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Aaron M. Geller

Publications and source records attributed to Aaron M. Geller.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

An Open Cluster Origin for Most Solar-Type Binaries in the Solar Neighborhood and Implications for Primordial Planet Stability

We present the first Gaia-calibrated estimate of the contribution of dynamically processed open clusters (OCs) to the nearby solar-type field binary population and investigate the implications for primordial planet stability. We combine Gaia DR3 observations, empirical models of cluster formation and dissolution, and direct N-body simulations to constrain the fraction of field FGK-type binaries within 1 kpc that originated in OCs over the past 5 Gyr. We find that at least ~53% of solar-type field binaries formed in OCs with initial masses > 200 M_Sun, where dynamical processing becomes significant. We quantify the effects of stellar encounters and binary orbital evolution on the stability of both circumbinary and circumstellar planets by deriving empirical prescriptions for circumbinary planet destabilization as a function of binary separation and for the fractional reduction of stable circumstellar coplanar phase space. These results provide a framework for evaluating how OC dynamical evolution may influence the stability of planets in binary systems and therefore contribute to observed exoplanet demographics.

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WIYN Open Cluster Study. XCVII. An Extended Radial-Velocity Survey and Spectroscopic Binary Orbits in the Open Cluster NGC 188

We present 35 new spectroscopic-binary orbits from our extended radial-velocity (RV) survey of the old ($6.4 \pm 0.2$ Gyr) open cluster NGC 188. Using data from the WIYN Open Cluster Study (WOCS) and APOGEE-2, this work nearly doubles the temporal baseline of the previous RV study of NGC 188. We obtain orbital solutions within a stellar sample that spans a magnitude range of {$10.8 \leq \mathrm{G} \leq 16.5 \; (0.9\mbox{-}1.2 \; {M_\odot})$}. With revised membership determinations using Gaia DR3 proper-motions and parallaxes, we reassess the cluster binary frequency and period-eccentricity distribution. The incompleteness-corrected binary frequency is $33.1 \% \pm 3.8\%$ for periods less than $10^4$ days, and the tidal-circularization period is $14.4^{+0.14}_{-0.11}$ days. We find evidence that giants are deficient in short-period orbits, and suggest that the missing giants may have undergone mass transfer and in part formed the population of blue straggler stars (BSSs) and blue lurkers. Among the binaries of note, we highlight WOCS 3953 as a blue lurker candidate, WOCS 5020 and WOCS 4945 as very long-period eccentric BSSs, and WOCS 4230, a BSS with a very close WD companion.

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The Blue Lurker WOCS 14020: A Long-Period Post-Common-Envelope Binary in M67 Originating from a Merger in a Triple System

We present Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectra of a blue-lurker$-$white-dwarf (BL-WD) binary system in the 4 Gyr open cluster M67. We fit the FUV spectrum of the WD, determining it is a C/O WD with a mass of $0.72^{+0.05}_{-0.04}$ M$_\odot$ and a cooling age of $\sim400$ Myr. This requires a WD progenitor of $\sim3$ M$_\odot$, significantly larger than the current cluster turnoff mass of 1.3 M$_\odot$. We suggest the WD progenitor star formed several hundred Myr ago via the merger of two stars near the turnoff of the cluster. In this scenario, the original progenitor system was a hierarchical triple consisting of a close, near-equal-mass inner binary, with a tertiary companion with an orbit of a few thousand days. The WD is descended from the merged inner binary, and the original tertiary is now the observed BL. The likely formation scenario involves a common envelope while the WD progenitor is on the AGB, and thus the observed orbital period of 359 days requires an efficient common envelope ejection. The rapid rotation of the BL indicates it accreted some material during its evolution, perhaps via a wind prior to the common envelope. This system will likely undergo a second common envelope in the future, and thus could result in a short-period double WD binary or merger of a 0.72 M$_\odot$ C/O WD and a 0.38 $M_\odot$ Helium WD, making this a potential progenitor of an interesting transient such as a sub-Chandrasekhar Type Ia supernova.

astro-ph.SR

Stellar Dynamics in Open Clusters Increases the Binary Fraction and Mass Ratios: Evidence from Photometric Binaries in 35 Open Clusters

