No Arabic abstract
High-dispersion spectra of 333 stars in the open cluster NGC 6819, obtained using the HYDRA spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5m telescope, have been analyzed to determine the abundances of iron and other metals from lines in the 400 A region surrounding the Li 6708 A line. Our spectra, with signal-to-noise per pixel (SNR) ranging from 60 to 300, span the luminosity range from the tip of the red giant branch to a point two magnitudes below the top of the cluster turnoff. We derive radial and rotational velocities for all stars, as well as [Fe/H] based on 17 iron lines, [Ca/H], [Si/H], and [Ni/H] in the 247 most probable, single members of the cluster. Input temperature estimates for model atmosphere analysis are provided by (B-V) colors merged from several sources, with individual reddening corrections applied to each star relative to a cluster mean of E(B-V) = 0.16. Extensive use is made of ROBOSPECT, an automatic equivalent width measurement program; its effectiveness on large spectroscopic samples is discussed. From the sample of likely single members, [Fe/H] = -0.03 +/- 0.06, where the error describes the median absolute deviation about the sample median value, leading to an internal precision for the cluster below 0.01 dex. The final uncertainty in the cluster abundance is therefore dominated by external systematics due to the temperature scale, surface gravity, and microturbulent velocity, leading to [Fe/H] = -0.02 +/- 0.02 for a sub-sample restricted to main sequence and turnoff stars. This result is consistent with our recent intermediate-band photometric determination of a slightly subsolar abundance for this cluster. [Ca/Fe], [Si/Fe], and [Ni/Fe] are determined to be solar within the uncertainties. NGC 6819 has an abundance distribution typical of solar metallicity thin disk stars in the solar neighborhood.
NGC 6819 is a richly populated, older open cluster situated within the Kepler field. A CCD survey of the cluster on the uvbyCaHbeta system, coupled with proper-motion membership, has been used to isolate 382 highly probable, single-star unevolved main-sequence members over a 20-arcminute field centered on the cluster. From 278 F dwarfs with high precision photometry in all indices, a mean reddening of E(b-y) = 0.117 +/- 0.005 or E(B-V) = 0.160 +/- 0.007 is derived, where the standard errors of the mean include both internal errors and the photometric zero-point uncertainty. With the reddening fixed, the metallicity derived from the same 278 stars is [Fe/H] = -0.116 +/- 0.101 from m_1 and -0.055 +/- 0.033 from hk, for a weighted average of [Fe/H] = -0.06 +/- 0.04, where the quoted standard errors of the mean values include the internal errors from the photometric scatter plus the uncertainty in the photometric zero points. If metallicity is derived using individual reddening values for each star to account for potential reddening variation across the face of the cluster, the analogous result is unchanged. The cluster members at the turnoff of the color-magnitude diagram are used to test and confirm the recently discovered variation in reddening across the face of the cluster, with a probable range in the variation of Delta[E(B-V)] = 0.045 +/-0.015. With the slightly higher reddening and lower [Fe/H] compared to commonly adopted values, isochrone fitting leads to an age of 2.3 +/- 0.2 Gyr for an apparent modulus of (m-M) = 12.40 +/-0.12.
The NASA space telescope Kepler has provided unprecedented time-series observations which have revolutionised the field of asteroseismology, i.e. the use of stellar oscillations to probe the interior of stars. The Kepler-data include observations of stars in open clusters, which are particularly interesting for asteroseismology. One of the clusters observed with Kepler is NGC 6811, which is the target of the present paper. However, apart from high-precision time-series observations, sounding the interiors of stars in open clusters by means of asteroseismology also requires accurate and precise atmospheric parameters as well as cluster membership indicators for the individual stars. We use medium-resolution (R~25,000) spectroscopic observations, and three independent analysis methods, to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities, metallicities, projected rotational velocities and radial velocities, for 15 stars in the field of the open cluster NGC 6811. We discover two double-lined and three single-lined spectroscopic binaries. Eight stars are classified as either certain or very probable cluster members, and three stars are classified as non-members. For four stars, cluster membership could not been assessed. Five of the observed stars are G-type giants which are located in the colour-magnitude diagram in the region of the red clump of the cluster. Two of these stars are surely identified as red clump stars for the first time. For those five stars, we provide chemical abundances of 31 elements. The mean radial-velocity of NGC 6811 is found to be +6.68$pm$0.08 km s$^{-1}$ and the mean metallicity and overall abundance pattern are shown to be very close to solar with an exception of Ba which we find to be overabundant.
