2004/08/11 by A. Koch, Andreas Koch, E. K. Grebel +4 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/425046
14 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal
arxiv created 2004/08/11 · openalex publication_date 2004/11/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We present the stellar main-sequence luminosity function (LF) of the disrupted, low-mass, low-concentration globular cluster Palomar 5 and its well-defined tidal tails, which emanate from the cluster as a result of its tidal interaction with the Milky Way. The results of our deep ( B ∼ 24.5) wide-field photometry unequivocally indicate that preferentially fainter stars were removed from the cluster so that the LF of the cluster's main body exhibits a significant degree of flattening compared with other globular clusters. There is clear evidence of mass segregation, which is reflected in a radial variation of the LFs. The LF of the tidal tails is distinctly enhanced with faint, low-mass stars. Pal 5 exhibits a binary main sequence, and we estimate a photometric binary frequency of roughly 10%. The binaries also show evidence of mass segregation, with more massive binary systems being more strongly concentrated toward the cluster center.