1,720,992 research outputs found
The Small Blue Straggler Star Population in the Dense Galactic Globular Cluster NGC 6752
No full textWe used high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST)-WFPC2 and wide-field ground-based observations to construct a catalog of blue straggler stars (BSSs) that spans the entire radial extent of the globular cluster NGC 6752. The BSS sample is the most extensive ever obtained for this cluster. Although NGC 6752 is a high-density cluster with a large binary population, we found that its BSS content is surprisingly low: the specific number of BSSs is among the lowest ever measured in a cluster. The BSS distribution is highly peaked in the cluster center, shows a rapid decrease at intermediate radii, and rises again at larger distances. This distribution closely resembles those observed in M3 and 47 Tuc by Ferraro and coworkers. To date, BSS surveys covering the central regions with HST and the outer regions with wide-field CCD ground-based observations have been performed for only these three clusters. Despite the different dynamical properties, a bimodal radial distribution has been found in each. A detailed comparison of observed BSS luminosity and temperature distributions with theoretical models reveals a population of luminous, hot BSSs that is not easily interpreted
Multiwavelength Photometry in the Globular Cluster M2
Full text linkWe present a multiwavelength photometric analysis of the globular cluster M2. The data set has been obtained by combining high-resolution (Hubble Space Telescope/WFPC2 and ACS) and wide-field (Galaxy Evolution Explorer) space observations and ground-based (MEGACAM-CFHT, EMMI-NTT) images. The photometric sample covers the entire cluster extension from the very central regions up to the tidal radius and beyond. It allows an accurate determination of the cluster center of gravity and other structural parameters derived from the star count density profile. Moreover, we study the Blue Straggler Star (BSS) population and its radial distribution. A total of 123 BSSs have been selected, and their radial distribution has been found to be bimodal (highly peaked in the center, decreasing at intermediate radii, and rising outward), as already found in a number of other clusters. The radial position of the minimum of the BSS distribution is consistent with the radius of avoidance caused by the dynamical friction of massive (1.2 M sun) objects over the cluster age. We also searched for gradients in the red giant branch (RGB) and the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) populations. At the 2σ level, we found an overabundance of AGB stars within the core radius and confirmed the result of Sohn et al. that the central region of M2 is bluer than the outer part. We show that the latter is due to a deficit of very luminous RGB stars in the central region
The Surface Density Profile of NGC 6388: A Good Candidate for Harboring an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole
No full textWe have used a combination of HST high-resolution and ground-based wide-field observations of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6388 to derive its center of gravity, projected density profile, and central surface brightness profile. While the overall projected profiles are well fit by a King model with an intermediate concentration (c=1.8) and a sizable core radius (rc = 7.2"), a significant power-law (with slope ?=-0.2) deviation from flat-core behavior has been detected within the inner 1". These properties suggest the presence of a central intermediate-mass black hole. The observed profiles are well reproduced by a multimass isotropic, spherical model, including a black hole with a mass of ~5.7 × 103 Msolar
The Pure Noncollisional Blue Straggler Population in the Giant Stellar System omega Centauri
No full textWe have used high spatial resolution data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and wide-field ground-based observations to search for blue straggler stars (BSSs) over the entire radial extent of the large stellar system omega Centauri. We have detected the largest population of BSSs ever observed in any stellar system. Even though the sample is restricted to the brightest portion of the BSS sequence, more than 300 candidates have been identified. BSSs are thought to be produced by the evolution of binary systems (formed either by stellar collisions or mass exchange in binary stars). Since systems like Galactic globular clusters (GGCs) and omega Cen evolve dynamically on timescales significantly shorter than their ages, binaries should have settled toward the center, showing a more concentrated radial distribution than the ordinary, less massive single stars. Indeed, in all GGCs that have been surveyed for BSSs, the BSS distribution is peaked at the center. Conversely, in omega Cen we find that the BSSs share the same radial distribution as the adopted reference populations. This is the cleanest evidence ever found that such a stellar system is not fully relaxed even in the central region. We further argue that the absence of central concentration in the BSS distribution rules out a collisional origin. Thus, the omega Cen BSSs are the purest and largest population of noncollisional BSSs ever observed. Our results allow the first empirical quantitative estimate of the production rate of BSSs via this channel. BSSs in omega Cen may represent the best local template for modeling the BSS populations in distant galaxies where they cannot be individually observed
