RMxAA

Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica

ISSN: 3061-8649
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Keywords

ISM: dust
extinction
open clusters and associations: NGC 4755; stars: variables: β Cephei

How to Cite

Multicolor UBVRI polarimetry of NGC 4755 and the β Cephei population. (2015). Revista Mexicana De Astronomía Y Astrofísica, 51(1), 75-90. https://astronomia.unam.mx/journals/rmxaa/article/view/2015rmxaa..51...75v

Abstract

We present UBVRI polarimetric observations of 66 stars in the direction of NGC 4755, including eleven β cephei stars. About half of these variables show indications of intrinsic polarization, but according to the theory neither radial nor non-radial pulsations could cause such polarizations. From the main characteristics of their P_{V} vs. λ_{V} curves we found as a possible origin, in some cases, scattering of light in extended atmospheres and suspected binarity, in some cases. The parameters of the interstellar medium towards the cluster are P_{V}=2.76± 0.13(%) and θ_{V}=76.6° ± 0.9°; the mean wavelength of maximum polarization amounts to 0.56± 0.04μ m. The value of polarization efficiency is higher than the mean, indicating a good alignment of the dust particles. A total of 25 stars were identified as members of NGC 4755; the identification task was improved through the use of polarimetric tools.
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