Photometric search for variable stars in young open cluster Berkeley 59

TL;DR

This study uses time-series photometry to identify and analyze variable pre-main sequence stars, mainly T Tauri stars, in the young open cluster Berkeley 59, revealing their periods, amplitudes, and possible disk dispersal effects.

Contribution

First detailed photometric survey of variable stars in Berkeley 59, identifying 42 variables and characterizing their properties and evolutionary status.

Findings

42 variable stars identified, mostly pre-main sequence.

Majority of variables are T Tauri stars aged 1-5 Myrs.

90% of T Tauri stars have periods less than 15 days.

Abstract

We present time-series photometry of stars located in the extremely young open cluster Berkeley 59. Using the 1.04 m telescope at ARIES, Nainital, we have identified 42 variables in a field of 13'x13' around the cluster. The probable members of the cluster are identified using (V, V-I) colour-magnitude diagram and (J-H, H-K) colour-colour diagram. Thirty one variables are found to be pre-main sequence stars associated with the cluster. The ages and masses of pre-main sequence stars are derived from colour-magnitude diagram by fitting theoretical models to the observed data points. The ages of the majority of the probable pre-main sequence variable candidates range from 1 to 5 Myrs. The masses of these pre-main sequence variable stars are found to be in the range of ~0.3 to ~3.5 Msun and these could be T Tauri stars. The present statistics reveal that about 90% T Tauri stars have periods < 15 days. The classical T Tauri stars are found to have larger amplitude in comparison to the weak line T Tauri stars. There is an indication that the amplitude decreases with increase of the mass, which could be due to the dispersal of disk of relatively massive stars.