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Precision Kinematics and Related Parameters of the α Persei Open Cluster
A kinematical study of the nearby open cluster α Persei ispresented based on the astrometric proper motions and positions in theTycho-2 catalog and Second USNO CCD Astrographic Catalog (UCAC2). Usingthe astrometric data and photometry from the Tycho-2 and ground-basedcatalogs, 139 probable members of the cluster are selected, 18 of themnew. By the classical convergent point method, systematic motions ofstars inside the cluster and velocity dispersions are estimated. Asdirectly observed, the upper limit on the internal velocity dispersionper coordinate is 1.1 km s-1. The actual velocity dispersionis much smaller than that value, since all of it appears to come fromthe expected errors of the astrometric proper motions. The relativeposition of the convergent point with respect to the cluster starsyields the ``astrometric'' radial velocity, which turns out larger by afew km s-1 than the mean observed spectroscopic radialvelocity. This implies an overall contraction of the cluster. Kinematicparallaxes are computed for each member, and an improved H-R diagram isconstructed. An age of 52 Myr is determined by isochrone fitting. Thestar α Per itself fits an isochrone of this age computed withovershooting from the boundary of the convective zone. The theoreticalmass of the star α Per is 6.65 Msolar. With respect tothe common center of mass, half of the higher mass members (earlier thanG) are located within a radius of 10.3 pc. The cluster appears to beroughly twice as large, or as sparse, as the Pleiades, retainingnonetheless a similar dynamical coherence. The low rate of binaries isanother feature of this cluster, where we find only about 20% of membersto be known or suspected spectroscopic, astrometric, or visual binariesor multiple systems. X-ray emitters in the cluster appear to have thesame dispersion of internal velocities as the rest of the membership.The cluster is surrounded by an extended, sparse halo of comovingdwarfs, which are found by combining the proper-motion data from UCAC2with Two Micron All-Sky Survey infrared photometry. Since many of theseexternal stars are outside the tidal radius, the cluster being in anactive stage of disintegration or evaporation could be considered. Thishypothesis is not supported by the weak compression and thenonmeasurable velocity dispersion found in the kinematic analysis. Asearch for stars ejected from the α Persei cluster is carried outby tracking a large number of nearby stars 70 Myr back in time andmatching their positions with the past location of the cluster. Only oneplausible ejection is found prior to 10 Myr ago. The nearby star GJ 82,an active M dwarf with a strong Hα emission, is likely a formermember ejected 47 Myr ago at 5 km s-1.
| Eigenbewegungen in der Umgebung von α Persei
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Περσεύς |
| Right ascension: | 03h17m43.27s |
| Declination: | +50°21'39.7" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.511 |
| Distance: | 130.719 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 31.2 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -32.3 |
| B-T magnitude: | 7.666 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.524 |
Catalogs and designations:
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