疏散星团NGC 6530的光度函数和分层效应

该文利用疏散星团NGC 6530的自行观测数据和成员判别结果,给出了星团的光度函数,并详细讨论了星团的质量分层效应。分析表明,NGC 6530存在空间质量分层效应,但并不存在速度质量分层,因此星团的表观空间质量分层可能起因于星团形成时的初始条件,而不是动力学弛豫的结果。     

致密星团的分层效应及其形成机制

老年球状星团和年轻的超星团是两类不同性质的致密星团,观测表明它们都表现出某种程度的质量分层效应.该文在介绍这两类星团质量分层的探测途径和观测表象的基础上,对形成这种分层效应的两种可能的机制--动力学分层和原初分层做了简要的讨论和评述.     

大质量年轻星团和超星团

随着观测技术的进展,在星系中观测到了越来越多的大质量年轻星团和超星团,它们不能简单地归类于银河系中的疏散星团或球状星团,因而其性质和演化意义日益为人们所关注。该文对大质量年轻星团和超星团的发现、观测特征以及演化意义进行了较为系统的概要介绍。     

疏散星团M11的维里质量

对疏散星团进行统计研究时,场星的混淆可能是一个严重问题,必须认真对待。本文详细讨论了在估算疏散星团维里(Virial)质量时,正确利用成员概率的重要性。分析表明,只有利用大概率的成员星才能得到合理的星团Virial质量。重新计算后M11的Virial质量为5094μ_⊙,与直接观测到的光度质量的最新结果(4671μ_⊙)符合得很好,维里系数为0.9。     

疏散星团NGC2286的研究

本文利用疏散昨团NGC2286天区内250颗恒星的相对自行及成员概率判定资料，首次对该星团的半径、光度函数以及内部运动等做较深入的研究，分析表明对NGC2286这个中等年龄的星团，正处于动力学演化的初级阶段，在空间和速度上都没有表现出象年老疏散星团M67那样较为明显的分层效应。     

HIPPARCOS后的银河系距离尺度

应用《Hipparcos星表》中的自行和视差等数据,可以确定员星团、毕星团以及其它近距疏散星团的距离。对由此所得的结果以及由地面观测已得的结果作了评述,指出毕星团的距离问题已经圆满解决,等于（46．34±0．27）pc。可是,由Hipparcos定出的昂星团距离,却比最新的一些地面测定结果近了10％以上．另外,由Hipparcos定出的其他近距星团的距离,明显地分为两种情况,即由鬼星团、后发星团、英仙星团和Blanco1星团确定了一条主序,而易星团与IC2301和IC2602两个星团一起,得出了另一条主序,两者相比,后者暗了约0．5mag．这些问题与矛盾,有待于进一步的地面和未来的空间观测来解决。     

老年疏散星团的金属丰度及银盘金属丰度梯度演化研究

疏散星团是探究银河系结构与演化的良好示踪体,一直以来颇受关注.之前关于疏散星团的研究中,仅有一小部分疏散星团有金属丰度参数,而且,金属丰度的测量,是基于不同质量的观测数据,采用了不同的方法.收集了一个年龄大于2 Gyr的老年疏散星团样本,通过整理这些星团成员星的金属丰度数据,一方面,以星团NGC 2682为例,对比了不同光谱巡天项目给出的星团成员星金属丰度的系统差异;另一方面,计算了星团成员星金属丰度的平均值和中位值,作为该疏散星团的金属丰度推荐值.此外,还利用该样本探究了银盘径向金属丰度梯度随时间的演化,结果表明,早期银盘有着更加陡峭的径向金属丰度梯度,随着演化时间的增加,银盘径向金属丰度梯度逐渐趋于平缓,为银盘化学演化模型提供了更加严格的观测约束.     

