Radial Velocities, Binarity, and Kinematic Membership in the Open Cluster NGC 2516

Abstract

We present echelle spectroscopic observations for 36 bright (V < 9.6) stars in the open cluster NGC 2516, including several blue straggler candidates and four red giants. Radial velocities are derived by cross-correlations using high signal-to-noise ratio standard spectra as templates. From 22 cluster members a mean cluster velocity of +22.0 ± 0.2 km s-1 was derived. Membership probabilities of the observed stars are computed on the basis of their distance to the cluster center and kinematic criteria. We report the discovery of three double-lined spectroscopic binaries and several probable binaries among main-sequence stars. A binary frequency of more than 26% is found among the high-mass main-sequence stars. The blue straggler HD 66341 is a slowly rotating cluster member with constant velocity, while HD 66194 is a fast-rotating Be star with probable variations in radial velocity. Other blue straggler candidates, such as HD 65663, 65950, 66066, and 65987, must be considered turnoff stars.