The Luminosity Function of the Globular Cluster NGC 6397 near the Limit of Hydrogen Burning
Open Access
- 1 January 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astrophysical Journal
- Vol. 492 (1) , L37-L40
- https://doi.org/10.1086/311082
Abstract
Second-epoch Hubble Space Telescope observations of NGC 6397 have led to the measurement of proper motions accurate enough to separate the faintest cluster stars from the field, thus extending the luminosity function of this globular cluster far enough to approach the limit of hydrogen burning on the main sequence. We isolate a sample of 1385 main-sequence stars, from just below the turnoff down to I = 24.5 (MI 12.5), which corresponds to a mass of less than 0.1 m☉ for the metallicity of this cluster. Below I = 22 (MI 10), the main-sequence luminosity function drops rapidly, in a manner similar to that predicted by theoretical models of low-mass stars near the hydrogen-burning limit.Keywords
All Related Versions
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Comparison of Deep HST Luminosity Functions of Four Globular ClustersThe Astronomical Journal, 1997
- The Main Sequence and a White Dwarf Sequence in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397The Astrophysical Journal, 1996
- Mass Segregation in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397The Astrophysical Journal, 1995
- Very low mass stars and white dwarfs in NGC 6397The Astrophysical Journal, 1995
- Luminosity Functions and the Mass FunctionPublished by Springer Nature ,1995
- An expanded set of brown dwarf and very low mass star modelsThe Astrophysical Journal, 1993
- Space velocities of 14 globular clustersThe Astronomical Journal, 1993