scholarly journals Stellar Luminosity and Mass Functions of Globular Clusters

1996 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giampaolo Piotto ◽  
Adrienne M. Cool ◽  
Ivan R. King

HST makes it possible for the first time to study nearly the entire mass range of globular-cluster main sequences, from the turnoff down almost to the theoretical limit for hydrogen ignition. We present main-sequence luminosity functions (LFs) for four clusters that include stars with M < 0.15M⊙ in all cases. We compare these and other LFs that have been obtained with HST for a total of five globulars to date. Two of the three clusters in the sample that have similar metallicities have nearly identical LFs, while the third is relatively deficient in low mass stars. Possible implications of this finding are briefly discussed. Inferred mass functions vary significantly depending on the mass-luminosity relations that are adopted.

1975 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 151-157
Author(s):  
G. Illingworth

Dynamical masses have been determined for 10 globular clusters. Comparison of the dynamically determined M/L values with those calculated from extrapolations of the observed upper main sequence/giant branch luminosity functions for M3 and M5 indicate that low mass stars (∼0.2 M⊙) comprise a large fraction of the total number.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (S316) ◽  
pp. 328-333
Author(s):  
W. Chantereau ◽  
C. Charbonnel ◽  
G. Meynet

AbstractOur knowledge of the formation and early evolution of globular clusters (GCs) has been totally shaken with the discovery of the peculiar chemical properties of their long-lived host stars. Therefore, the interpretation of the observed Colour Magnitude Diagrams (CMD) and of the properties of the GC stellar populations requires the use of new stellar models computed with relevant chemical compositions. In this paper we use the grid of evolution models for low-mass stars computed by Chantereau et al. (2015) with the initial compositions of second-generation stars as predicted by the fast rotating massive stars scenario to build synthesis models of GCs. We discuss the implications of the assumed initial chemical distribution on 13 Gyr isochrones. We build population synthesis models to predict the fraction of stars born with various helium abundances in present day globular clusters (assuming an age of 13 Gyr). With the current assumptions, 61 % of stars on the main sequence are predicted to be born with a helium abundance in mass fraction, Yini, smaller than 0.3 and only 11 % have a Yini larger than 0.4. Along the horizontal branch, the fraction of stars with Yini inferior to 0.3 is similar to that obtained along the main sequence band (63 %), while the fraction of very He-enriched stars is significantly decreased (only 3 % with Yini larger than 0.38).


1984 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 123-138
Author(s):  
R.D. Cannon

This review will attempt to do two things: (i) discuss some of the data which are available for testing the theory of evolution of low mass stars, and (ii) point out some problem areas where observations and theory do not seem to agree very well. This is of course too vast a field of research to be covered in one brief review, so I shall concentrate on one particular aspect, namely the study of star clusters and especially their colour-magnitude (CM) diagrams. Star clusters provide large samples of stars at the same distance and with the same age, and the CM diagram gives the easiest way of comparing theoretical predictions with observations, although crucial evidence is also provided by spectroscopic abundance analyses and studies of variable stars. Since this is primarily a review of observational data it is natural to divide it into two parts: (i) galactic globular clusters, and (ii) old and intermediate-age open clusters. Some additional evidence comes from Local Group galaxies, especially now that CM diagrams which reach the old main sequence are becoming available. For each class of cluster I shall consider successive stages of evolution from the main sequence, up the hydrogen-burning red giant branch, and through the helium-burning giant phase.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-136
Author(s):  
Hans Zinnecker

Abstract Diffraction limited near-infrared H-band (1.6 μm) NICMOS HST images are scheduled to be obtained in mid-October 1997 of the young cluster NGC 2070 (age 3.5 Myr) in the 30 Dor giant HII region in the LMC. The aim is to search for the low-mass (M < 2 Mʘ) low-luminosity, red pre-Main Sequence stellar population and to establish the H-band infrared luminosity function. With the NICMOS we can now determine whether the IMF in this prototypical extragalactic starburst cluster is deficient in subsolar low-mass stars or not. The best ground-based data can sample only M > 2 Mʘ. In principle, NICMOS in the H-band (F160W) is sensitive enough to reach a magnitude of ~ 23.5 in a relatively short integration time, which indeed corresponds to the fantastic possibility to detect young stellar objects with masses near the hydrogen burning limit (M=0.1 Mʘ) according to pre-Main Sequence evolutionary models. Even if we could reach only H = 22.5 (i.e. M=0.4 Mʘ), our observations will still go a long way in directly answering, by star counts, whether the IMF in starburst galaxies is low-mass deficient or not, with all the corresponding far-reaching implications. The observations would also tell us whether the 30 Dor cluster can be regarded as a prototype young globular cluster. This possibility would be ruled out, if we found NGC 2070 to be low-mass deficient, because old globular clusters do have a rich population of low-mass stars.


