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Issue A&A Volume 375, Number 3, September 2001 Page(s) 840 - 850 Section Stellar clusters and associations DOI 10.1051/0004-6361:20010892

A&A 375, 840-850 (2001)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20010892

Structure and mass function of five intermediate/old open clusters

A. K. Durgapal and A. K. Pandey

State Observatory, Manora Peak, Naini Tal -263 129, Uttaranchal, India
    e-mail: alok,pandey@upso.ernet.in

(Received 27 February 2001 / Accepted 30 May 2001)

Abstract
The UBVRI data of five northern open star clusters are used to study the mass function (MF), structure and dynamical state of these clusters. The clusters under discussion have ages ranging from ~0.6 to 5 Gyr. A comparison of the density profiles indicates that the evolution of the core of these clusters is almost the same, whereas the corona of the clusters are probably affected by the external environment and dynamical evolution. For the entire cluster region, the slope of the MF of three clusters (Be 64, Be 69 and King 5) has a value that agrees within the error with the Salpeter value, whereas King 7 and Be 20 show a steeper ( ) and almost a flat MF respectively. We find that the slope of the MF of two clusters (King 5 and King 7) changes significantly from the inner region to the outer region, becoming steeper at larger radii. The dynamical relaxation time of the clusters under discussion is less than the age of the clusters, which indicates that all of these clusters are dynamically relaxed. Thus the observed mass segregation in three clusters can be attributed to the dynamical evolution of the clusters. The ratio of the clusters' present radius to the limiting radius (determined from the relation given by King 1962) can be representated by an exponent law.

Key words: galaxy: open clusters and associations: general

Offprint request: A. K. Durgapal, alok@upso.ernet.in

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