Open AccessThe young open cluster Markarian 50
Author(s) -
Baume Gustavo,
Vázquez Rubén A.,
Carraro Giovanni
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.08337.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , open cluster , stars , cluster (spacecraft) , initial mass function , star cluster , astronomy , star formation , computer science , programming language
We report on a deep CCD UBV(RI) C photometric survey in the region of the young open cluster Markarian 50. The new photometric data allow us to extend the cluster membership down to V ≈ 17.5 , about 2 mag deeper than any previous investigation. On the basis of these data we derive a distance d = 3460 ± 350 pc ( V O − M V = 12.7 ± 0.2) , which turns out to be only slightly lower than previous estimates. The cluster presents differential reddening, with E ( B – V ) values ranging from 0.69 to 1.1. The brightest member (HD 219460) is a double star, which we separate photometrically for the first time, providing individual magnitudes and colours for each component. One of them is a Wolf–Rayet (WR) star and, according to evolutionary models, the mass of its progenitor should be greater than ∼20 M ⊙ . The age obtained for the cluster is 7.5 ± 2 Myr and the mass function for the most massive stars ( M > 1 M ⊙ ) presents a slope x ≈ 1.0 .