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arXiv 0904.3496astro-ph.GAastro-ph.SR
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球状星团NGC 6397中的氦核白矮星

Helium-Core White Dwarfs in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397

R. R. Strickler, A. M. Cool, J. Anderson, H. N. Cohn, P. M. Lugger, A. M. Serenelli

摘要:

我们目前的研究结果的中心区域的NGC 6397使用哈勃太空望远镜的先进相机的调查,集中在一组24个微弱的蓝色恒星,形成一个序列平行,但比更明亮,人口更多的序列的碳氧白矮星(CO WD)。使用F625 W、F435 W和F658 N滤波器和宽场通道,我们发现这些恒星(其中18颗是新发现的)的星等和颜色与质量约为0.2-0.3 Msun的氦核白矮星(He WD)一致。它们的H-alpha-R625颜色表明它们有很强的H-alpha吸收线,这将它们与星团中的激变变星区分开来。He WDs的径向分布比CO WDs或关闭星更集中于星团中心,并且最接近于星团的蓝色离散星。二元伴星需要解释隐含的动力学质量。我们表明,同伴不能主序星,最有可能是重CO WD。如果在星团半质量半径范围内的主序星中,有1-5%的恒星在到达转折点时有轨道周期在1-20天范围内的白矮星伴星,那么就可以理解观测到的He WD的数量和光度质量。与CO WD序列不同,He WD序列在R625 ~ 24.5处结束,远高于观测的震级极限。我们探讨了这一发现的意义,在厚与薄氢包层模型的背景下,并比较我们的结果与现有的理论预测。此外,我们发现强有力的证据表明,NGC 6397中绝大多数的CO WD下降到Teff ~ 10,000 K是DA类。最后,我们使用CO WD序列测量到2.34 +- 0.13 kpc的集群的距离。

英文摘要:

We present results of a study of the central regions of NGC 6397 using Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys, focusing on a group of 24 faint blue stars that form a sequence parallel to, but brighter than, the more populated sequence of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs (CO WDs). Using F625W, F435W, and F658N filters with the Wide Field Channel we show that these stars, 18 of which are newly discovered, have magnitudes and colors consistent with those of helium-core white dwarfs (He WDs) with masses ~ 0.2-0.3 Msun. Their H-alpha--R625 colors indicate that they have strong H-alpha absorption lines, which distinguishes them from cataclysmic variables in the cluster. The radial distribution of the He WDs is significantly more concentrated to the cluster center than that of either the CO WDs or the turnoff stars and most closely resembles that of the cluster's blue stragglers. Binary companions are required to explain the implied dynamical masses. We show that the companions cannot be main-sequence stars and are most likely heavy CO WDs. The number and photometric masses of the observed He WDs can be understood if ~1-5% of the main-sequence stars within the half-mass radius of the cluster have white dwarf companions with orbital periods in the range ~1-20 days at the time they reach the turnoff. In contrast to the CO WD sequence, the He WD sequence comes to an end at R625 ~ 24.5, well above the magnitude limit of the observations. We explore the significance of this finding in the context of thick vs. thin hydrogen envelope models and compare our results to existing theoretical predictions. In addition, we find strong evidence that the vast majority of the CO WDs in NGC 6397 down to Teff ~ 10,000 K are of the DA class. Finally, we use the CO WD sequence to measure a distance to the cluster of 2.34 +- 0.13 kpc.

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