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Kinematics of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association
A fine structure related to the kinematic peculiarities of threecomponents of the Scorpius-Centaurus association (LCC, UCL, and US) hasbeen revealed in the UV-velocity distribution of Gould Belt stars. Wehave been able to identify the most likely members of these groups byapplying the method of analyzing the two-dimensional probability densityfunction of stellar UV velocities that we developed. A kinematicanalysis of the identified structural components has shown that, ingeneral, the center-of-mass motion of the LCC, UCL, and US groupsfollows the motion characteristic of the Gould Belt, notably itsexpansion. The entire Scorpius-Centaurus complex is shown to possess aproper expansion with an angular velocity parameter of 46 ± 8 kms‑1 kpc‑1 for the kinematic centerwith l 0 = ‑40° and R 0 = 110 pc found.Based on this velocity, we have estimated the characteristic expansiontime of the complex to be 21 ± 4 Myr. The proper rotationvelocity of the Scorpius-Centaurus complex is lower in magnitude, isdetermined less reliably, and depends markedly on the data quality.
| An Analysis of the Shapes of Interstellar Extinction Curves. V. The IR-through-UV Curve Morphology
We study the IR-through-UV interstellar extinction curves towards 328Galactic B and late-O stars. We use a new technique which employsstellar atmosphere models in lieu of unreddened "standard" stars. Thistechnique is capable of virtually eliminating spectral mismatch errorsin the curves. It also allows a quantitative assessment of the errorsand enables a rigorous testing of the significance of relationshipsbetween various curve parameters, regardless of whether theiruncertainties are correlated. Analysis of the curves gives the followingresults: (1) In accord with our previous findings, the central positionof the 2175 A extinction bump is mildly variable, its width is highlyvariable, and the two variations are unrelated. (2) Strong correlationsare found among some extinction properties within the UV region, andwithin the IR region. (3) With the exception of a few curves withextreme (i.e., large) values of R(V), the UV and IR portions of Galacticextinction curves are not correlated with each other. (4) The largesightline-to-sightline variation seen in our sample implies that anyaverage Galactic extinction curve will always reflect the biases of itsparent sample. (5) The use of an average curve to deredden a spectralenergy distribution (SED) will result in significant errors, and arealistic error budget for the dereddened SED must include the observedvariance of Galactic curves. While the observed largesightline-to-sightline variations, and the lack of correlation among thevarious features of the curves, make it difficult to meaningfullycharacterize average extinction properties, they demonstrate thatextinction curves respond sensitively to local conditions. Thus, eachcurve contains potentially unique information about the grains along itssightline.
| New Estimates of the Solar-Neighborhood Massive Star Birthrate and the Galactic Supernova Rate
The birthrate of stars of masses >=10 Msolar is estimatedfrom a sample of just over 400 O3-B2 dwarfs within 1.5 kpc of the Sunand the result extrapolated to estimate the Galactic supernova ratecontributed by such stars. The solar-neighborhood Galactic-plane massivestar birthrate is estimated at ~176 stars kpc-3Myr-1. On the basis of a model in which the Galactic stellardensity distribution comprises a ``disk+central hole'' like that of thedust infrared emission (as proposed by Drimmel and Spergel), theGalactic supernova rate is estimated at probably not less than ~1 normore than ~2 per century and the number of O3-B2 dwarfs within the solarcircle at ~200,000.
| Small Magellanic Cloud-Type Interstellar Dust in the Milky Way
It is well known that the sight line toward HD 204827 in the clusterTrumpler 37 shows a UV extinction curve that does not follow the averageGalactic extinction relation. However, when a dust component, foregroundto the cluster, is removed, the residual extinction curve is identicalto that found in the SMC within the uncertainties. The curve is verysteep and has little or no 2175 Å bump. The position of HD 204827in the sky is projected onto the edge of the Cepheus IRAS bubble. Inaddition, HD 204827 has an IRAS bow shock, indicating that it may beembedded in dust swept up by the supernova that created the IRAS bubble.Shocks due to the supernova may have led to substantial processing ofthis dust. The HD 204827 cloud is dense and rich in carbon molecules.The 3.4 μm feature indicating a C-H grain mantle is present in thedust toward HD 204827. The environment of the HD 204827 cloud dust maybe similar to the dust associated with HD 62542, which lies on the edgeof a stellar wind bubble and is also dense and rich in molecules. Thissight line may be a Rosetta Stone if its environment can be related tothose in the SMC having similar dust.
| Catalog of Galactic OB Stars
An all-sky catalog of Galactic OB stars has been created by extendingthe Case-Hamburg Galactic plane luminous-stars surveys to include 5500additional objects drawn from the literature. This work brings the totalnumber of known or reasonably suspected OB stars to over 16,000.Companion databases of UBVβ photometry and MK classifications forthese objects include nearly 30,000 and 20,000 entries, respectively.
