The stellar content of the open clusters Tombaugh 1 and Ruprecht 46

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Abstract
V and I CCD photometry has been carried out for two poorly known open clusters: Tombaugh 1 an Ruprecht 46. Photometry has also been obtained for nearby fields to correct for the effects of field star contamination. Estimates of the cluster fundamental parameters (reddening, distance and age) are given for Tombaugh 1 from comparison with theoretical isochrones of the Padova group. We find that this is an intermediate-age open cluster about 1 Gyr old, and probably of solar abundance. The colour excess E(B – V) and the apparent distance modulus (m – M) are about 0.40±0.05 and 13.60±0.20 mag, respectively. These results improve on previous determinations of the distance, and put Tombaugh 1 at about 3.0 kpc from the Sun. The high degree of contamination from field stars prevents us from obtaining firmer results. We estimate the cluster radius to be about 4.0 arcmin. As for the luminosity function (LF), there is satisfactory agreement with that derived from the standard Salpeter (x = 1.35) initial mass function (IMF), allowing for the uncertainties in the subtraction of field stars. Ruprecht 46 was poorly studied before. From our analysis it emerges that this object is not an open cluster, but simply a density fluctuation above the background level.

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