• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.43.1-43.1
• /
• 2016

The duration of star formation activity is a key to understanding the formation process of star clusters. Although a number of astronomers have attempted to derive the underlying age spread in photometric diagrams with a variety of stellar evolutionary models, the resultant findings are subject to uncertainties due to intrinsic variability of pre-main sequence (PMS) stars, observational errors, difficulties in reddening correction, and systematic differences in adopted stellar evolutionary models. The distribution of Li abundance for PMS stars in a cluster could, on the other hand, provide an alternative way to estimate the age spread. In this study, a total of 134 PMS stars in NGC 2264 are observed with the high resolution multi-object spectrogragh Hectochelle attached to the 6.5m Multi Mirror Telescope. We have successfully detected Li ${\lambda}6708$ resonance doublet for 86 low-mass PMS stars. The Li abundance of the stars is derived from their equivalent width using a curves of growth method. After correction for non-LTE effects, the underlying age spread of 3 - 4 Myr is inferred from the Li abundance distribution of low-mass PMS stars. We suggest that NGC 2264 formed on a timescale shorter than 5 Myr given the presence of embedded populations.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.84.1-84.1
• /
• 2014

We report the spatial distribution of early-type stars and pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars around the starburst type young open cluster Westerlund 2. The early-type were selected from UBVI photometric data, while the PMS members were identified from their X-ray emission and mid-infrared excess. The northern clump of the cluster is composed mainly of PMS stars detected in both optical and X-ray and seems to be coeval to the cluster, while PMS stars in the bright bridge region are highly obscured in optical wavelength. The bright bridge appear to be an on-going star forming region possibly triggered by the strong radiation field from both sides-massive stars in Westerlund 2 and WR 20b. We also found that there are many early-type stars not only in the cluster but also farther from the cluster up to several times of the cluster radius. These early-type stars are well aligned from east to southwest of the cluster. We conclude these early-type stars are members of an OB association in the RCW 49 nebula. This report indicates there is a complex star formation history in Westerlund 2 and its surrounding H II region, the RCW 49 nebula.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.101-104
• /
• 1998

We have obtained photometry of stars in NGC 2264 with several combinations of H$\alpha$ filters and continuum filters. The main purpose of these observations was to determine the best filter combination for selecting low ma!,s member stars in their Pre-Main Sequence (PMS) stage using H$\alpha$ photometry. A narrow band H$\alpha$ filter (${\Delta}{\lambda}$ = $l0{\AA}$) with any combination of continuum filters showed the highest resolution in the H$\alpha$ photometry.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.97-115
• /
• 2023

We present the deep homogeneous UBV RI photometric data of 135,071 stars down to V ~ 23 mag and I ~ 22 mag toward the Carina Nebula. These stars are cross-matched with those from the previous surveys in the X-ray, near-infrared, and mid-infrared wavelengths as well as the Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3). This master catalog allows us to select reliable members and determine the fundamental parameters distance, size, stellar density of stellar clusters in this star-forming region. We revisit the reddening toward the nebula using the optical and the near-infrared colors of early-type stars. The foreground reddening [E(B-V)_fg] is determined to be 0.35 ± 0.02, and it seems to follow the standard reddening law. On the other hand, the total-to-selective extinction ratio of the intracluster medium (R_V,cl) decreases from the central region (Trumpler 14 and 16, R_V,cl ~ 4.5) to the northern region (Trumpler 15, R_V,cl ~ 3.4). It implies that the central region is more dusty than the northern region. We find that the distance modulus of the Carina Nebula to be 11.9 ± 0.3 mag (d = 2.4 ± 0.35 kpc) using a zero-age main-sequence fitting method, which is in good agreement with that derived from the Gaia EDR3 parallaxes. We also present the catalog of 3,331 pre-main-sequence (PMS) members and 14,974 PMS candidates down to V ~ 22 mag based on spectrophotometric properties of young stars at infrared, optical, and X-ray wavelengths. From the spatial distribution of PMS members and PMS candidates, we confirm that the member selection is very reliable down to faint stars. Our data will have a legacy value for follow-up studies with different scientific purposes.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.197-208
• /
• 2002

