Gaia-ESO Survey in 7 open star cluster fields

We obtain cluster parallaxes using two methods. The first one relies on the astrometric selection of a sample of bona fide members, while the other one fits the parallax distribution of a larger sample of TGAS sources. Ages and reddening values are recovered through a Bayesian analysis using the 2MASS magnitudes and three sets of standard models.

Lithium depletion boundary (LDB) ages are also determined using literature observations and the same models employed for the Bayesian analysis. For all but one cluster, parallaxes derived by us agree with those presented in Gaia Collaboration (2017A&A...601A..19G, Cat. J/A+A/601/A19), while a discrepancy is found for NGC 2516; we provide evidence supporting our own determination.

Inferred cluster ages are robust against models and are generally consistent with literature values. The systematic parallax errors inherent in the Gaia DR1 data presently limit the precision of our results. Nevertheless, we have been able to place these eight clusters onto the same age scale for the first time, with good agreement between isochronal and LDB ages where there is overlap.

Our approach appears promising and demonstrates the potential of combining Gaia and ground-based spectroscopic datasets.