疏散星团M11的研究:4.CM图、光度函数和分层效应

利用上海天文台 40cm天体照相仪底片资料所提供的疏散星团M1 1天区 (团心距r≤2 5′)内的 785颗恒星的相对自行和成员概率 ,讨论了M1 1的CM图、年龄、距离、半径、光度函数、质量和分层效应 ,得到M1 1的距离为 1 659pc ,年龄为 (1 .8— 2 .2 )× 1 0 8年 ,半径约为 2 4 .5pc ,光度质量 4354M⊙ ,位力质量 50 0 0M⊙ ,在确定光度函数时 ,提出了一种考虑样本天区不完备的修正办法 ,以便从观测光度函数导出现时光度函数 .分析表明 ,作为一个中等年龄的疏散星团 ,M 1 1中的团星已表现出较明显的空间质量分层效应 ;而另一方面 ,尽管存在速度质量分层效应 ,但很不明显     

疏散星团M11的研究：3.团星分布的两点相关函数分析

本首次利用两点相关函数，对名中年疏散星团Ｍ１１团星的空间分布进行了讨论了结果表明，无论对全部成员星还是不同星等的成员星，它们的自相关和交叉相关函数都很好地以幂律形式描述，不同星等成员星的自相关的交叉相关计算表明，Ｍ１１已经历了一定的动力学驰豫，出现了质量的空间分层效应。     

疏散星团中蓝离散星的成员确定

准确的成员判定是星团蓝离散星研究的首要问题。本利用星团的测光、自行和视向速度等数据及观测资料，对10个较年老的疏散星团进行了蓝离散星的证认和成员确定工作，从而为进一步的研究提供了较纯的星团蓝离散星样本。     

星系团的分层效应

对星系团各类分层效应的有关问题做了概要的评述,包括成员星系在位置空间和(或)速度空间中的形态分层、光度(质量)分层和元素丰度分层的表现形式和探测途径,分层效应可能的形成机制及其对星系和星系团的结构和演化的影响。     

Accretion in stellar clusters and the initial mass function

We present a simple physical mechanism that can account for the observed stellar mass spectrum for masses M ∗≳0.5 M_⊙ . The model depends solely on the competitive accretion that occurs in stellar clusters where each star's accretion rate depends on the local gas density and the square of the accretion radius. In a stellar cluster, there are two different regimes depending on whether the gas or the stars dominate the gravitational potential. When the cluster is dominated by cold gas, the accretion radius is given by a tidal-lobe radius. This occurs as the cluster collapses towards a ρ  ∝  R ⁻² distribution. Accretion in this regime results in a mass spectrum with an asymptotic limit of γ =−3/2 (where Salpeter is γ =−2.35) . Once the stars dominate the potential and are virialized, which occurs first in the cluster core, the accretion radius is the Bondi–Hoyle radius. The resultant mass spectrum has an asymptotic limit of γ =−2 with slightly steeper slopes ( γ ≈−2.5) if the stars are already mass-segregated. Simulations of accretion on to clusters containing 1000 stars show that, as expected, the low-mass stars accumulate the majority of their masses during the gas-dominated phase whereas the high-mass stars accumulate the majority of their masses during the stellar-dominated phase. This results in a mass spectrum with a relatively shallow γ ≈3/2 power law for low-mass stars and a steeper power law for high-mass stars −2.5≲ γ ≤−2 . This competitive accretion model also results in a mass-segregated cluster.     

Numerical simulations of the Hyades dynamics and the nature of the moving Hyades cluster

We present our numerical simulations of the dynamical evolution of the Hyades open cluster. The simulations were performed usinga modified NBODY6 algorithm that included tidal forces and a realistic orbit of the cluster in a gravitational field described by the Miyamoto-Nagai potential. Our goal was to study the nature of movingclu sters. We show that the stars that were earlier cluster members could be later identified within a sphere of 50 pc in diameter around the Sun. The number of such stars for the chosen initial mass and virial radius of the cluster does not exceed ten. The maximum space velocity of these stars relative to the core of the current cluster does not exceed 3 km s^?1. Our numerical simulations confirm the assumption that some of the moving clusters near the Sun could consist of stars that have escaped from open clusters in the course of their dynamical evolution.     

Mass segregation in young stellar clusters

We investigate the evolutionary effect of dynamical mass segregation in young stellar clusters. Dynamical mass segregation acts on a time-scale of order the relaxation time of a cluster. Although some degree of mass segregation occurs earlier, the position of massive stars in rich young clusters generally reflects the cluster's initial conditions. In particular, the positions of the massive stars in the Trapezium cluster in Orion cannot be due to dynamical mass segregation, but indicate that they formed in, or near, the centre of the cluster. Implications of this for cluster formation and for the formation of high-mass stars are discussed.     

