A Proper Motions Study of the Globular Cluster NGC 3201
Abstract
With a high value of heliocentric radial velocity, a retrograde orbit, and suspected to have an extragalactic origin, NGC 3201 is an interesting globular cluster for kinematical studies. Our purpose is to calculate the relative proper motions (PMs) and membership probability for the stars in the wide region of globular cluster NGC 3201. PM based membership probabilities are used to isolate the cluster sample from the field stars. The membership catalog will help address the question of chemical inhomogeneity in the cluster. Archive CCD data taken with a wide-field imager (WFI) mounted on the ESO 2.2 m telescope are reduced using the high-precision astrometric software developed by Anderson et al. for the WFI images. The epoch gap between the two observational runs is ∼14.3 years. To standardize the BVI photometry, Stetson’s secondary standard stars are used. The CCD data with an epoch gap of ∼14.3 years enables us to decontaminate the cluster stars from field stars efficiently. The median precision of PMs is better than ∼0.8 mas yr-1 for stars having V< 18 mag that increases up to ∼1.5 mas yr-1 for stars with 18< V< 20 mag. Kinematic membership probabilities are calculated using PMs for stars brighter than V∼ 20 mag. An electronic catalog of positions, relative PMs, BVI magnitudes, and membership probabilities in the ∼19.7 × 17 arcmin2 region of NGC 3201 is presented. We use our membership catalog to identify probable cluster members among the known variables and X-ray sources in the direction of NGC 3201.
Based on observations with the MPG/ESO 2.2 m and ESO/VLT telescopes, located at La Silla and Paranal Observatory, Chile, under DDT programs 164.O-0561(F), 093.A-9028(A), and the archive material.- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- March 2017
- DOI:
- 10.3847/1538-3881/aa5be6
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1701.04859
- Bibcode:
- 2017AJ....153..134S
- Keywords:
-
- astrometry;
- catalogs;
- globular clusters: individual: NGC 3201;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- 11 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication by AJ