Unveiling the Binary Nature of NGC 2323

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Hauptverfasser: Qin, Songmei, Zhong, Jing, Tang, Tong, Jiang, Yueyue, Wang, Long, Wu, Kai, Anders, Friedrich, Balaguer-Núñez, Lola, Liu, Guimei, Li, Chunyan, Hou, Jinliang, Chen, Li
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Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Qin, Songmei
Zhong, Jing
Tang, Tong
Jiang, Yueyue
Wang, Long
Wu, Kai
Anders, Friedrich
Balaguer-Núñez, Lola
Liu, Guimei
Li, Chunyan
Hou, Jinliang
Chen, Li
author_facet Qin, Songmei
Zhong, Jing
Tang, Tong
Jiang, Yueyue
Wang, Long
Wu, Kai
Anders, Friedrich
Balaguer-Núñez, Lola
Liu, Guimei
Li, Chunyan
Hou, Jinliang
Chen, Li
contents As a well-known open cluster, NGC 2323 (also called M50) has been widely investigated for over a hundred years and has always been considered a classical single cluster. In this work, with the help of Gaia DR3, we study the binary structure nature of this cluster. Although indistinguishable in the spatial space, the small but undeniable difference in the proper motion indicates that they may be two individual clusters. After investigating the properties of the two clusters, it is found that they have very close positions (three-dimensional $Δ$pos = 12.3 pc, $σ_{Δ\mathrm{pos}} = 3.4$ pc) and similar tangential velocities (two-dimensional $Δ$V = 2.2 km s$^{-1}$, $σ_{Δ\mathrm{V}} = 0.02$ km s$^{-1}$), indicating the existence of their physical association. Moreover, the best isochrone fitting ages of the two clusters are the same (158 Myr), further proving their possibly common origin. To comprehensively understand the formation and evolution of this binary cluster, we employ the PETAR $N$-body code to trace back their birthplace and deduce their dynamical evolutionary fate. With observational mean cluster properties, the simulations suggest that they may form together, and then orbit each other as a binary cluster for over 200 Myr. After that, because of their gradual mass loss, the two clusters will eventually separate and evolve into two independent clusters. Meanwhile, the numerical $N$-body simulation suggests that the less massive cluster is unlikely to be the cluster tidal tails created by the differential rotation of the Milky Way.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_03787
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Unveiling the Binary Nature of NGC 2323
Qin, Songmei
Zhong, Jing
Tang, Tong
Jiang, Yueyue
Wang, Long
Wu, Kai
Anders, Friedrich
Balaguer-Núñez, Lola
Liu, Guimei
Li, Chunyan
Hou, Jinliang
Chen, Li
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
As a well-known open cluster, NGC 2323 (also called M50) has been widely investigated for over a hundred years and has always been considered a classical single cluster. In this work, with the help of Gaia DR3, we study the binary structure nature of this cluster. Although indistinguishable in the spatial space, the small but undeniable difference in the proper motion indicates that they may be two individual clusters. After investigating the properties of the two clusters, it is found that they have very close positions (three-dimensional $Δ$pos = 12.3 pc, $σ_{Δ\mathrm{pos}} = 3.4$ pc) and similar tangential velocities (two-dimensional $Δ$V = 2.2 km s$^{-1}$, $σ_{Δ\mathrm{V}} = 0.02$ km s$^{-1}$), indicating the existence of their physical association. Moreover, the best isochrone fitting ages of the two clusters are the same (158 Myr), further proving their possibly common origin. To comprehensively understand the formation and evolution of this binary cluster, we employ the PETAR $N$-body code to trace back their birthplace and deduce their dynamical evolutionary fate. With observational mean cluster properties, the simulations suggest that they may form together, and then orbit each other as a binary cluster for over 200 Myr. After that, because of their gradual mass loss, the two clusters will eventually separate and evolve into two independent clusters. Meanwhile, the numerical $N$-body simulation suggests that the less massive cluster is unlikely to be the cluster tidal tails created by the differential rotation of the Milky Way.
title Unveiling the Binary Nature of NGC 2323
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.03787