Using the Bayesian Analysis of Stellar Evolution-9 (BASE-9) code and Gaia DR3, Pan-STARRS, and 2MASS data, we identify photometric binaries in 35 open clusters (OCs) and constrain their masses. We find a strong correlation between the binary fraction and cluster dynamical age and an even stronger correlation between core binary fraction and cluster dynamical age. We find the binary mass-ratio (q) distribution of dynamically young OCs is statistically distinct from that of the old OCs. On average, dynamically young OCs display multi-modal q distributions rising toward unity and toward our detection limit of q=0.5 while more dynamically evolved clusters display more uniform q distributions often with a peak near q=1. Interestingly, the uniform q distribution with a peak near q=1 is consistent with binaries in the field. We also observe a similar transition from multi-modal to unimodal q distributions when comparing low mass to high mass OCs in our sample. Lastly, we find a correlation between the median q of the binary population in a cluster and the cluster dynamical age. We interpret these results as an indication that dynamical encounters tend to increase the fraction of high-mass-ratio binaries within a given cluster -- particularly within the cluster's core where stellar dynamics are likely more important. This may be the result of stellar exchanges that tend to produce binaries with larger q and/or the preferential disruption or evaporation of lower q binaries.

astro-ph.SR

Observational Signatures of a Previous Dynamical Instability in Multi-planet M-Dwarf Systems

We identify observational signatures suggesting a history of dynamical instability in 26 out of 34 M-dwarf multi-planet systems containing no large planets. These systems may have primarily formed in a gas-rich environment, potentially hosted more planets and were more compact. We extend previous simulations of the formation of the TRAPPIST-1 system to 100 Myr to test the stability of these systems without gas. We find the absence of a strong mean motion resonance in the innermost planet pair and the absence of three body resonances throughout the system are likely to result in the merging and ejection of planets after the gas disk disperses. The runs that experience such an instability tend to produce final systems with lower multiplicities, period ratios larger than two, increased orbital spacings, higher planetary angular momentum deficits, and slightly smaller mass ratios between adjacent planets. Remarkably, we find these same trends in the observations of M-dwarf multi-planet systems containing no large planets. Our work allows us to identify specific systems that may have experienced an instability and suggests that only ~25% of these systems formed in their current observed state while most systems were likely more compact and multiplicitous earlier in time. Previous research indicates that systems that have experienced a late stage giant impact may host planets potentially more habitable than the systems that did not. With this in mind, we suggest systems around M-dwarfs that contain period ratios larger than two be given priority in the search for habitable worlds.

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Investigating Mass Segregation of the Binary Stars in the Open Cluster NGC 6819

We search for mass segregation in the intermediate-aged open cluster NGC 6819 within a carefully identified sample of probable cluster members. Using photometry from the Gaia, 2MASS, and Pan-STARRS surveys as inputs for a Bayesian statistics software suite, BASE-9, we identify a rich population of (photometric) binaries and derive posterior distributions for the cluster age, distance, metallicity and reddening as well as star-by-star photometric membership probabilities, masses and mass ratios (for binaries). Within our entire sample, we find 2632 cluster members and 777 binaries. We then select a main-sequence 'primary sample' with 14.85 < G < 19.5 containing 1342 cluster members and 250 binaries with mass ratios q > 0.5, to investigate for mass segregation. Within this primary sample, we find the binary radial distribution is significantly shifted toward the cluster center as compared to the single stars, resulting in a binary fraction that increases significantly toward the cluster core. Furthermore, we find that within the binary sample, more massive binaries have more centrally concentrated radial distributions than less massive binaries. The same is true for the single stars. We verify the expectation of mass segregation for this stellar sample in NGC 6819 through both relaxation time arguments and by investigating a sophisticated N-body model of the cluster. Importantly, this is the first study to investigate mass segregation of the binaries in the open cluster NGC 6819.

