC 2158 and NGC 7789 are Vr = -45.9 ± 0.2, ＋76.1 ± 0.2, ＋35.0 ± 0.2, ＋26.9 ± 0.2 and -48.2± 0.2 km s^-1（s.e.m.）, respectively. We have compared our results with the values from literatures, and found that our metallicity of NGC 6791 is significantly underestimated （by about 0.3 dex） and our radial velocities of the open clusters agree well with the values derived using high-resolution spectroscopy.

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.

A study of variable stars in the open cluster NGC 1582 and its surrounding field

This paper presents Charge-Coupled Device time-series photometric observations of the open cluster NGC 1582 and its surrounding field with Johnson B, V and R filters by using the Nanshan 1 m telescope administered by Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory. 19 variable stars and three variable candi- dates were detected in a 45＇ - 48.75＇ field around the cluster. 12 of the variable stars are newly-discovered variable objects. The physical properties, classifications and memberships of these 22 objects are studied through their light curves, their positions on the color-magnitude diagram and with archival data from the Naval Observatory Merged Astrometric Dataset. Among these objects, five are eclipsing binary systems, six are pulsating variable stars including one known 6 Scuti star and one newly-discovered RR Lyrae star. The distance to the RR Lyrae star is estimated to be 7.9 - 0.3 kpc, indicating that the star is located far behind the cluster. Four variable stars are probable members of the cluster, and 13 of the 22 objects are confirmed to be field stars.

Abundance Gradient from Open Clusters and Implications for the Galactic Disk Evolution

We compile a new sample of 89 open clusters with ages, distances and metallicities available. We derive a radial iron gradient of about -0.099±0.008 dex kpc^(-1) (unweighted) for the whole sample, which is somewhat greater than the most recent determination of oxygen gradient from nebulae and young stars. By dividing the clusters into age groups, we show that the iron gradient was steeper in the past and has evolved slowly in time. Current data show a substantial scatter of the cluster metallicities indicating that the Galactic disk has undergone a very rapid, inhomogeneous enrichment. Also, based on a simple, but quite successful model of chemical evolution of the Milky Way disk, we make a detailed calculation of the iron abundance gradient and its time evolution. The predicted current iron gradient is about -0.072 dex kpc^(-1). The model also predicts a steady flattening of the iron gradient with time, which agrees with the result from our open cluster sample.

The first CCD photometric study of the open cluster NGC 744

We present the first CCD photometric observations of open cluster NGC 744, as part of the 50 BiN Open Cluster Survey. The color-magnitude diagrams of this cluster were derived from absolute BV RI photometry on a good photometric night. A brief isochrone fitting gives a distance modulus of(m-M)V= 11.58±0.2 and a reddening of E(B-V) = 0.35±0.05 with an age of log t = 8.30±0.05.By carefully examining the BV time-series data, we discovered four new variable stars in a 20′×20′field around the cluster. We classified them as three eclipsing binary stars and one δ Scuti pulsating star,mainly based on the light-curve shape, the detected periods and the positions on the color-magnitude diagrams.

Membership determination of open cluster NGC 188 based on the DBSCAN clustering algorithm

High-precision proper motions and radial velocities of 1046 stars are used to determine member stars using three-dimensional （3D） kinematics for open clus- ter NGC 188 based on the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise （DBSCAN） clustering algorithm. By implementing this algorithm, 472 member stars in the cluster are obtained with 3D kinematics. The color-magnitude diagram （CMD） of the 472 member stars using 3D kinematics shows a well-defined main sequence and a red giant branch, which indicate that the DBSCAN clustering algorithm is very effective for membership determination. The DBSCAN clustering algorithm can ef- fectively select probable member stars in 3D kinematic space without any assumption about the distribution of the cluster or field stars. Analysis results show that the CMD of member stars is significantly clearer than the one based on 2D kinematics, which al- lows us to better constrain the cluster members and estimate their physical parameters. Using the 472 member stars, the average absolute proper motion and radial velocity are determined to be （PMα, PMδ） = （-2.58 ± 0.22, ＋0.17 ± 0.18） mas yr-1 and Vr = -42.35 ± 0.05 km s-1, respectively. Our values are in good agreement with values derived by other authors.

