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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

UPMASK: unsupervised photometric membership assignment in stellar clusters

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Author(s):
Krone-Martins, A. [1] ; Moitinho, A. [1]
Total Authors: 2
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Lisbon, SIM Fac Ciencias, P-1749016 Lisbon - Portugal
Total Affiliations: 1
Document type: Journal article
Source: Astronomy & Astrophysics; v. 561, JAN 2014.
Web of Science Citations: 20
Abstract

Aims. We develop a method for membership assignment in stellar clusters using only photometry and positions. The method is aimed to be unsupervised, data driven, model free, and to rely on as few assumptions as possible. Methods. The approach followed in this work for membership assessment is based on an iterative process, principal component analysis, clustering algorithm, and kernel density estimations. The method, UPMASK, is able to take into account arbitrary error models. An implementation in R was tested on simulated clusters that covered a broad range of ages, masses, distances, reddenings, and also on real data of cluster fields. Results. Running UPMASK on simulations showed that the method effectively separates cluster and field populations. The overall spatial structure and distribution of cluster member stars in the colour-magnitude diagram were recovered under a broad variety of conditions. For a set of 360 simulations, the resulting true positive rates (a measurement of purity) and member recovery rates (a measurement of completeness) at the 90% membership probability level reached high values for a range of open cluster ages (10(7.1)-10(9.5) yr), initial masses (0.5-10 x 10(3) M-circle dot) and heliocentric distances (0.5-4.0 kpc). UPMASK was also tested on real data from the fields of open cluster Haffner 16 and of the closely projected clusters Haffner 10 and Czernik 29. These tests showed that even for moderate variable extinction and cluster superposition, the method yielded useful cluster membership probabilities and provided some insight into their stellar contents. The UPMASK implementation will be available at the CRAN archive. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 09/54006-4 - A computer cluster for the Astronomy Department of the University of São Paulo Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences and for the Cruzeiro do Sul University Astrophysics Center
Grantee:Elisabete Maria de Gouveia Dal Pino
Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program