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Stellar Spin Down in Post-Mass Transfer Binary Systems

Motivated by measurements of the rotation speed of accretor stars in post-mass-transfer (post-MT) systems, we investigate how magnetic braking affects the spin-down of individual stars during binary evolution with the MESAbinary module. Unlike the conventional assumption of tidal synchronization coupled with magnetic braking in binaries, we first calculate whether tides are strong enough to synchronize the orbit. Subsequently, this influences the spin-down of stars and the orbital separation. In this study, we apply four magnetic braking prescriptions to reduce the spin angular momentum of the two stars throughout the entire binary evolution simulation. Our findings reveal that despite magnetic braking causing continuous spin-down of the accretor, when the donor begins to transfer material onto the accretor, the accretor can rapidly spin up to its critical rotation rate. After MT, magnetic braking becomes more important in affecting the angular momentum evolution of the stars. Post-MT accretor stars thus serve as a valuable testbed for observing how the magnetic braking prescriptions operate in spinning down stars from their critical rotation, including the saturation regimes of the magnetic braking. The rotation rate of the accretor star, combined with its mass, could provide age information since the cessation of MT. By comparing the models against observation, the magnetic braking prescription by Garraffo et al. (2018b) is found to better align with the rotation data of post-MT accretors.

astro-ph.SR

Wind Roche-lobe Overflow in Low-Mass Binaries: Exploring the Origin of Rapidly Rotating Blue Lurkers

Wind Roche-Lobe Overflow (WRLOF) is a mass-transfer mechanism proposed by Mohamed and Podsiadlowski (2007) for stellar binaries wherein the wind acceleration zone of the donor star exceeds its Roche lobe radius, allowing stellar wind material to be transferred to the accretor at enhanced rates. WRLOF may explain characteristics observed in blue lurkers and blue stragglers. While WRLOF has been implemented in rapid population synthesis codes, it has yet to be explored thoroughly in detailed binary models such as MESA (a 1D stellar evolution code), and over a wide range of initial binary configurations. We incorporate WRLOF accretion in MESA to investigate wide low-mass binaries at solar metallicity. We perform a parameter study over the initial orbital period and stellar mass. In most of the models where we consider angular momentum transfer during accretion, the accretor is spun up to the critical (or break-up) rotation rate. Then we assume the star develops a boosted wind to efficiently reduce the angular momentum so that it could maintain a sub-critical rotation. Balanced by boosted wind loss, the accretor only gains $\sim 2\%$ of its total mass, but can maintain a near-critical rotation rate during WRLOF. Notably, the mass-transfer efficiency is significantly smaller than in previous studies in which the rotation of the accretor is ignored. We compare our results to observational data of blue lurkers in M67 and find that the WRLOF mechanism can qualitatively explain the origin of their rapid rotation, their location on the HR diagram and their orbital periods.

astro-ph.SR

Tracing the Origins of Mass Segregation in M35: Evidence for Primordially Segregated Binaries

M35 is a young open cluster and home to an extensive binary population. Using Gaia DR3, Pan-STARRS, and 2MASS photometry with the Bayesian statistical software, BASE-9, we derive precise cluster parameters, identify single and binary cluster members, and extract their masses. We identify 571 binaries down to Gaia G = 20.3 and a lower-limit on the binary frequency of f_b = 0.41 +/- 0.02. We extend the binary demographics by many magnitudes faint-ward of previous (radial-velocity) studies of this cluster and further away from the cluster center (1.78-degrees, roughly 10 core radii). We find the binary stars to be more centrally concentrated than the single stars in the cluster. Furthermore, we find strong evidence for mass segregation within the binary population itself, with progressively more massive binary samples becoming more and more centrally concentrated. For the single stars, we find weaker evidence for mass segregation; only the most massive single stars (> 2.5MSun) appear more centrally concentrated. Given the cluster age of ~200 Myr, and our derived half-mass relaxation time for the cluster of 230 +/- 84 Myr, we estimate ~47% of the binary stars and ~12% of single stars in the cluster have had time to become dynamically mass segregated. Importantly, when we investigate only stars with mass segregation timescales greater than the cluster age, we still find the binaries to be more centrally concentrated than the singles, suggesting the binaries may have formed with a primordially different spatial distribution than the single stars.

astro-ph.SR

Goodbye to Chi-by-Eye: A Bayesian Analysis of Photometric Binaries in Six Open Clusters