Five contemporary pre-main sequence (PMS) evolution model grids are compared with the photo-metric data for a nearly complete sample of low-mass members in NGC 2264. From amongst the grids compared, the models of Baraffe et al. (1998) prove to be the most reliable in mass-age distribution. To overcome the limited mass range of the models of Baraffe et al. we derived a simple transformation relation between the mass of a PMS star from Swenson et al. (1994) and that from Baraffe et al., and applied it to the PMS stars in NGC 2264 and the Orion nebula cluster (ONC). The resulting initial mass function (IMF) of the ONC shows that the previous interpretation of the IMF is not a real feature, but an artifact caused by the evolution models adopted. The IMFs of both clusters are in a good agreement with the IMF of the field stars in the solar neighborhood. This result supports the idea proposed by Lada, Strom, & Myers (1993) that the field stars originate from the stars that are formed in clusters and spread out as a result of dynamical dissociation. Nevertheless, the IMFs of OB associations and young open clusters show diverse behavior. For the low-mass regime, the current observations suffer from difficulties in membership assignment and sample incompleteness. From this, we conclude that a more thorough study of young open clusters is necessary in order to make any definite conclusions on the existence of a universal IMF.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.44.1-44.1
• /
• 2016

The Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm in the Galaxy contains several massive young open clusters. We present a deep optical photometric study on the massive young open clusters in the Sagittarius-Carina arm, Westerlund 2 and the young open clusters in the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula. Westerlund 2 is a less studied starburst-type cluster in the Galaxy. An abnormal reddening law for the intracluster medium of the young starburst-type cluster Westerlund 2 is determined to be $R_{V,cl}=4.14{\pm}0.08$. The distance modulus is determined from zero-age main-sequence fitting to the reddening-corrected color-magnitude diagrams of the early-type members to be $V_0-M_V=13.9{\pm}0.14mag$. The pre-main sequence (PMS) members of Westerlund 2 are selected by identifying the optical counterparts of X-ray emission sources from the Chandra X-ray observation and mid-infrared emission sources from the Spitzer/IRAC (the Infrared Array Camera) observation. The initial mass function (IMF) shows a slightly flat slope of ${\Gamma}=-1.1{\pm}0.1$ down to $5M_{\odot}$. The age of Westerlund 2 is estimated to be. 1.5 Myr from the main-sequence turn-on luminosity and the age distribution of PMS stars. The ${\eta}$ Carina nebula is the best laboratory for the investigation of the Galactic massive stars and low-mass star formation under the influence of numerous massive stars. We have performed deep wide-field CCD photometry of stars in the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula to determine the reddening law, distance, and the IMF of the clusters in the nebula. We present VRI and $H{\alpha}$ photometry of 130,571 stars from the images obtained with the 4m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). RV,cl in the η Carina nebula gradually decreases from the southern part (~4.5, around Trumpler 14 and Trumpler 16) to the northern part around Trumpler 15 (~3.5). Distance to the young open clusters in the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula is partly revised based on the zero-age main-sequence fitting to the reddening-corrected color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and the (semi-) reddening-independent CMDs. We select the PMS members and candidates by identifying the optical counterparts of X-ray sources from the Chandra Carina Complex Survey and mid-infrared excess emission stars from the Spitzer Vela-Carina survey. From the evolutionary stage of massive stars and PMS stars, we obtain that the northern young open cluster Trumpler 15 is distinctively older than the southern young open clusters, Trumpler 14 (${\leq}2.5 Myr$) and Trumpler 16 (2.5-3.5 Myr). The slopes of the IMF of Trumpler 14, Trumpler 15, and Trumpler 16 are determined to be $-1.2{\pm}0.1$, $-1.5{\pm}0.3$, and $-1.1{\pm}0.1$, respectively. Based on the RV,cl of several young open clusters determined in this work and the previous studies of our group, We suggest that higher RV,cl values are commonly found for very young open clusters with the age of < 4 Myr. We also confirm the correlation between the slope of the IMF and the surface mass density of massive stars.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.149-155
• /
• 2001

