Orbits and vertical height distribution of 4006 open clusters in the Galactic disk using Gaia DR3

Abstract

Open clusters (OCs) in the Galaxy are excellent probes for tracing the structure and evolution of the Galactic disk. We present an updated catalog of the fundamental and kinematic parameters for 1145 OCs, estimated using the data from Gaia DR3 earlier listed in Cantat-Gaudin et al. (2020). This sample is complemented by 3677 OCs with astrometric solution from the catalog by Hunt & Reffert (2023). Using the Galaxy potential and the space velocities, orbits of 4006 OCs were computed, and we provide a catalog with orbital parameters such as eccentricity, perigalactic and apogalactic distance, and the maximum vertical height traced by OCs from the Galactic disk. The OCs in the sample are found to be distributed between 5 and 16 kpc from the Galactic center, with older OCs showing a radially extended distribution. The low number of old OCs in the inner region of the Solar circle will likely suggest their destruction in this area. Using the orbital estimations, we explored the maximum vertical height (\(Z_{\max }\)) OCs can reach. We derive a quantitative expression for the dependency of \(Z_{\max }\) with the cluster’s age and Galactocentric radius for the first time. The young (age < 50 Myr) and the intermediate age (50 Myr < age < 1 Gyr) OCs show similar values of \(Z_{\max }\) till 9 kpc, with the latter group higher values beyond. OCs older than 1 Gyr show larger values of \(Z_{\max }\) at all Galactocentric radii and significantly larger values beyond 9 kpc. Higher values of \(Z_{\max }\) are found in the third Galactic quadrant, suggesting the link between the higher values and the Galactic warp. This large sample shows that young OCs are also involved in the diagonal ridge formation in the solar neighborhood.