The Stellar Population of h and chi Persei: Cluster Properties, Membership, and the Intrinsic Colors and Temperatures of Stars

Abstract

(Abridged) From photometric observations of $\sim$ 47,000 stars and spectroscopy of $\sim$ 11,000 stars, we describe the first extensive study of the stellar population of the famous Double Cluster, h and $\chi$ Persei, down to subsolar masses. Both clusters have E(B-V) $\sim$ 0.52--0.55 and dM = 11.8--11.85; the halo population, while more poorly constrained, likely has identical properties. As determined from the main sequence turnoff, the luminosity of M supergiants, and pre-main sequence isochrones, ages for h Persei, $\chi$ Persei and the halo population all converge on $\approx$ 14 Myr. From these data, we establish the first spectroscopic and photometric membership lists of cluster stars down to early/mid M dwarfs. At minimum, there are $\sim$ 5,000 members within 10' of the cluster centers, while the entire h and $\chi$ Persei region has at least $\sim$ 13,000 and as many as 20,000 members. The Double Cluster contains $\approx$ 8,400 M${}_{\odot }$ of stars within 10' of the cluster centers. We estimate a total mass of at least 20,000 M${}_{\odot }$. We conclude our study by outlining outstanding questions regarding the properties of h and $\chi$ Persei. From comparing recent work, we compile a list of intrinsic colors and derive a new effective temperature scale for O--M dwarfs, giants, and supergiants.

88 pages, many figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplements. Contact lead author for version with high-resolution figures

References in corpus (20)

• Evolution of asymptotic giant branch stars II. Optical to far-infrared isochrones with improved TP-AGB models
• Spitzer Space Telescope study of disks in the young $\sigma$ Orionis cluster
• Evidence for Mass-dependent Circumstellar Disk Evolution in the 5 Myr-old Upper Scorpius OB Association
• Spitzer observations of the Orion OB1 association: disk census in the low mass stars
• The Last Gasp of Gas Giant Planet Formation: A Spitzer Study of the 5 Myr-old Cluster NGC 2362
• Fitting the young main-sequence; distances, ages and age spreads
• The Rise and Fall of Debris Disks: MIPS Observations of h and chi Persei and the Evolution of Mid-IR Emission from Planet Formation
• The Monitor project: Data processing and lightcurve production
• Rapid Formation of Icy Super-Earths and the Cores of Gas Giant Planets
• Empirical isochrones and relative ages for young stars, and the radiative-convective gap
• On the Semimajor Axis Distribution of Extrasolar Gas Giant Planets: Why Hot Jupiters Are Rare Around High-Mass Stars
• The Monitor project: Searching for occultations in young open clusters
• The Monitor project: Rotation of low-mass stars in the open cluster M34
• Deep MIPS Observations of the IC 348 Nebula: Constraints on the Evolutionary State of Anemic Circumstellar Disks and the Primordial-to-Debris Disk Transition
• Spitzer/IRAC and JHKs Observations of h & chi Persei: Constraints on Protoplanetary Disk and Massive Cluster Evolution at ~ 10^{7} yr
• A Spitzer Study of Debris Disks In The Young Nearby Cluster NGC 2232: Icy Planets Are Common Around ~ 1.5--3 Solar-Mass Stars
• Terrestrial Zone Debris Disk Candidates in h and chi Persei
• Discovery of Gas Accretion Onto Stars in 13 Myr old h and chi Persei
• The X-Ray Environment During the Epoch of Terrestrial Planet Formation: Chandra Observations of h Persei
• On the Formation of Perseus OB1 at High Galactic Latitudes

Cited by in corpus (71)