Asteroseismology of stars in clusters has been a long-sought goal because the assumption of a common age, distance and initial chemical composition allows strong tests of the theory of stellar evolution. We report results from the first 34 days of science data from the Kepler Mission for the open cluster NGC 6819 -- one of four clusters in the field of view. We obtain the first clear detections of solar-like oscillations in the cluster red giants and are able to measure the large frequency separation and the frequency of maximum oscillation power. We find that the asteroseismic parameters allow us to test cluster-membership of the stars, and even with the limited seismic data in hand, we can already identify four possible non-members despite their having a better than 80% membership probability from radial velocity measurements. We are also able to determine the oscillation amplitudes for stars that span about two orders of magnitude in luminosity and find good agreement with the prediction that oscillation amplitudes scale as the luminosity to the power of 0.7. These early results demonstrate the unique potential of asteroseismology of the stellar clusters observed by Kepler.
We analyze extensive BVR_cI_c time-series photometry and radial-velocity measurements for WOCS 40007 (Auner 259; KIC 5113053), a double-lined detached eclipsing binary and a member of the open cluster NGC 6819. Utilizing photometric observations from the 1-meter telescope at Mount Laguna Observatory and spectra from the WIYN 3.5-meter telescope, we measure precise and accurate masses (~1.6% uncertainty) and radii (~0.5%) for the binary components. In addition, we discover a third star orbiting the binary with a period greater than 3000 days using radial velocities and Kepler eclipse timings. Because the stars in the eclipsing binary are near the cluster turnoff, they are evolving rapidly in size and are sensitive to age. With a metallicity of [Fe/H]=+0.09+/-0.03, we find the age of NGC 6819 to be about 2.4 Gyr from CMD isochrone fitting and 3.1+/-0.4 Gyr by analyzing the mass-radius (M-R) data for this binary. The M-R age is above previous determinations for this cluster, but consistent within 1 sigma uncertainties. When the M-R data for the primary star of the additional cluster binary WOCS 23009 is included, the weighted age estimate drops to 2.5+/-0.2 Gyr, with a systematic uncertainty of at least 0.2 Gyr. The age difference between our CMD and M-R findings may be the result of systematic error in the metallicity or helium abundance used in models, or due to slight radius inflation of one or both stars in the WOCS 40007 binary.
NGC 3532 is an extremely rich open cluster embedded in the Galactic disc, hitherto lacking a comprehensive, documented membership list. We provide membership probabilities from new radial velocity observations of solar-type and low-mass stars in NGC 3532, in part as a prelude to a subsequent study of stellar rotation in the cluster. Using extant optical and infra-red photometry we constructed a preliminary photometric membership catalogue, consisting of 2230 dwarf and turn-off stars. We selected 1060 of these for observation with the AAOmega spectrograph at the Anglo-Australian Telescope and 391 stars for observations with the Hydra-South spectrograph at the Victor Blanco Telescope, obtaining spectroscopic observations over a decade for 145 stars. We measured radial velocities for our targets through cross-correlation with model spectra and standard stars, and supplemented them with radial velocities for 433 additional stars from the literature. We also measured log g, Teff, and [Fe/H] from the AAOmega spectra. Together with proper motions from Gaia DR2 we find 660 exclusive members. The members are distributed across the whole cluster sequence, from giant stars to M dwarfs, making NGC 3532 one of the richest Galactic open clusters known to date, on par with the Pleiades. From further spectroscopic analysis of 153 dwarf members we find the metallicity to be marginally sub-solar, with [Fe/H]=-0.07. Exploiting trigonometric parallax measurements from Gaia DR2 we find a distance of $484^{+35}_{-30}$ pc. Based on the membership we provide an empirical cluster sequence in multiple photometric passbands. A comparison of the photometry of the measured cluster members with several recent model isochrones enables us to confirm the 300 Myr cluster age. However, all of the models evince departures from the cluster sequence in particular regions, especially in the lower mass range. (abridged)