V. Straižys

Interstellar extinction in the direction of the Aquila Rift

The distance dependence of interstellar extinction in the direction of the Aquila Rift is investigated using 473 stars observed in the Vilnius photometric system. The front edge of the dark clouds in the area is found to be at

Angle-dependent radiative grain alignment Confirmation of a magnetic field - radiation anisotropy angle dependence on the efficiency of interstellar grain alignment

225\pm55

The design and performance of the Gaia photometric system

pc and the thickness of the cloud system is about 80 pc. The maximum extinction A V in the clouds is close to 3.0 mag. Two stars with larger extinction are found and discussed. Since the new distance of the clouds is larger than the previously accepted distance, the cloud system mass should be increased to

The distance to the young cluster NGC 7129 and its age

2.7\times10^5~M_{\odot}

The open cluster IC 1805 and its vicinity: investigation of stars in the Vilnius, IPHAS, 2MASS, and WISE systems

which is close to the virial mass estimated from the CO velocity dispersion. Additional arguments are given in favor of the genetic relation between the Serpens and the Scorpio-Ophiuchus dark clouds.

INTERSTELLAR EXTINCTION IN THE DIRECTION OF THE OPEN CLUSTER M29

Context. Interstellar grain alignment studies are currently experiencing a renaissance due to the development of a new quantitative theory based on radiative alignment torques (RAT). One of the distinguishing predictions of this theory is a dependence of the grain alignment efficiency on the relative angle (Ψ) between the magnetic field and the anisotropy direction of the radiation field. In an earlier study we found observational evidence for such an effect from observations of the polarization around the star HD 97300 in the Chamaeleon I cloud. However, due to the large uncertainties in the measured visual extinctions, the result was uncertain. Aims. By acquiring explicit spectral classification of the polarization targets, we have sought to perform a more precise reanalysis of the existing polarimetry data. Methods. We have obtained new spectral types for the stars in our for our polarization sample, which we combine with photometric data from the literature to derive accurate visual extinctions for our sample of background field stars. This allows a high accuracy test of the grain alignment efficiency as a function of Ψ. Results. We confirm and improve the measured accuracy of the variability of the grain alignment efficiency with Ψ, seen in the earlier study. We note that the grain temperature (heating) also shows a dependence on Ψ which we interpret as a natural effect of the projection of the grain surface to the illuminating radiation source. This dependence also allows us to derive an estimate of the fraction of aligned grains in the cloud.

The open cluster NGC 7142: interstellar extinction, distance and age

The European Gaia astrometry mission is due for launch in 2011. Gaia will rely on the proven principles of the ESA Hipparcos mission to create an all-sky survey of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy and beyond, by observing all objects down to 20 mag. Through its massive measurement of stellar distances, motions and multicolour photometry, it will provide fundamental data necessary for unravelling the structure, formation and evolution of the Galaxy. This paper presents the design and performance of the broad- and medium-band set of photometric filters adopted as the baseline for Gaia. The 19 selected passbands (extending from the UV to the far-red), the criteria and the methodology on which this choice has been based are discussed in detail. We analyse the photometric capabilities for characterizing the luminosity, temperature, gravity and chemical composition of stars. We also discuss the automatic determination of these physical parameters for the large number of observations involved, for objects located throughout the entire Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Finally, the capability of the photometric system (PS) to deal with the main Gaia science case is outlined.

