Photometric Analysis for Searching Variable Stars in the Field of the Northern Open Cluster NGC 1960
Published: 2023-09-02
Page: 150-183
Issue: 2023 - Volume 5 [Issue 1]
Gireesh Chandra Joshi *
Department of Physics, Government Degree College, Kanvaghati, Kotdwar, Uttarakhand, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The aim of the present work is to extract and analyses the light curves of the stars in the field of the cluster, NGC 1960. The photometric calibration is performed by a comprehensive method of secondary standard transformation alongwith differential photometry using two comparison stars per candidate variable star. The resultant light curves for each potential variable star are displayed and their period are analyzed by two different methods. The period and classification of the 18 discovered short periodic type variable stars of NGC 1960 are discussed, which consist of four known variable stars and fourteen new variable stars. Among the eighteen detected variables of NGC 1960, one as \(\gamma\) - Dor, one as RR Lyre, two as EB, two as Ellipsoidal, two as hybrid (\(\delta\) \(\mathit{Scuti}\) - \(\gamma\) - \(\mathit{Dor}\)), two as LADS, two as rotational and six as irregular or miscellaneous type variable stars. In the case of NGC 1960, the 12 selected comparison stars appear to be likely candidate for long periodic variability, and four stars may be possible candidate for standard stars. The variation in brightness of the other twenty comparison stars is non-pulsating with an irregular pattern. Mean proper motions of the core region of NGC1960 are \(\bar{\mu}\)\(\mathit{x}\) = 0:314\(\pm\) 0:026 \(\mathit{mas/yr}\) and \(\bar{\mu}\)\(\mathit{y}\) = -2.333 \(\pm\) 0.037 \(\mathit{mas/yr}\) in the R.A. and DEC. directions, respectively.Membership analysis of variable stars is performed using their distance, kinematic probability and location in ( \(\mathit{U - B}\) ) vs ( \(\mathit{B - V}\) ) TCD. C-M diagrams were constructed to confirm the evolutionary state of the new variable stars.
Keywords: Astronomical reduction - NGC 1960, stellar variability