We present a robust methodology for identifying photometric binaries in star clusters. Using Gaia DR3, Pan-STARRS and 2MASS data, we self-consistently define the cluster parameters and binary demographics for the open clusters (OCs) NGC 2168 (M35), NGC 7789, NGC 6819, NGC 2682 (M67), NGC 188, and NGC 6791. These clusters span in age from ~200 Myr (NGC 2168) to more than ~8 Gyr (NGC 6791) and have all been extensively studied in the literature. We use the Bayesian Analysis of Stellar Evolution software suite (BASE-9) to derive the age, distance, reddening, metallicity, binary fraction, and binary mass-ratio posterior distributions for each cluster. We perform a careful analysis of our completeness and also compare our results to previous spectroscopic surveys. For our sample of main-sequence stars with masses between 0.6 - 1 M_Sun, we find that these OCs have similar binary fractions that are also broadly consistent with the field multiplicity fraction. Within the clusters, the binary fraction increases dramatically toward the cluster centers, likely a result of mass segregation. Furthermore nearly all clusters show evidence of mass segregation within the single and binary populations, respectively. The OC binary fraction increases significantly with cluster age in our sample, possibly due to a combination of mass-segregation and cluster dissolution processes. We also find a hint of an anti-correlation between binary fraction and cluster central density as well as total cluster mass, possibly due to an increasing frequency of higher energy close stellar encounters that inhibit long-period binary survival and/or formation.

astro-ph.SR

Relativistic Effects on Circumbinary Disk Evolution: Breaking the Polar Alignment around Eccentric Black Hole Binary Systems

We study the effects of general relativity (GR) on the evolution and alignment of circumbinary disks around binaries on all scales. We implement relativistic apsidal precession of the binary into the hydrodynamics code {\sc phantom}. We find that the effects of GR can suppress the stable polar alignment of a circumbinary disk, depending on how the relativistic binary apsidal precession timescale compares to the disk nodal precession timescale. Studies of circumbinary disk evolution typically ignore the effects of GR which is an appropriate simplification for low mass or widely separated binary systems. In this case, polar alignment occurs providing that the disks initial misalignment is sufficiently large. However, systems with a very short relativistic precession timescale cannot polar align and instead move toward coplanar alignment. In the intermediate regime where the timescales are similar, the outcome depends upon the properties of the disk. Polar alignment is more likely in the wavelike disk regime (where the disk viscosity parameter is less than the aspect ratio, $α<H/r$) since the disk is in good radial communication. In the viscous disk regime disk breaking is more likely. Multiple rings can destructively interact with one another resulting in short disk lifetimes, and the disk moving towards coplanar alignment. Around main-sequence star or stellar mass black hole binaries, polar alignment may be suppressed far from the binary but in general the inner parts of the disk can align to polar. Polar alignment may be completely suppressed for disks around supermassive black holes for close binary separations.

astro-ph.HE

Firefly: a browser-based interactive 3D data visualization tool for millions of data points

We present Firefly, a new browser-based interactive tool for visualizing 3D particle data sets. On a typical personal computer, Firefly can simultaneously render and enable real-time interactions with > ~10 million particles, and can interactively explore datasets with billions of particles using the included custom-built octree render engine. Once created, viewing a Firefly visualization requires no installation and is immediately usable in most modern internet browsers simply by visiting a URL. As a result, a Firefly visualization works out-of-the-box on most devices including smartphones and tablets. Firefly is primarily developed for researchers to explore their own data, but can also be useful to communicate results to researchers/collaborators and as an effective public outreach tool. Every element of the user interface can be customized and disabled, enabling easy adaptation of the same visualization for different audiences with little additional effort. Creating a new Firefly visualization is simple with the provided Python data pre-processor (PDPP) that translates input data to a Firefly-compatible format and provides helpful methods for hosting instances of Firefly both locally and on the internet. In addition to visualizing the positions of particles, users can visualize vector fields (e.g., velocities) and also filter and color points by scalar fields. We share three examples of Firefly applied to astronomical datasets: 1) the FIRE cosmological zoom-in simulations, 2) the SDSS galaxy catalog, and 3) Gaia DR3. A gallery of additional interactive demos is available at https://alexbgurvi.ch/Firefly.

astro-ph.IM

Coplanar circumbinary planets can be unstable to large tilt oscillations in the presence of an inner polar planet