• Improved angular momentum evolution model for solar-like stars
• Pre-main-sequence isochrones -- II. Revising star and planet formation timescales
• A new mass-loss rate prescription for red supergiants
• The Initial Masses of the Red Supergiant Progenitors to Type-II Supernovae
• The Transitional Protoplanetary Disk Frequency as a Function of Age: Disk Evolution in the Coronet Cluster, Taurus, and Other 1--8 Myr-old Regions
• The Magnetic Early B-type Stars III: A main sequence magnetic, rotational, and magnetospheric biography
• The G305 star-forming complex: the central star clusters Danks 1 and Danks 2
• High-precision photometry by telescope defocussing. VI. WASP-24, WASP-25 and WASP-26
• Deep wide-field near-infrared survey of the Carina Nebula
• A newly-discovered young massive star cluster at the end of the Galactic Bar
• SCExAO/CHARIS Near-Infrared Direct Imaging, Spectroscopy, and Forward-Modeling of kappa And b: A Likely Young, Low-Gravity Superjovian Companion
• Hot stars observed by XMM-Newton II. A survey of Oe and Be stars
• The substructure and halo population of the Double Cluster $h$ and $\chi$ Persei
• Red supergiants around the obscured open cluster Stephenson 2
• A First-Look Atmospheric Modeling Study of the Young Directly-Imaged Planet-Mass Companion, ROXs 42Bb
• Supersaturation and activity-rotation relation in PMS stars: the young Cluster h Per
• Extended main-sequence turnoffs in the double cluster $h$ and $\chi$ Persei: The complex role of stellar rotation
• Discrepancies in the ages of young star clusters; evidence for mergers?
• The circumstellar environment and evolutionary state of the supergiant B[e] star Wd1-9
• NGC 7419 as a template for red supergiant clusters
• CHARA/MIRC observations of two M supergiants in Perseus OB1: temperature, Bayesian modeling, and compressed sensing imaging
• Constrained fitting of disentangled binary spectra: application to V615 Per in the open cluster h Persei
• The Massive Star-Forming Regions Omnibus X-Ray Catalog, Second Installment
• The Monitor Project: Stellar rotation at 13~Myr: I. A photometric monitoring survey of the young open cluster h~Per
• Disruption of Hierarchical Clustering in the Vela OB2 Complex and the Cluster Pair Collinder 135 and UBC7 with Gaia EDR3: Evidence of Supernova Quenching
• Quantitative Spectroscopic J-band Study of Red Supergiants in Perseus OB-1
• A Deep Spitzer Survey of Circumstellar Disks in the Young Double Cluster, h and chi Persei
• The influence of the environment on the spin evolution of low-mass stars. I. External photoevaporation of circumstellar disks
• Circumstellar discs in Galactic centre clusters: Disc-bearing B-type stars in the Quintuplet and Arches clusters
• Pulsating B-type stars in the open cluster NGC 884: frequencies, mode identification and asteroseismology
• First phase space portrait of a hierarchical stellar structure in the Milky Way
• SiO maser emission from red supergiants across the Galaxy: I. Targets in massive star clusters
• The Massive Star-Forming Regions Omnibus X-Ray Catalog, Third Installment
• The distances to star-clusters hosting Red Supergiants: $\chi$ Per, NGC 7419, and Westerlund 1
• High-Contrast 3.8 Micron Imaging Of The Brown Dwarf/Planet-Mass Companion to GJ 758
• Chemistry and Kinematics of Red Supergiant Stars in the Young Massive Cluster NGC 2100
• Spitzer IRS Spectroscopy of the 10 Myr-old EF Cha Debris Disk: Evidence for Phyllosilicate-Rich Dust in the Terrestrial Zone
• Distances to Galactic OB-stars: Photometry vs. Parallax
• Probing Red Supergiant dynamics through photo-center displacements measured by Gaia
• VdBH 222: a starburst cluster in the inner Milky Way
• Chandra observations of the old pulsar PSR B1451-68
• Evidence for Cluster to Cluster Variations in Low-Mass Stellar Rotational Evolution
• High-resolution spectroscopic study of massive blue and red supergiants in Per OB1
• Red Supergiant Candidates for Multimessenger Monitoring of the Next Galactic Supernova
• Rotation and magnetic activity evolution of Sun-like stars
• A Spitzer/IRAC Characterization of Galactic AGB and RSG Stars
• Variability survey of brightest stars in selected OB associations
• Physical Properties of the B and Be Star Populations of h and chi Persei
• Red Supergiants, Yellow Hypergiants, and Post-RSG Evolution
• A Comparison of Rotating and Binary Stellar Evolution Models: Effects on Massive Star Populations
• A VLT/FLAMES survey for massive binaries in Westerlund 1 V. the X-ray selected blue stragglers Wd1-27 and -30a
• A new outburst of the yellow hypergiant star Rho Cas
• Evidence of Hubble flow-like motion of young stellar populations away from the Perseus arm
• The blue supergiant Sher 25 revisited in the Gaia era
• On aging star clusters using red supergiants independent of the fraction of interacting binary stars
• Probing the Dragonfish star-forming complex: the ionizing population of the young massive cluster Mercer 30
• Age determination of galactic B-type stars in double-lined eclipsing binaries
• Atmospheric Characterization and Further Orbital Modeling of $\kappa$ And b
• A Non-Detection of Red Supergiant Convection in Gaia
• Stellar population astrophysics (SPA) with the TNG -- The chemical content of the red supergiant population in the Perseus complex
• Properties of young star cluster systems: the age signature from near-infrared integrated colours
• The population of M-type supergiants in the starburst cluster Stephenson 2
• Towards ensemble asteroseismology of the young open clusters Chi Persei and NGC 6910
• Open Clusters as Probes of the Galactic Magnetic Field: I. Cluster Properties
• ChronoFlow: A Data-Driven Model for Gyrochronology
• Unveiling the Hierarchical Structure of Open Star Clusters: the Perseus Double Cluster
• X-ray flares observed from six young stars located in the region of star clusters NGC 869 and IC 2602
• Yellow hypergiant V509 Cas -- stable in the 'yellow void'
• X-ray observations of eight young open star clusters : I. Membership and X-ray Luminosity
• Clusters rich in red supergiants
• Quantifying Systematic Age Discrepancies in Very Young Star Clusters