2009/05/22 by J. M. Diederik Kruijssen, Simon F. Portegies Zwart · 50 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Cluster (spacecraft) #Globular cluster #Initial mass function #Luminosity #Luminosity function #Mass segregation #Mass-to-light ratio #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/698/2/l158
published in The Astrophysical Journal 698(2), L158-L162 (IOP Publishing) · 6 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ Letters
arxiv created 2009/05/22 · openalex publication_date 2009/06/04 · arxiv updated 2011/02/11 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
The conversion of the globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF; dN / d log L ) to the globular cluster mass function (GCMF; dN / d log M ) is addressed. Dissolving globular clusters (GCs) become preferentially depleted in low-mass stars which have a high mass-to-light ratio ( M / L ). This has been shown to result in an M / L that increases with GC luminosity or mass, because more massive GCs have lost a smaller fraction of their stars than low-mass GCs. Using GC models, we study the influence of the luminosity dependency of M / L on the inferred GCMF. The observed GCLF is consistent with a power law or Schechter-type GC initial mass function in combination with a cluster mass-dependent mass-loss rate. Below the peak, the logarithmic slope of the GCMF is shallower than that of the GCLF (0.7 versus 1.0), whereas the peak mass is 0.1–0.3 dex lower when accounting for the variability of M / L than in the case where a constant M / L is adopted.