No Arabic abstract
We have surveyed the blue straggler star population of the Galactic globular cluster M5 using high-resolution images of the core along with wide-field ground-based images reaching to more than 19 core radii. To gauge M5s relative efficiency of producing stragglers, we compared our sample to five studies of other globular clusters (mainly Ferraro et al. 1997b; Ferraro et al 2003; and Piotto et al. 2004). Using a bright sample selected in the same way as Ferraro et al. 1997b, we found a bimodal radial distribution similar to those found in three other luminous clusters. When the radial distributions for different clusters are scaled using the core radius, there is good cluster-to-cluster agreement in the size of the core straggler sample and the center of the zone of avoidance. However, M5 has the smallest fraction of stragglers in the zone of avoidance of any of the clusters measured to date, and its zone of avoidance appears to be wider (in r / r_c) than that of M3, which has a very similar surface brightness profile. Both of these facts indicate that M5s straggler population has dynamically evolved to a larger extent than M3. Using an ultraviolet sample from Hubble Space Telescope selected in the same way as Ferraro et al. 2003 and Ferraro et al. 2004, we find that the frequency of blue stragglers in M5 is lower than all but two of the clusters examined. We also identified seven bright blue stragglers that were previously misidentified as HB stars by Sandquist et al. (2004). These bright stragglers are most likely the result of stellar collisions involving binary stars.
By combining high-resolution HST and wide-field ground based observations, in ultraviolet and optical bands, we study the Blue Stragglers 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, 47Tucanae, NGC6752). As for these clusters, dynamical simulations suggest that, while the majority of BSS in M5 could be originated by stellar collisions, a significant fraction (20-40%) of BSS 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.
By combining high-resolution (HST-WFPC2) and wide-field ground based (2.2m ESO-WFI) and space (GALEX) observations, we have collected a multi-wavelength photometric data base (ranging from the far UV to the near infrared) of the galactic globular cluster NGC1904 (M79). The sample covers the entire cluster extension, from the very central regions up to the tidal radius. In the present paper such a data set is used to study the BSS population and its radial distribution. A total number of 39 bright ($m_{218}le 19.5$) BSS has been detected, and they have been found to be highly segregated in the cluster core. No significant upturn in the BSS frequency has been observed in the outskirts of NGC 1904, in contrast to other clusters (M 3, 47 Tuc, NGC 6752, M 5) studied with the same technique. Such evidences, coupled with the large radius of avoidance estimated for NGC 1904 ($r_{avoid}sim 30$ core radii), indicate that the vast majority of the cluster heavy stars (binaries) has already sunk to the core. Accordingly, extensive dynamical simulations suggest that BSS formed by mass transfer activity in primordial binaries evolving in isolation in the cluster outskirts represent only a negligible (0--10%) fraction of the overall population.
We have used high resolution WFPC2-HST and wide field ground-based observations to construct a catalog of blue straggler stars (BSS) which spans the entire radial extent of the globular cluster NGC 6752. The BSS sample is the most extensive ever obtained for this cluster. Though 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 BSS 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 finally rises again at larger distances. This distribution closely resembles those observed in M3 and 47Tuc by Ferraro et al. (1993), Ferraro et al. (2003c). 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 BSS which is not easily interpreted.
We 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 BSS in the brightest portion of the sequence. The radial distribution of the selected BSS is essentially the same as that of the other cluster stars. In this sense the BSS radial distribution is similar to that of omega 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 omega 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.
Blue Straggler Stars (BSSs) are observed in Galactic globular clusters and old open clusters. The radial distribution of BSSs has been used to diagnose the dynamical evolution of globular clusters. For the first time, with a reliable sample of BSSs identified with Gaia DR2, we conduct such an analysis for an open cluster. We identify members, including BSSs, of the oldest known Galactic open cluster Berkeley 17 with the Gaia DR2 proper motions and parallaxes. We study the radial distribution of the BSS population to understand the dynamical evolution of the cluster. We select cluster members to populate the colour magnitude diagram in the Gaia filters. Cluster parameters are derived using the brightest members. The BSSs and giant branch stars are identified, and their radial distributions are compared. The segregation of BSSs is also evaluated with respect to the giant branch stars using the Minimum Spanning Tree analysis. We determine Berkeley 17 to be at $3138.6^{+285.5}_{-352.9}$ pc. We find 23 BSS cluster members, only two of which were previously identified. We find a bimodal radial distribution of BSSs supported by findings from the MST method. The bimodal radial distribution of BSSs in Berkeley 17 indicates that they have just started to sink towards the cluster center, placing Berkeley 17 with globular clusters of intermediate dynamical age. This is the first such determination for an open cluster.