UBV RI and H$\alpha$ photometry has been performed for the open cluster NGC 6531. A total of 56 bright main sequence (MS) members were selected from their positions in photometric diagrams. We also classified 7 pre-main sequence (PMS) stars and 6 PMS candidates with Ha: emission from H$\alpha$ photometry. We determined a reddening of < E(B - V) >= 0.29 $\pm$ 0.03 and a distance modulus of Vo - Mv = 10.5 for the cluster. From the comparison of our photometric results to theoretical evolution models, we derived a MS turnoff age of 7.5 Myr and a PMS age spread of $\~$4 Myr. The IMF slope $\Gamma$, calculated in the mass range of 0.45 $\le$ log m $\le$ 1.35 is a steep value of $\Gamma$ = -1.8 $\pm$ 0.6.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.72.2-72.2
• /
• 2013

We present a UBVI and $H{\alpha}$ photometric study of the young open cluster NGC 1893 in the outer Galaxy as part of "Sejong Open cluster Survey (SOS)" project. Using the properties of early-type stars in the photometric diagrams 65 early-type members were selected. More than 120 $H{\alpha}$ emission stars and candidates were found by $H{\alpha}$ photometry. Together with the published young stellar object catalogue and X-ray source list for this cluster, a total of 837 pre-main sequence (PMS) stars were identified in our photometric data. We obtained the mean reddening of < E(B-V) > = $0.56{\pm}0.08$ mag from the (U-B, B-V) diagram and confirmed the normal reddening law ($R_V=3.1$) toward NGC 1893 based on color excess ratios from optical to mid-infrared wavelengths. The zero-age main sequence fitting to the reddening-corrected color-magnitude diagrams gives a distance modulus of $V_0-M_V=12.8{\pm}0.1$. The age of the cluster inferred from stellar evolution models is about 1-2 Myr. We also found the Salpeter/Kroupa type initial mass function for this cluster. Finally, the mass accretion rate of 80 PMS stars with UV excess emission was estimated for the stars with masses from $0.6M_{\odot}$ to $5M_{\odot}$.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.1-30
• /
• 2007

We present the Pre-Main Sequence (PMS) evolutionary tracks of stars with $0.065{\sim}5.0M_{\odot}$. The models were evolved from the PMS stellar birthline to the onset of hydrogen burning in the core. The convective turnover timescales which enables an observational test of theoretical model, particulary in the stellar dynamic activity, are also calculated. All models have Sun-like metal abundance, typically considered as the stars in the Galactic disk and the star formation region of Population I star. The convection phenomenon is treated by the usual mixing length approximation. All evolutionary tracks are available upon request.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.50.3-50.3
• /
• 2020

We present deep UBVIc and Hα photometry for the young open cluster IC 1590 which is at the center of the HII region NGC 281. From Ha index, 39 Hα emission stars and 15 Hα emission candidates are selected. The reddening law toward IC 1590 is slightly abnormal (RV,cl = 3.6 ± 0.2). The distance modulus of IC 1590 obtained from the reddening-free (Q', QVλ) diagrams is 12.4 ± 0.1 mag (d = 3.02 ± 0.14 kpc), which is consistent with distance d = 2.91 ± 0.42 kpc from the parallax of Gaia DR2 catalogue within the error range. We also determined the age and mass function of IC 1590 using the stellar evolution models and PMS evolutionary tracks. The median age of PMS stars is 2.4 ± 2.2 Myr. The initial mass function (IMF) of IC 1590 is the Salpeter-type IMF with a slope of �� = -1.26 ± 0.14 for m > 1 M⊙ stars.