SCYON Abstract

Received on October 9 2003

Kinematics and binaries in young stellar aggregates. II. NGC 6913 = M29

Authors	C. Boeche (¹), U. Munari (¹), L.Tomasella (¹), R.Barbon (²)
Affiliation	(¹) Padova and Asiago Astronomical Observatories (²) Dept. of Astron., Univ. of Padova
Accepted by	Astronomy & Astrophysics
Contact	boeche@pd.astro.it
URL	http://babbage.sissa.it/abs/astro-ph/0310090
Links	NGC 6913

Abstract

Between 1996 and 2003 we have obtained 226 high resolution spectra of 16 stars in the field of the young open cluster NGC 6913, to the aim of constraining its main properties and study its internal kinematics. Twelve of the program stars turned out to be members, one of them probably unbound. Nine are binaries (one eclipsing and another double lined) and for seven of them the observations allowed to derive the orbital elements. All but two of the nine discovered binaries are cluster members. In spite of the young age (a few Myr), the cluster already shows signs that could be interpreted as evidence of dynamical relaxation and mass segregation. However, they may be also the result of an unconventional formation scenario. The dynamical (virial) mass as estimated from the radial velocity dispersion is larger than the cluster luminous mass, which may be explained by a combination of the optically thick interstellar cloud that occults part of the cluster, the unbound state or undetected very wide binary orbit of some of the members that inflate the velocity dispersion and a high inclination for the axis of a possible cluster angular momentum. All discovered binaries are hard enough to survive average close encounters within the cluster and do not yet show sign of relaxation of the orbital elements to values typical of field binaries.