Exploring FSR open cluster candidates within $|\Delta \ell |=20^{\circ }$ of the Galactic anticentre

Abstract

We investigate the nature of a sample of star cluster candidates detected as stellar overdensities towards the Galactic anticentre. Taken from the catalogue of Froebrich, Scholz, and Raftery (FSR), the sample contains 28 star cluster candidates located within $|\Delta \ell |=20^{\circ }$ of the anticentre. These are all the candidates in that sector classified by FSR with a high probability of being star clusters. Our main goals are to determine the fraction of such candidates that are unknown star clusters, to derive their astrophysical parameters, and to investigate the relationship of cluster parameters with position in the Galaxy. When photometric and radial distribution properties are considered together, an important fraction of the stellar overdensities with a fluctuation level $\ga3σ$ are shown to be star clusters. Thus, catalogues of star cluster candidates, coupled to the present kind of study, are an important source for identifying unknown open clusters. Such efforts affect the understanding of the star-formation rate, cluster dynamical evolution, and Galactic structure, among others.

14 pages, 13 figures. Accepted by A&A on 21/04/2008

References in corpus (5)

• Open clusters in dense fields: the importance of field-star decontamination for NGC5715, Lynga4, Lynga9, Trumpler23, Trumpler26 and Czernik37
• The effect of spiral arm passages on the evolution of stellar clusters
• FSR1735 -- A new globular cluster candidate in the inner Galaxy
• A populous intermediate-age open cluster and evidence of an embedded cluster among the FSR globular cluster candidates
• The anticenter old open cluster NGC 1883: radial velocity and metallicity

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Investigating the borderline between a young star cluster and a small stellar association: a test case with Bochum1
• Investigating the age and structure of the infrared old open clusters LK1, LK10, FSR1521 and FSR1555
• NTT follow-up observations of star cluster candidates from the FSR catalogue
• The old Galactic open clusters FSR1716 and Czernik23