| The total-to-selective extinction ratio determined from near IR photometry of OB stars
The paper presents an extensive list of the total to selectiveextinction ratios R calculated from the infrared magnitudes of 597 O andB stars using the extrapolation method. The IR magnitudes of these starswere taken from the literature. The IR colour excesses are determinedwith the aid of "artificial standards" - Wegner (1994). The individualand mean values of total to selective extinction ratios R differ in mostcases from the average value R=3.10 +/-0.05 - Wegner (1993) in differentOB associations. The relation between total to selective extinctionratios R determined in this paper and those calculated using the "methodof variable extinction" and the Cardelli et al. (1989) formulae isdiscussed. The R values presented in this paper can be used to determineindividual absolute magnitudes of reddened OB stars with knowntrigonometric parallaxes.
| Absolute proper motions of open clusters. I. Observational data
Mean proper motions and parallaxes of 205 open clusters were determinedfrom their member stars found in the Hipparcos Catalogue. 360 clusterswere searched for possible members, excluding nearby clusters withdistances D < 200 pc. Members were selected using ground basedinformation (photometry, radial velocity, proper motion, distance fromthe cluster centre) and information provided by Hipparcos (propermotion, parallax). Altogether 630 certain and 100 possible members werefound. A comparison of the Hipparcos parallaxes with photometricdistances of open clusters shows good agreement. The Hipparcos dataconfirm or reject the membership of several Cepheids in the studiedclusters. Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| A HIPPARCOS Census of the Nearby OB Associations
A comprehensive census of the stellar content of the OB associationswithin 1 kpc from the Sun is presented, based on Hipparcos positions,proper motions, and parallaxes. It is a key part of a long-term projectto study the formation, structure, and evolution of nearby young stellargroups and related star-forming regions. OB associations are unbound``moving groups,'' which can be detected kinematically because of theirsmall internal velocity dispersion. The nearby associations have a largeextent on the sky, which traditionally has limited astrometricmembership determination to bright stars (V<~6 mag), with spectraltypes earlier than ~B5. The Hipparcos measurements allow a majorimprovement in this situation. Moving groups are identified in theHipparcos Catalog by combining de Bruijne's refurbished convergent pointmethod with the ``Spaghetti method'' of Hoogerwerf & Aguilar.Astrometric members are listed for 12 young stellar groups, out to adistance of ~650 pc. These are the three subgroups Upper Scorpius, UpperCentaurus Lupus, and Lower Centaurus Crux of Sco OB2, as well as VelOB2, Tr 10, Col 121, Per OB2, alpha Persei (Per OB3), Cas-Tau, Lac OB1,Cep OB2, and a new group in Cepheus, designated as Cep OB6. Theselection procedure corrects the list of previously known astrometricand photometric B- and A-type members in these groups and identifiesmany new members, including a significant number of F stars, as well asevolved stars, e.g., the Wolf-Rayet stars gamma^2 Vel (WR 11) in Vel OB2and EZ CMa (WR 6) in Col 121, and the classical Cepheid delta Cep in CepOB6. Membership probabilities are given for all selected stars. MonteCarlo simulations are used to estimate the expected number of interloperfield stars. In the nearest associations, notably in Sco OB2, thelater-type members include T Tauri objects and other stars in the finalpre-main-sequence phase. This provides a firm link between the classicalhigh-mass stellar content and ongoing low-mass star formation. Detailedstudies of these 12 groups, and their relation to the surroundinginterstellar medium, will be presented elsewhere. Astrometric evidencefor moving groups in the fields of R CrA, CMa OB1, Mon OB1, Ori OB1, CamOB1, Cep OB3, Cep OB4, Cyg OB4, Cyg OB7, and Sct OB2, is inconclusive.OB associations do exist in many of these regions, but they are eitherat distances beyond ~500 pc where the Hipparcos parallaxes are oflimited use, or they have unfavorable kinematics, so that the groupproper motion does not distinguish it from the field stars in theGalactic disk. The mean distances of the well-established groups aresystematically smaller than the pre-Hipparcos photometric estimates.While part of this may be caused by the improved membership lists, arecalibration of the upper main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russelldiagram may be called for. The mean motions display a systematicpattern, which is discussed in relation to the Gould Belt. Six of the 12detected moving groups do not appear in the classical list of nearby OBassociations. This is sometimes caused by the absence of O stars, but inother cases a previously known open cluster turns out to be (part of) anextended OB association. The number of unbound young stellar groups inthe solar neighborhood may be significantly larger than thoughtpreviously.
| Origin and Evolution of the Cepheus Bubble
We have imaged a 10 deg x 10 deg region of the Cepheus bubble in the J =1-0 line of CO and the 21 cm line of atomic hydrogen. The CO emissiondefines a giant expanding shell 120 pc in diameter, which is similar tothat seen in the IRAS sky maps. We estimate the total gas mass in theregion to be ~4 x 10^5 M_ȯ. The total kinetic energy from theobserved spread of velocities of the molecular clouds is ~10^51 ergs. Wesuggest that the members of earlier generations of massive stars in NGC7160 are responsible for the origin of the Cepheus bubble. These starscreated an expanding compressed shell of gas that became gravitationallyunstable at an age of ~7 Myr. The members of the Cepheus OB2 associationcomprise the second, intermediate generation of stars in this regionthat formed as a consequence of this instability. The numerous colorselected IRAS point sources represent the third and youngest generationof stars in this region. Our observations suggest the great importanceof sequentially triggered star formation in the region of the Cepheusbubble.
| Dust properties in the direction of Trumpler 37.
