Abstract
In this study we intend to assess the physical nature of the open cluster remnant (OCR) candidate ESO429-SC02. In a previous work, the method of characterization devised by Pavani & Bica (2007) failed to characterize the object as an OCR or as an asterism, classifying it as a possible OCR. We carried out multi-object spectroscopy of 31 stars in its inner area (r lesssim 4^{'}) using GMOS/GEMINI-S (resolution R≈ 2000). We cross-correlated (IRAF's FXCOR task) our science spectra with all templates from ELODIE and PHOENIX libraries to obtain radial velocities and atmospheric parameters. We also employed 2MASS photometric data and proper motions from UCAC4. Individual distances via spectroscopic parallax and reddening values were derived for our science stars. In order to identify candidate member stars, we performed a 5-dimensional sigma-clipping routine using positional an kinematical data to interactively reject outliers and selected those stars well fitted by a Padova isochrone in K_{s} × (J-K_{s}) and (J-H) × (H-K_{s}) diagrams. Although a isochrone fitting solution was found, individual distances of stars close to the turnoff point or to the RGB range from 1.5 kpc to 4.4 kpc; E(B-V) values range from 0.0 to 0.46; [Fe/H] from -0.95 to 0.61 dex and radial velocities from 9 to 64 km/s. Besides, spectral types distribution of candidate member stars along the main sequence and the high dispersion in the parameters derived for them are inconsistent with what is expected for a coeval system. Our results suggest that ESO429-SC02 is a random overdensity of field stars along the line of sight.