Mutually misaligned circumbinary planets may form in a warped or broken gas disc or from later planet-planet interactions. With numerical simulations and analytic estimates we explore the dynamics of two circumbinary planets with a large mutual inclination. A coplanar inner planet causes prograde apsidal precession of the binary and the stationary inclination for the outer planet is higher for larger outer planet orbital radius. In this case a coplanar outer planet always remains coplanar. On the other hand, a polar inner planet causes retrograde apsidal precession of the binary orbit and the stationary inclination is smaller for larger outer planet orbital radius. For a range of outer planet semi-major axes, an initially coplanar orbit is librating meaning that the outer planet undergoes large tilt oscillations. Circumbinary planets that are highly inclined to the binary are difficult to detect -- it is unlikely for a planet to have an inclination below the transit detection limit in the presence of a polar inner planet. These results suggest that there could be a population of circumbinary planets that are undergoing large tilt oscillations.

astro-ph.EP

Globular Cluster UVIT legacy Survey (GlobUleS) III. Omega Centauri in Far-Ultraviolet

We present the first comprehensive study of the most massive globular cluster Omega Centauri in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) extending from the center to ~ 28% of the tidal radius using the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope aboard AstroSat. A comparison of the FUV-optical color-magnitude diagrams with available canonical models reveals that the horizontal branch (HB) stars bluer than the knee (hHBs) and the white dwarfs (WDs) are fainter in the FUV by ~ 0.5 mag than model predictions. They are also fainter than their counterparts in M13, another massive cluster. We simulated HB with at least five subpopulations, including three He-rich populations with a substantial He enrichment of Y up to 0.43 dex, to reproduce the observed FUV distribution. We find the He-rich younger subpopulations to be radially more segregated than the He-normal older ones, suggesting an in-situ enrichment from older generations. The Omega Cen hHBs span the same effective temperature range as their M13 counterparts, but some have smaller radii and lower luminosities. This may suggest that a fraction of Omega Cen hHBs are less massive than those of M13, similar to the result derived from earlier spectroscopic studies of outer extreme HB stars. The WDs in Omega Cen and M13 have similar luminosity-radius-effective temperature parameters, and 0.44 - 0.46 M$_\odot$ He-core WD model tracks evolving from progenitors with Y = 0.4 dex are found to fit the majority of these. This study provides constraints on the formation models of Omega Cen based on the estimated range in age, [Fe/H] and Y (in particular), for the HB stars.

astro-ph.SR

Globular Clusters UVIT Legacy Survey (GlobULeS) I. FUV-optical Color-Magnitude Diagrams for Eight Globular Clusters

We present the first results of eight Globular Clusters (GCs) from the AstroSat/UVIT Legacy Survey program GlobULeS based on the observations carried out in two FUV filters (F148W and F169M). The FUV-optical and FUV-FUV color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of GCs with the proper motion membership were constructed by combining the UVIT data with HST UV Globular Cluster Survey (HUGS) data for inner regions and Gaia Early Data Release (EDR3) for regions outside the HST's field. We detect sources as faint as F148W $\sim$ 23.5~mag which are classified based on their locations in CMDs by overlaying stellar evolutionary models. The CMDs of 8 GCs are combined with the previous UVIT studies of 3 GCs to create stacked FUV-optical CMDs to highlight the features/peculiarities found in the different evolutionary sequences. The FUV (F148W) detected stellar populations of 11 GCs comprises 2,816 Horizontal Branch (HB) stars (190 Extreme HB candidates), 46 post-HB (pHB), 221 Blue Straggler Stars (BSS), and 107 White Dwarf (WD) candidates. We note that the blue HB color extension obtained from F148W$-$G color and the number of FUV detected EHB candidates are strongly correlated with the maximum internal Helium (He) variation within each GC, suggesting that the FUV-optical plane is the most sensitive to He abundance variations in the HB. We discuss the potential science cases that will be addressed using these catalogues including HB morphologies, BSSs, pHB, and, WD stars.

astro-ph.GA

Revealing the Field Sub-subgiant Population Using a Catalog of Active Giant Stars and Gaia EDR3