Seven-color Vilnius photometry and classification of stars in the region of the North Ecliptic Pole

The dust cloud TGU H645 P2 and embedded in it young open cluster NGC 7129 are investigated using the results of medium-band photometry of 159 stars in the Vilnius seven-colour system down to V = 18.8 mag. The photometric data were used to classify about 50 % of the measured stars in spectral and luminosity classes. The extinction AV vs. distance diagram for the 20 ′ × 20 ′ area is plotted for 155 stars with two-dimensional classific ation from the present and the previous catalogues. The extinction values found range between 0.6 and 3.4 mag. However, some red giants, located in the direction of the dense parts of the cloud, exhibit the infrared extinction equivalent up to AV = 13 mag. The distance to the cloud (and the cluster) is found to be 1.15 kpc (the true distance modulus 10.30 mag). For determining the age of NGC 7129, a luminosity vs. temperature diagram for six cluster members of spectral classes B3 to A1 was compared with the Pisa pre-main-sequence evolution tracks and the Palla birthlines. The cluster can be as old as about 3 Myr, but star forming continues till now as witnessed by the presence in the cloud of many younger pre-main-sequence objects identified with photometry from 2MASS, Spitzer and WISE infrared surveys.

The dark cloud TGU H994 P1 (LDN 1399, LDN 1400, and LDN 1402): Interstellar extinction and distance

The results of CCD photometry in the Vilnius seven-color system down to V = 18 mag are presented for 242 stars in the direction of the young open cluster IC 1805 that is located in the active star-forming region W4 in the Cas OB6 association. Photometric data were used to classify stars into spectral and luminosity classes, and to determine their interstellar reddenings, extinctions and distances. We confirm the CH3OH and H2O maser VLBA parallax results that the cluster is located close to the front side of the Perseus arm, at a distance about 2.0 kpc. In the color–magnitude diagram, zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) stars of the cluster extend to spectral class A0. The extinction values for the majority of the cluster stars are between 2.2 and 2.7 mag, with a mean value of 2.46 mag. This extinction originates mainly between the Sun and the outer edge of the Local arm, in accordance with the distribution of CO clouds. In the Perseus arm and beyond, the extinction was investigated using the classification and reddening determination for A0–F0 stars measured in the r, i ,H α system of the IPHAS survey to r = 19 mag. The extinction AV within the Perseus arm ranges from 2.5–4.5 mag at the front edge to 3.0–5.0 mag at the far edge. Possibly, we have found about 20 early A-type stars located in the Outer arm. The 2MASS JHKs photometry for red giants gives much higher extinction values (up to about 6 mag), which would correspond to the stars located behind dense clouds of both arms. In the area, using the WISE, 2MASS, and IPHAS photometry data, 18 possible young stellar objects (YSOs) of low masses are identified. Six high-mass YSOs (five Ae/Be stars and a F6e star) are known from previous investigations.

Dark clouds in the vicinity of the emission nebula Sh2-205: interstellar extinction and distances

The interstellar extinction is investigated in a 1.5 deg2 area in the direction of the open cluster M29 (NGC 6913) in Cygnus, centered at R.A. = 20h 24m, decl. = +38° 30′. The study is based on photometric classification of 1110 stars in spectral and luminosity classes down to V = 19 mag using photometry in the Vilnius seven-color system published in Paper I (Milasius et al. 2013). Additionally, in the same area the extinction is investigated using 1147 red clump giants (RCGs), identified by combining selected two-color diagrams of the 2MASS and Spitzer surveys. The investigated area is divided into three parts with different obscuration and in these directions the extinction versus distance plots up to 5 kpc are presented. In the whole area a steep rise of the extinction is observed at a distance of ∼800 pc; it should be related to dust clouds in the Great Cygnus Rift obscuring the stars behind it by AV = 4.0–4.7 mag. RCGs exhibit much larger extinction values, up to = 1.2–1.3 mag in the more transparent areas and 1.45 mag in the northeastern part of the area and above it, where the dust cloud TGU H466 is located. These values of correspond to AV = 10–12 mag. We do not exclude the possibility that the largest values of the extinction belong not to RCGs but to some contaminating intrinsically red AGB stars penetrated through the applied RCG selection constraints. The extinction in the TGU H466 cloud probably originates in two cloud systems—the Great Cygnus Rift at 800 pc and the Cygnus X complex of dust and molecular clouds at 1.3–1.5 kpc.