No Arabic abstract
Based on a deep optical CCD (UBV(RI)_C) photometric survey and on the Two-Micron All-Sky-Survey (2MASS) data we derived the main parameters of the open cluster NGC 2401. We found this cluster is placed at 6.3 $pm$ 0.5 kpc (V_O - M_V = 14.0 pm 0.2) from the Sun and is 25 Myr old, what allows us to identify NGC 2401 as a member of the young population belonging to the innermost side of the extension of the Norma-Cygnus spiral--arm in the Third Galactic Quadrant. A spectroscopic study of the emission star LSS 440 that lies in the cluster area revealed it is a B0Ve star; however, we could not confirm it is a cluster member. We also constructed the cluster luminosity function (LF) down to $V sim 22$ and the cluster initial mass function (IMF) for all stars with masses above $M sim 1-2 M_{sun}$. It was found that the slope of the cluster IMF is $x approx 1.8 pm 0.2$. The presence of a probable PMS star population associated to the cluster is weakly revealed.
We present CCD broad band photometric observations in the fields of the Third Galactic Quadrant open clusters NGC 2580 and NGC 2588 ($V(I)_C$ and $UBV(RI)_C$ respectively). From the analysis of our data we found that NGC 2580 is located at a distance of about 4 kpc and its age is close to 160 Myr. As for NGC 2588, it is placed at about 5 kpc from the Sun and is 450 Myr old. This means that NGC 2588 belongs to the extension of the Perseus arm, whereas NGC 2580 is closer to the local arm structure. The luminosity functions (LFs) have been constructed for both clusters down to $V sim 20$ together with their initial mass functions (IMFs) for stars with masses above $M sim 1-1.5 M_{sun}$. The IMF slopes for the most massive bins yielded values of $x approx 1.3$ for NGC 2580 and $x approx 2$ for NGC 2588. In the case of this latter cluster we found evidence of a core-corona structure produced probably by dynamical effect. In the main sequences of both clusters we detected gaps, which we suggest could be real features.
We present a multi-wavelength study of the young stellar population in the Cygnus-X DR15 region. We studied young stars forming or recently formed at and around the tip of a prominent molecular pillar and an infrared dark cloud. Using a combination of ground based near-infrared, space based infrared and X-ray data, we constructed a point source catalog from which we identified 226 young stellar sources, which we classified into evolutionary classes. We studied their spatial distribution across the molecular gas structures and identified several groups possibly belonging to distinct young star clusters. We obtained samples of these groups and constructed K-band luminosity functions that we compared with those of artificial clusters, allowing us to make first order estimates of the mean ages and age spreads of the groups. We used a $^{13}$CO(1-0) map to investigate the gas kinematics at the prominent gaseous envelope of the central cluster in DR15, and we infer that the removal of this envelope is relatively slow compared to other cluster regions, in which gas dispersal timescale could be similar or shorter than the circumstellar disk dissipation timescale. The presence of other groups with slightly older ages, associated with much less prominent gaseous structures may imply that the evolution of young clusters in this part of the complex proceeds in periods that last 3 to 5 Myr, perhaps after a slow dissipation of their dense molecular cloud birthplaces.
Multi-color photometry of the stellar populations in five fields in the third Galactic quadrant centred on the clusters NGC 2215, NGC 2354, Haffner 22, Ruprecht 11, and ESO489SC01 is interpreted in terms of a warped and flared Galactic disk, without resort to an external entity such as the popular Monoceros or Canis Major overdensities. Except for NGC 2215, the clusters are poorly or unstudied previously. The data generate basic parameters for each cluster, including the distribution of stars along the line of sight. We use star counts and photometric analysis, without recourse to Galactic-model-based predictions or interpretations, and confirms earlier results for NGC 2215 and NGC 2354. ESO489SC01 is not a real cluster, while Haffner~22 is an overlooked cluster aged about 2.5 Gyr. Conclusions for Ruprecht~11 are preliminary, evidence for a cluster being marginal. Fields surrounding the clusters show signatures of young and intermediate-age stellar populations. The young population background to NGC~2354 and Ruprecht~11 lies 8-9 kpc from the Sun and $sim$1 kpc below the formal Galactic plane, tracing a portion of the Norma-Cygnus arm, challenging Galactic models that adopt a sharp cut-off of the disk 12-14 kpc from the Galactic center. The old population is metal poor with an age of 2-3 Gyr, resembling star clusters like Tombaugh 2 or NGC 2158. It has a large color spread and is difficult to locate precisely. Young and old populations follow a pattern that depends critically on the vertical location of the thin and/or thick disk, and whether or not a particular line of sight intersects one, both, or none.
We analyze the X-ray spectra of the $sim$8000 sources detected in the Cygnus OB2 Chandra Legacy Survey (Drake et al., this issue), with the goals of characterizing the coronal plasma of the young low-mass stars in the region and estimating their intrinsic X-ray luminosities. We adopt two different strategies for X-ray sources for which more or less than 20 photons were detected. For the brighter sample we fit the spectra with absorbed isothermal models. In order to limit uncertainties, for most of the fainter Cygnus OB2 members in this sample, we constrain the spectral parameters to characteristic ranges defined from the brightest stars. For X-ray sources with $<$20 net photons we adopt a conversion factor from detected photon flux to intrinsic flux. This was defined, building on the results for the previous sample, as a function of the 20% quantile of the detected photon energy distributions, which we prove to also correlate well with extinction. We then use the X-ray extinction from the spectral fits to constrain the ratio between optical and X-ray extinction toward Cygnus OB2, finding it consistent with standard Galactic values, when properly accounting for systematics. Finally we exploit the large number of sources to constrain the average coronal abundances of several elements, through two different ensemble analyses of the X-ray spectra of low-mass Cygnus OB2 members. We find the pattern of abundances to be largely consistent with that derived for the young stellar coronae in the Orion Nebula Cluster.
The relative contribution of various physical processes to the spatial and temporal distribution of molecular clouds and star-forming regions in the disks of galaxies has not been fully studied. The spatial regularity in the distribution of the young stellar population in spiral and ring structures is a good test to study this contribution. We investigate photometric properties of the ring and spiral arms in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 6217 based on analysis of GALEX ultraviolet, optical UBVRI and Halpha surface photometry data. The ring in the galaxy is located near the corotation area. A spatial regularity in the distribution of the young stellar population along the galaxy ring was found. The characteristic scale of spacing is about 700 pc. At the same time, we did not find a similar regularity in the distribution of the young stellar population along the spiral arms of NGC 6217. The spatial regularity in concentration of young stellar groupings along spiral arms is a quite rare phenomenon, and it has never been found before in galactic rings.