A study of variable stars in the open cluster NGC 1582 and its surrounding field

This paper presents Charge-Coupled Device time-series photometric observations of the open cluster NGC 1582 and its surrounding field with Johnson B, V and R filters by using the Nanshan 1 m telescope administered by Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory. 19 variable stars and three variable candidates were detected in a 45′ × 48.75′ field around the cluster. 12 of the variable stars are newly-discovered variable objects. The physical properties, classifications and memberships of these 22 objects are studied through their light curves, their positions on the color-magnitude diagram and with archival data from the Naval Observatory Merged Astrometric Dataset. Among these objects, five are eclipsing binary systems, six are pulsating variable stars including one known δ Scuti star and one newly-discovered RR Lyrae star. The distance to the RR Lyrae star is estimated to be 7.9 ± 0.3 kpc, indicating that the star is located far behind the cluster. Four variable stars are probable members of the cluster, and 13 of the 22 objects are confirmed to be field stars. (paper)