Characterization of B-type stars in four young Galactic open clusters ─ I. Stellar content and binary properties

Multiplicity among massive stars represents a major uncertainty in stellar evolution theory, because the extra physical processes that it introduces significantly impact each star's structure. While multiplicity of O-type stars is fairly well constrained, for B-type stars it is not. B-type stars are more common and have longer lifetimes, thus providing an opportunity to characterize multiplicity at different ages. Moreover, young open clusters are advantageous for studying coeval and chemically homogeneous environments. Using a multi-epoch spectroscopic campaign with the High Efficiency and Resolution Mercator Echelle Spectrograph, we determine multiplicity properties and rotation rates of 74 B-type stars in 4 Galactic open clusters: h and χ Persei, NGC 457, NGC 581, and NGC 1960. We measure radial velocities with a cross-correlation method and determine tentative orbital solutions for 26 of the 28 identified binaries. We detect several Be stars, five of them being members of binary systems. We correct the observed binary fractions for observational biases and determine an average intrinsic binary fraction of 79+19−16 per cent. The consistency in binary fraction among the four clusters, which are between 15 and 30 Myr, suggests a reasonably homogeneous binary fraction across this age range. We used TLUSTY atmosphere models to determine the projected rotational velocities, with an average value of 240 km s−1 for both single and binary systems. Whereas, the Be stars show higher velocities between 200 and 360 km s−1.