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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astronomical Journal

Differential Reddening and Extinction Law Analyses of Galactic Open Clusters

  • Xiaohan Chen1,2
  • Shu Wang1,2
  • Xiaodian Chen1,2,3
  1. 1Chinese Academy of Sciences
  2. 2University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
  3. 3Beijing Normal University
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Abstract

Extinction significantly affects open cluster (OC) parameters and their use in studies of Galactic structure, yet homogeneous large-sample measurements of OC extinction properties remain limited. Using Gaia-era OC member samples combined with multiband photometry and stellar parameters, we derive color excesses of member stars and provide the homogeneous characterization of the mean reddening, differential reddening, and color excess ratio (CER) at the cluster scale. Differential reddening increases systematically with mean reddening, with highly reddened clusters near the Galactic plane showing stronger extinction variations. Star-by-star reddening corrections narrow color–magnitude diagram (CMD) sequences in 369 of 435 clusters (85%) with reliable CMD width measurements, and cluster color excess maps reveal small-scale extinction structures. The median CER is compatible with the standard diffuse interstellar medium extinction curve, while the broad CER distribution and its large-scale variations across the Galactic disk likely reflect differences in the dominant dust environments sampled along different Galactic sight lines.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{chen2026differential,
  title = {{Differential Reddening and Extinction Law Analyses of Galactic Open Clusters}},
  author = {Xiaohan Chen and Shu Wang and Xiaodian Chen},
  journal = {The Astronomical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-3881/ae9a8a},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ae9a8a},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Differential Reddening and Extinction Law Analyses of Galactic Open Clusters
AU  - Xiaohan Chen
AU  - Shu Wang
AU  - Xiaodian Chen
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
JO  - The Astronomical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-3881/ae9a8a
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ae9a8a
AB  - Extinction significantly affects open cluster (OC) parameters and their use in studies of Galactic structure, yet homogeneous large-sample measurements of OC extinction properties remain limited. Using Gaia-era OC member samples combined with multiband photometry and stellar parameters, we derive color excesses of member stars and provide the homogeneous characterization of the mean reddening, differential reddening, and color excess ratio (CER) at the cluster scale. Differential reddening increases systematically with mean reddening, with highly reddened clusters near the Galactic plane showing stronger extinction variations. Star-by-star reddening corrections narrow color–magnitude diagram (CMD) sequences in 369 of 435 clusters (85%) with reliable CMD width measurements, and cluster color excess maps reveal small-scale extinction structures. The median CER is compatible with the standard diffuse interstellar medium extinction curve, while the broad CER distribution and its large-scale variations across the Galactic disk likely reflect differences in the dominant dust environments sampled along different Galactic sight lines.
SN  - 0004-6256
SN  - 1538-3881
ER  -