No Arabic abstract
It is well known that massive O-stars are frequently (if not always) found in binary or higher-order multiple systems, but this fact has been less robustly investigated for the lower mass range of the massive stars, represented by the B-type stars. Obtaining the binary fraction and orbital parameter distributions of B-type stars is crucial to understand the impact of multiplicity on the archetypal progenitor of core-collapse supernovae as well as to properly investigate formation channels for gravitational wave progenitors. This work aims to characterise the multiplicity of the B-star population of the young open cluster NGC 6231 through multi-epoch optical spectroscopy of 80 B-type stars. We analyse 31 FLAMES/GIRAFFE observations of 80 B-type stars, monitoring their radial velocities (RVs) and performing a least-squares spectral analysis (Lomb-Scargle) to search for periodicity in those stars with statistically significant variability in their RVs. We constrain an observed spectroscopic binary fraction of $33pm5$% for the B-type stars of NGC 6231, with a first order bias-correction giving a true spectroscopic binary fraction of $52pm8$%. Out of 27 B-type binary candidates, we obtained orbital solutions for 20 systems: 15 single-lined (SB1) and 5 double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2s). We present these orbital solutions and the orbital parameter distributions associated with them. Our results indicate that Galactic B-type stars are less frequently found in binary systems than their more massive O-type counterparts, but their orbital properties generally resemble those of B- and O-type stars in both the Galaxy and Large Magellanic Cloud.
The multiplicity properties of massive stars are one of the important outstanding issues in stellar evolution. Quantifying the binary statistics of all evolutionary phases is essential to paint a complete picture of how and when massive stars interact with their companions, and to determine the consequences of these interactions. We investigate the multiplicity of an almost complete census of red supergiant stars (RSGs) in NGC 330, a young massive cluster in the SMC. Using a combination of multi-epoch HARPS and MUSE spectroscopy, we estimate radial velocities and assess the kinematic and multiplicity properties of 15 RSGs in NGC 330. Radial velocities are estimated to better than +/-100 m/s for the HARPS data. The line-of-sight velocity dispersion for the cluster is estimated as 3.20 +0.69-0.52 km/s. When virial equilibrium is assumed, the dynamical mass of the cluster is log (M{dyn} /M{sun}) = 5.20+/-0.17, in good agreement with previous upper limits. We detect significant radial velocity variability in our multi-epoch observations and distinguish between variations caused by atmospheric activity and those caused by binarity. The binary fraction of NGC 330 RSGs is estimated by comparisons with simulated observations of systems with a range of input binary fractions. In this way, we account for observational biases and estimate the intrinsic binary fraction for RSGs in NGC 330 as f{RSG} = 0.3+/-0.1 for orbital periods in the range 2.3< log P [days] <4.3, with q>0.1. Using the distribution of the luminosities of the RSG population, we estimate the age of NGC 330 to be 45+/-5 Myr and estimate a red straggler fraction of 50%. We estimate the binary fraction of RSGs in NGC 330 and conclude that it appears to be lower than that of main-sequence massive stars, which is expected because interactions between an RSG and a companion are assumed to effectively strip the RSG envelope.
Observations of massive stars in young open clusters (< ~8 Myr) have shown that a majority of them are in binary systems, most of which will interact during their life. Populations of massive stars older than ~20 Myr allow us to probe the outcome of such interactions after many systems have experienced mass and angular momentum transfer. Using multi-epoch integral-field spectroscopy, we investigate the multiplicity properties of the massive-star population in NGC 330 (~40 Myr) in the Small Magellanic Cloud to search for imprints of stellar evolution on the multiplicity properties. From six epochs of VLT/MUSE observations supported by adaptive optics we extract spectra and measure radial velocities for stars brighter than F814W = 19. We identify single-lined spectroscopic binaries through significant RV variability as well as double-lined spectroscopic binaries, and quantify the observational biases for binary detection. The observed spectroscopic binary fraction is 13.2+/-2.0 %. Considering period and mass ratio ranges from log(P)=0.15-3.5, and q = 0.1-1.0, and a representative set of orbital parameter distributions, we find a bias-corrected close binary fraction of 34 +8 -7 %. This seems to decline for the fainter stars, which indicates either that the close binary fraction drops in the B-type domain, or that the period distribution becomes more heavily weighted towards longer orbital periods. Both fractions vary strongly in different regions of the color-magnitude diagram which probably reveals the imprint of the binary history of different groups of stars. We provide the first homogeneous RV study of a large sample of B-type stars at a low metallicity. The overall bias-corrected close binary fraction of B stars in NGC 330 is lower than the one reported for younger Galactic and LMC clusters. More data are needed to establish whether this result from an age or a metallicty effect.
