First, second, and third massive stars in open clusters

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to study possibilities of using first, second, and third massive stars in open clusters to estimate total cluster mass and membership. We built estimator functions with the use of numerical simulations and analytical approximations and studied the precision and error distribution of the obtained estimator functions. We found that the distribution of the mass of first, second, and third massive stars shows strong power-law tails at the high-mass end; thus, it is better to use median or mode values instead of average ones. We show that the third massive star is a much better estimator than the first as it is more precise and less dependent on parameters such as maximum allowed stellar mass. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.