2002/01/10 by Adrienne M. Cool, A. M. Cool, Adam S. Bolton +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #History and Developments in Astronomy #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0201166
15 pages LaTeX, 9 postscript figures; uses newpasp.sty; to appear in "Stellar Collisions and Mergers and their Consequences," ASP Conference Series Vol. 263, proceedings of a meeting held in June 2000
arxiv created 2002/01/10 · openalex publication_date 2002/01/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The dense central region of NGC 6397 contains three classes of stars whose origins are likely related to stellar interactions: blue stragglers, cataclysmic variables, and probable helium white dwarfs. We summarize results concerning CVs and HeWD candidates that have been identified in two imaging studies with Hubble Space Telescope, including one CV candidate that appears well outside the cluster core. We also present results concerning binaries containing two main sequence stars in the central parts of the cluster. Proper motion information derived from two epochs of HST data is used to remove field stars from the sample. Binaries are then identified on the basis of their positions in the color-magnitude diagram. We set an upper limit of about 3% on the fraction of main sequence stars with primary masses in the range 0.45-0.8 solar masses and mass ratios q >~ 0.45. Extrapolating to all mass ratios gives an estimated binary fraction of less than about 5%-7%. Even in these small numbers, such pairs are likely to be key players in the processes that give rise to the more exotic stellar populations.