Velocity Distance of the Open Cluster M11

On the reasonable hypothesis that the internal motions of member stars of a cluster are random and isotropic, a method which can be used to estimate the velocity distance of the cluster and its uncertainty is developed. The velocity distance so determined is an absolute distance estimate, and is completely independent of the （widely used） luminosity distance, which is a relative distance estimate. Using the published high-accuracy observational data of radial velocities and proper motions of the stars in the open cluster M11 region, we have determined the distance of M 11 to be 1.89 ± 0.52 kpc. This is in quite good agreement with the published luminosity distances of the cluster. We briefly discuss the problems concerned, including the sources of errors in the method and its applicable range.

Variable stars in the open cluster NGC 2141

We report the results of a search for variable stars in the open cluster NGC 2141. Ten variable stars are detected, among which nine are new variable stars and they are classified as three short-period W UMa-type eclipsing binaries, two EA- type eclipsing binaries, one EB-type eclipsing binary, one very short-period RS CVn- type eclipsing binary, one d-type RR Lyrae variable star, and one unknown type of variable star. The membership and physical properties are discussed, based on their light curves, positions in the color magnitude diagrams, spatial locations and periods. A known EB-type eclipsing binary is also identified as a blue straggler candidate in the cluster. Furthermore, we find that all eclipsing contact binaries have prominent asymmetric eclipses and display the O＇Connell effect, which increases with a decrease in orbital periods. This suggests that the O＇Connell effect is probably related to the evolution of the orbital period in short period eclipsing binary systems.

Weak Elliptical Distortion of the Milky Way Potential traced by Open Clusters

From photometric observations and star counts, the existence of a bar in the central few kpc of the Galaxy is suggested. It is generally thought that our Galaxy is surrounded by a massive invisible halo. The gravitational potential of the Galaxy is therefore made nonaxisymmetric generated by the central triaxial bar, by the outer triaxial halo, and/or by the spiral structures. Selecting nearly 300 open clusters with complete spatial velocity measurements and ages, we were able to construct the rotation curve of the Milky Way within a range of 3 kpc of the Sun. Using a dynamic model for an assumed elliptical disk, a clear weak elliptical potential of the disk with ellipticity of ε（R0） = 0.060 4± 0.012 is detected, the Sun is found to be near the minor axis, displaced by 30°±3°. The motion of the clusters is suggested to be on an oval orbit rather than on a circular one.

New open cluster candidates discovered in the XSTPS-GAC survey

The Xuyi Schmidt Telescope Photometric Survey of the Galactic Anti-center（XSTPS-GAC）is a photometric sky survey that covers nearly 6000 deg^2 towards the Galactic Anti-center（GAC） in the g,r,i bands. Half of its survey field is located on the Galactic Anti-center disk,which makes XSTPSGAC highly suitable to search for new open clusters in the GAC region. In this paper,we report new open cluster candidates discovered in this survey,as well as properties of these open cluster candidates,such as age,distance and reddening,derived by isochrone fitting in the color-magnitude diagram（CMD）.These open cluster candidates are stellar density peaks detected in the star density maps by applying the method from Koposov et al. Each candidate is inspected in terms of its true color image composed from three XSTPS-GAC band images. Then its CMD is checked,in order to identify whether the central region stars have a clear isochrone-like trend differing from background stars. The parameters derived from isochrone fitting for these candidates are mainly based on three band photometry of XSTPS-GAC.Moreover,when these new candidates are able to be seen clearly in 2 MASS data,their parameters are also derived based on the 2 MASS（J-H,J） CMD. There are a total of 320 known open clusters rediscovered and 24 new open cluster candidates discovered in this work. Furthermore,the parameters of these new candidates,as well as another 11 previously known open clusters,are properly determined for the first time.

Improved proper motion determinations for 15 open clusters based on the UCAC4 catalog

The proper motions of 15 nearby（d 〈 1 kpc） open clusters（OCs） were recalculated using data from the UCAC4 catalog. Only evolved or main sequence stars inside a certain radius from the center of the cluster were used. The results significantly differ from the ones presented by Dias et al.（2014）. This could be explained by a different approach in which we take the field star contamination into account. The present work aims to emphasize the importance of applying photometric criteria for the calculation of OC proper motions.