In this work, we have studied the variable stars in the young open cluster NGC 1893 based on a multi-year photometric survey covering a sky area around the cluster up to $31 times 31$ wide. More than 23,000 images in the $V$ band taken from January 2008 to February 2017 with different telescopes, complemented with 90 images in the $B$ band in 2014 and 2017, were reduced, and light curves were derived in $V$ for 5653 stars. By analyzing these light curves, we detected 147 variable stars (85 of them being new discoveries), including 110 periodic variables, 15 eclipsing binaries and 22 non-periodic variables. Proper motions, radial velocities, color-magnitude and two-color diagrams were used to identify the cluster membership of these variable stars, resulting in 84 members. Periodic variable members were then classified into different variability types, mainly according to their magnitudes and to their periods of variability, as well as to their positions in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for the early-type stars. As a result, among main-sequence periodic variable members, we identified five $beta$ Cep candidates, seven slowly pulsating B-type candidates, and thirteen fast-rotating pulsating B-type (FaRPB) candidates (one of which is a confirmed classical Be star). While most of the FaRPB stars display properties similar to the ones discovered in NGC 3766 by Mowlavi et al. (2013), five of them have periods below 0.1~d, contrary to expectations. Additional observations, including spectroscopic, are called for to further characterize these stars. We also find a binary candidate harboring a $delta$-Scuti candidate.
We present a comprehensive photometric analysis of a young open cluster NGC 1960 (M36) along with the long-term variability study of this cluster. Based on the kinematic data of Gaia DR2, the membership probabilities of 3871 stars are ascertained in the cluster field among which 262 stars are found to be cluster members. Considering the kinematic and trigonometric measurements of the cluster members, we estimate a mean cluster parallax of 0.86+/-0.05 mas and mean proper motions of mu_RA = -0.143+/-0.008 mas/yr, mu_Dec = -3.395+/-0.008 mas/yr. We obtain basic parameters of the cluster such as E(B-V) = 0.24+/-0.02 mag, log(Age/yr)=7.44+/-0.02, and distance = 1.17+/-0.06 kpc. The mass function slope in the cluster for the stars in the mass range of 0.72-7.32 M_solar is found to be gamma = -1.26+/-0.19. We find that mass segregation is still taking place in the cluster which is yet to be dynamically relaxed. This work also presents first high-precision variability survey in the central 13x13 among which 72 are periodic variables. Among them, 59 are short-period (P<1 day)and 13 are long-period (P>1 day). The variable stars have V magnitudes ranging between 9.1 to 19.4 mag and periods between 41 minutes to 10.74 days. On the basis of their locations in the H-R diagram, periods and characteristic light curves, the 20 periodic variables belong to the cluster. We classified them as 2 delta-Scuti, 3 gamma-Dor, 2 slowly pulsating B stars, 5 rotational variables, 2 non-pulsating B stars and 6 as miscellaneous variables.
Galactic open clusters (OCs) that survive the early gas-expulsion phase are gradually destroyed over time by the action of disruptive dynamical processes. Their final evolutionary stages are characterized by a poorly populated concentration of stars called open cluster remnant (OCR). This study is devoted to assess the real physical nature of the OCR candidate NGC 7193. GMOS/Gemini spectroscopy of 53 stars in the inner target region were obtained to derive radial velocities and atmospheric parameters. We also employed photometric and proper motion data. The analysis method consists of the following steps: (i) analysis of the statistical resemblance between the cluster and a set of field samples with respect to the sequences defined in colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs); (ii) a 5-dimensional iteractive exclusion routine was employed to identify outliers from kinematical and positional data; (iii) isochrone fitting to the $K_{s}times(J-K_{s})$ CMD of the remaining stars and the dispersion of spectral types along empirical sequences in the $(J-H)times(H-K_{s})$ diagram was checked. A group of stars was identified for which the mean heliocentric distance is compatible with that obtained via isochrone fitting and whose metallicities are compatible with each other. Fifteen member stars observed spectroscopically were identified together with other 19 probable members. Our results indicate that NGC 7193 is a genuine OCR, of an once very populous OC, for which the following parameters were derived: $d=501,pm,46,$pc, $t=2.5,pm,1.2,$Gyr, $langle,[Fe/H],rangle=-0.17,pm,0.23$ and $E(B-V)=0.05,pm,0.05$. Its luminosity and mass functions show depletion of low mass stars, confirming the OCR dynamically evolved state.