A detection of the layered structure of nearby open clusters

Abstract

We applied the newly developed rose diagram overlay method to detect the layered structure of 88 nearby open clusters (≤500 pc) on the three projections after the distance correction of their member stars, based on the catalog in literature. The results show that with the rose diagram overlay method, a total of 74 clusters in our sample have a layered structure, while the remaining clusters are without a clear layered structure. We for the first time defined the layered structure parameters for the sample clusters. Meanwhile, we found that the layered circle core area (s) has a strong positive correlation with the number of cluster members, while the kernel instability index (η) has a strong negative correlation with the number of cluster members. Our study provides a novel perspective for the detection of the layered structure of open clusters.