The fourteen brightest OB stars of the Trumpler 37 Cluster have beenobserved in the V,R,I,J,H,K photometric bands. These have been used toderive accurate measurements of the quantity R_V_=A_V_/E(B-V). Differentfrom previous studies it is found that in Trumpler 37 isclose to the mean interstellar value of 3.1. Most of the reddeningtowards Trumpler 37 is found to be of foreground origin. This isconsistent with the lack of variations, observed by us, of R_V_ with theprojected distance from the center of the cluster. In two highlyreddened stars of the cluster, whose reddening is certainly mostlylocal, the observed R_V_ is lower than the mean interstellar value of3.1. This is to be compared with the behaviour of the Trapezium stars inOrion, whose R_V_ is quite above such value whereas the age of thecluster is similar to the one of Trumpler 37.
| Galactic OB associations in the northern Milky Way Galaxy. I - Longitudes 55 deg to 150 deg
The literature on all OB associations was reviewed, and their IRAS pointsource content was studied, between galactic longitude 55 and 150 deg.Only one third of the 24 associations listed by Ruprecht et al. (1981)have been the subject of individual studies designed to identify thebrightest stars. Distances to all of these were recomputed using themethod of cluster fitting of the B main sequence stars, which makes itpoossible to reexamine the absolute magnitude calibration of the Ostars, as well as for the red supergiant candidate stars. Also examinedwas the composite HR diagram for these associations. Associations withthe best defined main sequences, which also tend to contain very youngclusters, referred to here as OB clusters, have extremely few evolved Band A or red supergiants. Associations with poorly defined mainsequences and few OB clusters have many more evolved stars. They alsoshow an effect in the upper HR diagram referred to as a ledge byFitzpatrick and Garmany (1990) in similar data for the Large MagellanicCloud. It is suggested that the differences in the associations are notjust observational selection effects but represent real differences inage and formation history.
| The interstellar extinction law towards the open cluster TR-37
Near-infrared photometry of OB stars in the young open cluster TR-37 hasbeen obtained. These data have been combined with previous visual andultraviolet observations of the same sample and a detailed extinctioncurve has been derived, ranging from the near-infrared to thefar-ultraviolet. The extinction towards this sample of stars seems to beanomalous, consistent with a shift in the grain-size distribution withrespect to an average galactic extinction curve.
| Anomalous dust in the open cluster Trumpler 37
New IUE data were obtained towards stars in the open cluster Trumpler37. Extinction curves derived from these data show that the anomalousdust detected towards HD 204827 and HD 210072 is not unique to thoselines of sight but occurs generally in that region of the sky. The dustis apparently associated with the Trumpler 37 cluster, which forms thecenter of Cepheus OB2. This is a complex region of star formation wherethe evolution of dust grains through shock waves could be consideredlikely. A supernova in a slightly older star-forming region of Cep OB2located next to Trumpler 37 is a possible source of such a shock wave.
| Some characteristics of the young open cluster Trumpler 37.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1976PASP...88..865G&db_key=AST
| Helium abundance in atmospheres of stars appearing in OB associations and young clusters
An improved version of Liubimkov's (1974) method is used to determinethe relative helium abundance, N(He)/N(H), in the atmospheres of 80stars of spectral types O6.5 to B2 belonging to OB associations andyoung clusters. Specific results are presented for Mon OB1 and OB2, CepOB2 and OB3, Sco OB2, Lac OB1, Ori OB1, and Cas OB6. It is shown thatthe mean value of N(He)/N(H) increases with increasing stellar age andincreasing cluster or association size. A relative helium abundance of0.09 to 0.10 is found to be appropriate for stars that are severalmillion years old, and a relative abundance of 0.13 is obtained forstars older than 10 million years. It is noted that the latter value isalso characteristic of hot field stars.
| A Spectroscopic and Photometric Investigation of the Association Cepheus OB2
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1968ApJ...154..923S&db_key=AST
| Determination of size, color indices, and spectral classes of stars in an area centered on R.A.=21h24m, Dec=+58.5deg.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Cepheus |
| Right ascension: | 21h30m45.93s |
| Declination: | +57°12'00.2" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.867 |
| Distance: | 235.294 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -2.6 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -1 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.024 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.88 |
Catalogs and designations:
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