2019 ◽  
Vol 485 (4) ◽  
pp. 5752-5760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruggero de Vita ◽  
Michele Trenti ◽  
Morgan MacLeod

Abstract The level of mass segregation in the core of globular clusters has been previously proposed as a potential indicator of the dynamical constituents of the system, such as presence of a significant population of stellar-mass black holes (BHs), or even a central intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). However, its measurement is limited to clusters with high-quality Hubble Space Telescope data. Thanks to a set of state-of-the-art direct N-body simulations with up to 200k particles inclusive of stellar evolution, primordial binaries, and varying BH/neutron stars, we highlight for the first time the existence of a clear and tight linear relation between the degree of mass segregation and the cluster structural concentration index. The latter is defined as the ratio of the radii containing 5 per cent and 50 per cent of the integrated light (R5/R50), making it robustly measurable without the need to individually resolve low-mass stars. Our simulations indicate that given R5/R50, the mass segregation Δm (defined as the difference in main-sequence median mass between centre and half-light radius) is expressed as Δm/M⊙ = −1.166R5/R50 + 0.3246, with a root-mean-square error of 0.0148. In addition, we can explain its physical origin and the values of the fitted parameters through basic analytical modelling. Such correlation is remarkably robust against a variety of initial conditions (including presence of primordial binaries and IMBHs) and cluster ages, with a slight dependence in best-fitting parameters on the prescriptions used to measure the quantities involved. Therefore, this study highlights the potential to develop a new observational tool to gain insight on the dynamical status of globular clusters and on its dark remnants.


1996 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 29-38
Author(s):  
Ivan R. King

HST observations contribute in many ways to a better understanding of the dynamical nature of globular clusters. Unprecedentedly faint photometry gives new determinations of the numbers of low-mass stars. Cluster-to-cluster differences at the faint ends of the mass functions suggest differences in dynamical evolution. Mass segregation is clearly observed, from the envelope inward to the dense cluster center. The distribution of stars in the hitherto unresolved cores gives new data with which to test theories of core collapse, and these core profiles are also sensitive to the number of unseen remnant stars and binaries at the cluster center.


2018 ◽  
Vol 614 ◽  
pp. A43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Dib ◽  
Shantanu Basu

We investigate the dependence of a single-generation galactic mass function (SGMF) on variations in the initial stellar mass functions (IMF) of stellar clusters. We show that cluster-to-cluster variations of the IMF lead to a multi-component SGMF where each component in a given mass range can be described by a distinct power-law function. We also show that a dispersion of ≈0.3 M⊙ in the characteristic mass of the IMF, as observed for young Galactic clusters, leads to a low-mass slope of the SGMF that matches the observed Galactic stellar mass function even when the IMFs in the low-mass end of individual clusters are much steeper.


2019 ◽  
Vol 624 ◽  
pp. A137 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Haemmerlé ◽  
P. Eggenberger ◽  
S. Ekström ◽  
C. Georgy ◽  
G. Meynet ◽  
...  

Grids of stellar models are useful tools to derive the properties of stellar clusters, in particular young clusters hosting massive stars, and to provide information on the star formation process in various mass ranges. Because of their short evolutionary timescale, massive stars end their life while their low-mass siblings are still on the pre-main sequence (pre-MS) phase. Thus the study of young clusters requires consistent consideration of all the phases of stellar evolution. But despite the large number of grids that are available in the literature, a grid accounting for the evolution from the pre-MS accretion phase to the post-MS phase in the whole stellar mass range is still lacking. We build a grid of stellar models at solar metallicity with masses from 0.8 M⊙ to 120 M⊙, including pre-MS phase with accretion. We use the GENEC code to run stellar models on this mass range. The accretion law is chosen to match the observations of pre-MS objects on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We describe the evolutionary tracks and isochrones of our models. The grid is connected to previous MS and post-MS grids computed with the same numerical method and physical assumptions, which provides the widest grid in mass and age to date.


1991 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
pp. 207-208
Author(s):  
Myung Gyoon Lee

Using U BV CCD photometry, the stellar content of HII regions and young star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds has been studied: (1) the reddenings have been determined, and ages of OB associations and young star clusters have been measured; (2) the stellar initial mass functions have been determined by using the main-sequence luminosity functions; and (3) U BV CCD surface photometry of nine young star clusters has been obtained and their structural properties investigated.


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