Dynamics of the Young Binary LMC Cluster NGC 1850

In this paper we have examined the age and internal dynamics of the young binary LMC cluster NGC 1850 using BV CCD images and echelle spectra of 52 supergiants. Isochrone fits to a BV color-magnitude diagram revealed that the primary cluster has an age of $\tau = 90 \pm 30$ Myr while the secondary member has $\tau = 6 \pm 5$ Myr. BV surface brightness profiles were constructed out to R $>$ 40 pc, and single-component King-Michie (KM) models were applied. The total cluster luminosity varied from L$_B$ = 2.60 - 2.65 $\times 10^6$ L$_B$\sol\ and L$_V$ = 1.25 - 1.35 $\times 10^6$ as the anisotropy radius varied from infinity to three times the scale radius with the isotropic models providing the best agreement with the data. Of the 52 stars with echelle spectra, a subset of 36 were used to study the cluster dynamics. The KM radial velocity distributions were fitted to these velocities yielding total cluster masses of 5.4 - 5.9 $\pm 2.4 \times 10^4$ M\sol\ corresponding to M/L$_B$ = 0.02 $\pm 0.01$ M\sol/L$_B$\sol\ or M/L$_V$ = 0.05 $\pm 0.02$ M\sol/L$_V$\sol. A rotational signal in the radial velocities has been detected at the 93\% confidence level implying a rotation axis at a position angle of 100\deg. A variety of rotating models were fit to the velocity data assuming cluster ellipticities of $\epsilon = 0.1 - 0.3$. These models provided slightly better agreement with the radial velocity data than the KM models and had masses that were systematically lower by a few percent. The preferred value for the slope of a power-law IMF is a relatively shallow, x = 0.29 \pmm{+0.3}{-0.8} assuming the B-band M/L or x = 0.71 \pmm{+0.2}{-0.4} for the V-band.Comment: 41 pages (figures available via anonymous FTP as described below

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Variable Stars in Globular Clusters - IV. Fields 104A-E in 47 Tuc

Five fields located close to the center of the globular cluster NGC 104=47 Tuc were surveyed in a search for variable stars. We present V-band light curves for 42 variables. This sample includes 13 RR Lyr stars -- 12 of them belong to the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and 1 is a background object from the galactic halo. Twelve eclipsing binaries were identified -- 9 contact systems and 3 detached/semi-detached systems. Seven eclipsing binaries are located in the blue straggler region on the cluster color-magnitude diagram (CMD) and four binaries can be considered main-sequence systems. One binary is probably a member of the SMC. Eight contact binaries are likely members of the cluster and one is most probably a foreground star. We show that for the surveyed region of 47 Tuc, the relative frequency of contact binaries is very low as compared with other recently surveyed globular clusters. The sample of identified variables also includes 15 red variables with periods ranging from about 2 days to several weeks. A large fraction of these 15 variables probably belong to the SMC but a few stars are likely to be red giants in 47 Tuc. VI photometry for about 50 000 stars from the cluster fields was obtained as a by product of our survey.Comment: Latex file, l-aa style, 10 pages, 7 ps figures included. Submitted to A&A. Figure 8 available from ftp://sirius.astrouw.edu.pl/pub/jka/47Tuc/fig8.ps.