Discussions of the internal motions and mass segregation of M67 on the basis of accurate proper motions

The radius and virial mass of the old open cluster M67 are presented. The internal motion and mass segregation of the cluster are also discussed on the basis of accurate stellar proper motions obtained combining three independent proper motion catalogues of the cluster. Increases of the mean proper motion and the intrinsic dispersion of member stars with radial distance from the cluster center might suggest that the stars are escaping from the cluster. The stars in both inner and outer regions appear to be in isotropic orbits. At last, it is found that both space and velocity mass segregations exist for the old open cluster due to the dynamical evolution.     

疏散星团中的耀星及其演化学意义

耀星是红矮星早期演化的一个必经阶段，这个阶段的持续时间取决于恒星的质量。在年轻和比较年轻的疏散星闭中，都含有大量耀星，它们的光度分布是疏散星闭年龄的标志。在昴生闭中已发现大量耀星，对它们的自行，测光和分光资料进行深入的统计研究，对于解决疏散星闭及矮星起源和演化问题，有着极其重要的价值。     

The formation of a bound star cluster: from the Orion nebula cluster to the Pleiades

Direct N -body calculations are presented of the formation of Galactic clusters using GasEx , which is a variant of the code Nbody6 . The calculations focus on the possible evolution of the Orion nebula cluster (ONC) by assuming that the embedded OB stars explosively drove out 2/3 of its mass in the form of gas about 0.4 Myr ago. A bound cluster forms readily and survives for 150 Myr despite additional mass loss from the large number of massive stars, and the Galactic tidal field. This is the very first time that cluster formation is obtained under such realistic conditions. The cluster contains about 1/3 of the initial 10⁴ stars, and resembles the Pleiades cluster to a remarkable degree, implying that an ONC-like cluster may have been a precursor of the Pleiades. This scenario predicts the present expansion velocity of the ONC, which will be measurable by upcoming astrometric space missions. These missions should also detect the original Pleiades members as an associated expanding young Galactic-field subpopulation. The results arrived at here suggest that Galactic clusters form as the nuclei of expanding OB associations.
The results have wide implications, also for the formation of globular clusters and the Galactic-field and halo stellar populations. In view of this, the distribution of binary orbital periods and the mass function within and outside the model ONC and Pleiades is quantified, finding consistency with observational constraints. Advanced mass segregation is evident in one of the ONC models. The calculations show that the primordial binary population of both clusters could have been much the same as is observed in the Taurus–Auriga star-forming region. The computations also demonstrate that the binary proportion of brown dwarfs is depleted significantly for all periods, whereas massive stars attain a high binary fraction.     

Dynamics of very rich open clusters

The oldest open clusters in our Galaxy set the lower limit to the age of the Galactic Disk (9–10 Gyr). Although they appear to be very rich now, it is clear that their primordial populations were much larger. Often considered as transitional objects, these populous open clusters show structural differences with respect to globular clusters so their dynamics and characteristic evolutionary time scales can also be different. On the other hand, their large membership lead to different dynamical evolution as compared with average open clusters. In this paper, the differential features of the evolution of rich open clusters are studied using N-body simulations, including several of the largest (10⁴ stars) published direct collisional N-body calculations so far, which were performed on a CRAY YMP. The disruption rate of rich open clusters is analysed in detail and the effect of the initial spatial distribution of the stars in the cluster on its dynamics is studied. The results show that cluster life-time depends on this initial distribution, decreasing when it is more concentrated. The effect of stellar evolution on the dynamical evolution of rich clusters is an important subject that also has been considered here. We demonstrate that the cluster's life-expectancy against evaporation increases because of mass loss by evolving high-mass stars. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Captured older stars as the reason for apparently prolonged star formation in young star clusters

The existence of older stars within a young star cluster can be interpreted to imply that star formation occurs on time-scales longer than a free-fall time of a pre-cluster cloud core. Here, the idea is explored that these older stars are not related to the star formation process forming the young star cluster but rather that the orbits of older field stars are focused by the collapsing pre-cluster cloud core. Two effects appear: the focusing of stellar orbits leads to an enhancement of the density of field stars in the vicinity of the centre of the young star cluster; and due to the time-dependent potential of the forming cluster some of these stars can get bound gravitationally to the cluster. These stars exhibit similar kinematical properties to the newly formed stars and cannot be distinguished from them on the basis of radial velocity or proper motion surveys. Such contaminations may lead to a wrong apparent star formation history of a young cluster. In the case of the ONC, the theoretical number of gravitationally bound older low-mass field stars agrees with the number of observed older low-mass stars.