Sub-subgiant stars (SSGs) fall below the subgiant branch and/or red of the giant branch in open and globular clusters, an area of the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) not populated by standard stellar evolution tracks. One hypothesis is that SSGs result from rapid rotation in subgiants or giants due to tidal synchronization in a close binary. The strong magnetic fields generated inhibit convection, which in turn produces large starspots, radius inflation, and lower-than-expected average surface temperatures and luminosities. Here we cross-reference a catalog of active giant binaries (RS CVns) in the field with Gaia EDR3. Using the Gaia photometry and parallaxes we precisely position the RS CVns in a CMD. We identify stars that fall below a 14 Gyr, metal-rich isochrone as candidate field SSGs. Out of a sample of 1723 RS CVn, we find 448 SSG candidates, a dramatic expansion from the 65 SSGs previously known. Most SSGs have rotation periods of 2-20 days, with the highest SSG fraction found among RS CVn with the shortest periods. The ubiquity of SSGs among this population indicates SSGs are a normal phase in evolution for RS CVn-type systems, not rare by-products of dynamical encounters found only in dense star clusters as some have suggested. We present our catalog of 1723 active giants, including Gaia photometry and astrometry, and rotation periods from TESS and VSX. This catalog can serve as an important sample to study the impacts of magnetic fields in evolved stars.

astro-ph.SR

Simulating Eclipsing Binary Yields of the Rubin Observatory in the Galactic Field and Star Clusters

We present a study of the detection and recovery efficiency of the Rubin Observatory for detached eclipsing binaries (EBs) in the galactic field, globular clusters (GCs) and open clusters (OCs), with a focus on comparing two proposed observing strategies: a standard cadence ("baseline"), and a cadence which samples the galactic plane more evenly ("colossus"). We generate realistic input binary populations in all observing fields of the Rubin Observatory, simulate the expected observations in each filter, and attempt to characterize the EBs using these simulated observations. In our models, we predict the baseline cadence will enable the Rubin Observatory to observe about three million EBs; our technique could recover and characterize nearly one million of these in the field and thousands within star clusters. If the colossus cadence is used, the number of recovered EBs would increase by an overall factor of about 1.7 in the field and in globular clusters, and a factor of about three in open clusters. Including semi-detached and contact systems could increase the number of recovered EBs by an additional factor of about 2.5 to 3. Regardless of the cadence, observations from the Rubin Observatory could reveal statistically significant physical distinctions between the distributions of EB orbital elements between the field, GCs and OCs. Simulations such as these can be used to bias correct the sample of Rubin Observatory EBs to study the intrinsic properties of the full binary populations in the field and star clusters.

astro-ph.GA

Stellar Radial Velocities in the Old Open Cluster M67 (NGC 2682). II. The Spectroscopic Binary Population

We present and analyse 120 spectroscopic binary and triple cluster members of the old (4 Gyr) open cluster M67 (NGC 2682). As a cornerstone of stellar astrophysics, M67 is a key cluster in the WIYN Open Cluster Study (WOCS); radial-velocity (RV) observations of M67 are ongoing and extend back over 45 years, incorporating data from seven different telescopes, and allowing us to detect binaries with orbital periods <~10^4 days. Our sample contains 1296 stars (604 cluster members) with magnitudes of 10 <= V <= 16.5 (about 1.3 to 0.7 Msolar), from the giants down to ~4 mag below the main-sequence turnoff, and extends in radius to 30 arcminutes (7.4 pc at a distance of 850 pc, or ~7 core radii). This paper focuses primarily on the main-sequence binaries, but orbital solutions are also presented for red giants, yellow giants and sub-subgiants. Out to our period detection limit and within our magnitude and spatial domain, we find a global main-sequence incompleteness-corrected binary fraction of 34% +/- 3%, which rises to 70% +/- 17% in the cluster center. We derive a tidal circularization period of P_circ = 11.0 +1.1 -1.0 days. We also analyze the incompleteness-corrected distributions of binary orbital elements and masses. The period distribution rises toward longer periods. The eccentricity distribution, beyond P_circ, is consistent with a uniform distribution. The mass-ratio distribution is also consistent with a uniform distribution. Overall, these M67 binaries are closely consistent with similar binaries in the galactic field, as well as the old (7 Gyr) open cluster NGC 188. WIYN Open Cluster Study. 83.

astro-ph.SR