The Secret Lives of Open Clusters: a Multiwavelength Examination of Three Open Clusters

TL;DR

This study uses multiwavelength observations to analyze the X-ray and radio sources in three open clusters of different ages, revealing how their stellar populations and interactions evolve over time.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive multiwavelength analysis of three open clusters, highlighting the evolution of their stellar populations and interactions with age, using new and archival data.

Findings

77 X-ray sources in IC 2602, 31 in NGC 2632, 31 in M67

Radio counterparts identified for some X-ray sources, likely binary stars

Variability observed in a system in M67 suggestive of a black hole binary or active binary

Abstract

Star clusters are well known for their dynamical interactions, an outcome of their high stellar densities; in this paper we use multiwavelength observations to search for the unique outcomes of these interactions in three nearby Galactic open clusters: IC 2602 (30 Myr), NGC 2632 (750 Myr) and M67 (4 Gyr). We compared X-ray observations from all-sky surveys like eROSITA, plus archival observations from Chandra X-ray Observatory, survey radio observations from ASKAP's Evolutionary Map of the Universe survey plus archival VLA observations, in conjunction with new cluster catalogs with Gaia. From X-ray, we found 77 X-ray sources likely associated with IC 2602, 31 X-ray sources in NGC 2632, and 31 near M67's central regions. We were further able to classify these X-ray sources based on their optical variability and any radio emission. Three IC 2602 X-ray sources had radio counterparts, which are likely all chromospherically active binary stars. We also identified luminous radio and X-ray variability from a spectroscopic triple system in M67, WOCS 3012/S1077, which is either consistent with a quiescent black hole binary, or due to an active binary stellar system. A recent population study of optical variables by Anderson & Hunt 2025 shows that the population of optical variables in open clusters clearly changes over cluster age; this pilot study gives evidence that the X-ray population also changes with time, and demonstrates the need for a broader multiwavelength study of Galactic open clusters.