Study of open clusters within 1.8 kpc and understanding the Galactic structure

Abstract

Based on an almost complete sample of Galactic open star clusters within 1.8 kpc, we perform a comprehensive statistical analysis of various cluster parameters like spatial position, age, size, mass and extinction in order to understand the general properties of the open cluster system in the Galaxy and the Galactic structure. Based on the distribution of 1241 open clusters about the Galactic plane and in different age bins, we find the average Galactic scale height as Zh = 60+/-2 pc for the youngest cluster population having Age <700 Myr, however, it increases up to 64+/-2 pc when we also include older population of clusters. The solar offset is found to be 6.2+/-1.1 pc above the formal Galactic plane. We derive a local mass density of ρ_0 = 0.090+/-0.005 Msun/pc^3 and found a negligibly small amount of dark matter in the solar neighbourhood. The reddening in the direction of clusters suggests a strong correlation with their vertical distance from the Galactic plane having a respective slope of dE(B-V)/dz = 0.40+/-0.04 and 0.42+/-0.05 mag/kpc below and above the GP. We observe a linear mass-radius and mass-age relations in the open clusters and derive a slope of dR/d(logM) = 2.08+/-0.10 and d(logM)/d(logT) = -0.36+/-0.05,respectively.

13 pages, 13 figures, 2016, A&A, 593, 116

References in corpus (10)

• Star cluster disruption by giant molecular clouds
• The Structure of Molecular Clouds: I - All Sky Near Infrared Extinction Maps
• ACS imaging of star clusters in M51. I. Identification and radius distribution
• Displacement of the Sun from the Galactic Plane
• On the origin of field O-type stars
• Properties of Star Clusters - II: Scale Height Evolution of Clusters
• OB Stars in the Solar Neighborhood I: Analysis of their Spatial Distribution
• A Comparison of Methods for Determining the Age Distribution of Star Clusters: Application to the Large Magellanic Cloud
• The z Distribution of Hydrogen Clouds and Masers with Kinematic Distances
• The current best estimate of the Galactocentric distance of the Sun based on comparison of different statistical techniques

Cited by in corpus (44)

• A New Electron Density Model for Estimation of Pulsar and FRB Distances
• A Gaia DR2 view of the Open Cluster population in the Milky Way
• Painting a portrait of the Galactic disc with its stellar clusters
• Clusters and mirages: cataloguing stellar aggregates in the Milky Way
• Age determination for 269 $Gaia$ DR2 Open Clusters
• A three-dimensional map of the Milky Way using classical Cepheid variable stars
• The Gaia 20 pc white dwarf sample
• The Ages of the Thin Disk, Thick Disk, and the Halo from Nearby White Dwarfs
• Stellar Inventory of the Solar Neighborhood using Gaia DR1
• Gaia DR2 unravels incompleteness of nearby cluster population: New open clusters in the direction of Perseus
• The Coherent Magnetic Field of the Milky Way
• A comparison of Galactic electron density models using PyGEDM
• Revised Geometric Estimates of the North Galactic Pole and the Sun's Height Above the Galactic Midplane
• Galactic masers: kinematics, spiral structure and the disk dynamic state
• Revisiting the mass of open clusters with \emph{Gaia} data
• Stellar mass distribution and star formation history of the Galactic disk revealed by mono-age stellar populations from LAMOST
• Determination of the Sun's Offset from the Galactic Plane Using Pulsars
• The star cluster age function in the Galactic disc with Gaia DR2: Fewer old clusters and a low cluster formation efficiency
• Photometric, kinematic and variability study in the young open cluster NGC 1960
• The formation of clusters and OB associations in different density spiral arm environments
• Photometric and Kinematic study of the three intermediate age open clusters NGC 381, NGC 2360, and Berkeley 68
• Impact of distance determinations on Galactic structure. I. Young and intermediate-age tracers
• Highly dynamically evolved intermediate-age open clusters
• The origin of early-type runaway stars from open clusters
• Vertical position of the Sun with $\gamma$-rays
• Dust cleansing of star-forming gas: II. Did late accretion flows change the chemical composition of the solar atmosphere?
• A photometric and astrometric study of the open clusters NGC 1664 and NGC 6939
• Characterizing dynamical stages of open clusters located in the Sagittarius spiral arm
• Assessing the physical reality of Milky Way open cluster candidates
• Photometric study of the young open clusters IC 1442, King 21, and Trumpler 7
• A catalogue of open cluster radii determined from Gaia proper motions
• Astrophysical properties of newly discovered Magellanic Cloud star clusters
• Variable stars in the field of intermediate-age open cluster NGC 559
• On the structure of Small Magellanic Cloud star clusters
• The Rotation Period Distribution in the Young Open Cluster NGC 6709
• Investigation of open clusters based on IPHAS and APASS survey data
• A Gaia based analysis of open cluster Berkeley 27
• On the physical reality of overlooked open clusters
• An in-depth analysis of the differentially expanding star cluster Stock 18 (Villafranca O-036) using Gaia DR3 and ground-based data
• Testing the Momentum-driven Supernova Feedback Paradigm in M31
• The Correlation Between Dust and Gas Contents in Molecular Clouds
• Optical linear polarization study towards Czernik 3 open cluster at different spatial scales
• TYCHO -- Realistically Simulating Exoplanets within Stellar Clusters I: Improving the Monte Carlo Approach
• Mapping the reddening plane in the Galactic disk through interstellar extinction of open clusters