An application of the KNND method for detecting nearby open clusters based on Gaia-DR1

This paper presents a preliminary test of the k-th nearest neighbor distance （KNND） method for detecting nearby open clusters based on Gaia-DR1. We select 38 386 nearby stars （〈 100 pc） from the Gaia-DR1 catalog, and then use the KNND method to detect overdense regions in three-dimensional space. We find two overdense regions （the Hyades and Coma Berenices （Coma Ber） open clusters）, and obtain 57 reliable cluster members. Based on these cluster members, the distances to the Hyades and Coma Ber clusters are determined to be 46.0±0.2 and 83.5±0.3 pc, respectively. Our results demonstrate that the KNND method can be used to detect open clusters based on a large volume of astrometry data.

S1280 and S1284: Two Oscillating Blue Stragglers in the Open Cluster M67

We present results of a time-series CCD photometry of two blue stragglers in the open cluster M67 that are also oscillating variables, S1280 and S1284. The observations obtained on 11 nights confirmed the δ Scuti-like variability of the two stars. Four and five main pulsating frequencies are detected for S1280 and S1284, respectively, through a power spectral analysis. A preliminary mode identification indicates that the two stars are both in radial oscillation. Based on the nature of oscillation, the physical parameters of the two stars are determined, and their evolutionary status discussed.

The kinematical and space structures of IC 2391 open cluster and moving group with Gaia-DR2

The kinematical parameters,spatial shape and structure of the open cluster IC 2391 and the associated stellar stream are studied here using Gaia Data Release 2(GDR2) astrometry data.The apex positions are determined for the open cluster IC 2391(data taken from Cantat-Gaudin et al.) and for the kinematical stream’s stars mentioned in Montes et al.employing both convergent point and AD-diagram methods.The values of apex coordinates are:(A,D)CP=(6.~h17 ± 0.~h004,-6.°88 ± 0.°381;for cluster) and(6.~h07 ± 0.~h007,-5.°00 ± 0.°447;stream),and(A0,D0) =(6.~h12 ± 0.~h004,-3.°4 ± 0.°3;cluster) and(6.~h21 ±0.~h007,-11.°895 ± 0.°290;stream).The results are in good agreement with the previously calculated values.The positions of the stars in the disk and the spatial dispersion velocities are determined.The paths of cluster and associated stream are traced in the disk by orbit calculation back in time to their places of formation.A possible genetic relationship between the cluster and stream has been detected.The approximation of the spatial and kinematical shape of the stream and the cluster is made.According to this study,even though currently the cluster and stream seem to have a spatial difference in their locations,they appear to have formed in the same region of the Galactic disk.

Discovery of Extended Structure Around Open Cluster COIN-Gaia 13 Based on Gaia EDR3

COIN-Gaia 13 is a newly discovered open cluster revealed by Gaia DR2 data.It is a nearby open cluster with a distance of about 513 pc.Combined with the five-dimensional astrometric data of Gaia EDR3 with higher accuracy,we use the membership assignment algorithm(pyUPMASK)to determine the membership of COINGaia 13 in a large extended spatial region.The cluster has 478 identified candidate members.After obtaining reliable cluster members,we further study its basic properties and spatial distribution.Our results show that there is an obvious extended structure of the cluster in the X-Y plane.This elongated structure is distributed along the spiral arm,and the whole length is about 270 pc.The cluster age is 250 Myr,the total mass is about 439 M_(⊙) and the tidal radius of the cluster is about 11 pc.Since more than half of member stars(352 stars)are located outside twice the tidal radius,it is suspected that this cluster is undergoing the dynamic dissolution process.Furthermore,the spatial distribution and kinematic analysis indicate that the extended structure in COIN-Gaia 13 is more likely to be caused by differential rotation of the Galaxy.

A catalogue of 74 new open clusters found in Gaia Data-Release 2

Based on astrometric data from Gaia Data-Release 2(DR2),we employ an unsupervised machine learning method to blindly search for open star clusters in the Milky Way within the Galactic latitude range of|b|<20°.In addition to 2080 known clusters,74 new open cluster candidates are found.In this work,we present the positions,apparent radii,parallaxes,proper motions and member stars of these candidates.Meanwhile,to obtain the physical parameters of each candidate cluster,stellar isochrones are fit to the photometric data.The results show that the apparent radii and the observed proper motion dispersions of these new candidates are consistent with those of open clusters previously identified in Gaia DR2.