The Surprising External Upturn of the Blue Straggler Radial Distribution in M55
No full textBy combining high-resolution HST and wide-field ground-based observations in ultraviolet and optical bands, we study the blue straggler star (BSS) population of the low-density galactic globular cluster M55 (NGC 6809) over its entire radial extent. The BSS projected radial distribution is found to be bimodal, with a central peak, a broad minimum at intermediate radii, and an upturn at large radii. Similar bimodal distributions have been found in other globular clusters (M3, 47 Tucanae, NGC 6752, and M5), but the external upturn in M55 is the largest found to date. This might indicate a large fraction of primordial binaries in the outer regions of M55, which seems somehow in contrast with the relatively low (~10%) binary fraction recently measured in the core of this cluster
Another Nonsegregated Blue Straggler Population in a Globular Cluster: the Case of NGC 2419
Full text linkWe have used a combination of ACS HST high-resolution and wide-field Subaru data in order to study the blue straggler star (BSS) population over the entire extension of the remote Galactic globular cluster NGC 2419. The BSS population presented here is among the largest ever observed in any stellar system, with more than 230 BSSs in the brightest portion of the sequence. The radial distribution of the selected BSSs is essentially the same as that of the other cluster stars. In this sense the BSS radial distribution is similar to that of ω Centauri and unlike that of all Galactic globular clusters studied to date, which have highly centrally segregated distributions and, in most cases, a pronounced upturn in the external regions. As in the case of ω Centauri, this evidence indicates that NGC 2419 is not yet relaxed even in the central regions. This observational fact is in agreement with estimated half-mass relaxation time, which is of the order of the cluster age
The blue straggler population of the globular cluster M5
No full textBy combining high-resolution HST and wide-field ground-based observations, in ultraviolet and optical bands, we study the blue straggler star (BSS) population of the galactic globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904) from its very central regions up to its periphery. The BSS distribution is highly peaked in the cluster center, decreases at intermediate radii and rises again outward. Such a bimodal distribution is similar to those previously observed in other globular clusters (M3, 47 Tucanae, NGC 6752). As for these clusters, dynamical simulations suggest that, while the majority of BSSs in M5 could be originated by stellar collisions, a significant fraction (20%-40%) of BSSs generated by mass transfer processes in primordial binaries is required to reproduce the observed radial distribution. A candidate BSS has been detected beyond the cluster tidal radius. If confirmed, this could represent an interesting case of an ``evaporating'' BSS
Blue Straggler Stars in the Unusual Globular Cluster NGC 6388
Full text linkWe have used multiband high-resolution HST WFPC2 and ACS observations combined with wide-field ground-based observations to study the blue straggler star (BSS) population in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6388. As in several other clusters we have studied, the BSS distribution is found to be bimodal: highly peaked in the cluster center, rapidly decreasing at intermediate radii, and rising again at larger radii. In other clusters the sparsely populated intermediate-radius region (or ``zone of avoidance'') corresponds well to that part of the cluster where dynamical friction would have caused the more massive BSSs or their binary progenitors to settle to the cluster center. Instead, in NGC 6388, BSSs still populate a region that should have been cleaned out by dynamical friction effects, thus suggesting that dynamical friction is somehow less efficient than expected. As a by-product of these observations, the peculiar morphology of the horizontal branch (HB) is also confirmed. In particular, within the (very extended) blue portion of the HB we are able to clearly characterize three subpopulations: ordinary blue HB stars, extreme HB stars, and blue hook stars. Each of these populations has a radial distribution which is indistinguishable from normal cluster stars.
Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. Also based on Wide Field Imager observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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