The HST Large Programme on Omega Centauri -- VII. The white dwarf cooling sequence

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Hauptverfasser: Scalco, M., Salaris, M., Bedin, L., Griggio, M., Bellini, A., Libralato, M., Nardiello, D., Vesperini, E., Anderson, J., Bergeron, P., Burgasser, A., Apai, D.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Scalco, M.
Salaris, M.
Bedin, L.
Griggio, M.
Bellini, A.
Libralato, M.
Nardiello, D.
Vesperini, E.
Anderson, J.
Bergeron, P.
Burgasser, A.
Apai, D.
author_facet Scalco, M.
Salaris, M.
Bedin, L.
Griggio, M.
Bellini, A.
Libralato, M.
Nardiello, D.
Vesperini, E.
Anderson, J.
Bergeron, P.
Burgasser, A.
Apai, D.
contents We present a study of the white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence (CS) in the globular cluster (GC) Omega Centauri, the primary goal of a dedicated Hubble Space Telescope (HST) programme. Our analysis has revealed that the peak at the termination of the WD CS is located at $m_{\rm F606W}$=30.1$\pm$0.2 (equivalent to $V$$\sim$31). The brighter part of Omega Centauri's WD CS is consistent with the presence of massive He-core WDs, in agreement with previous HST analyses with ultraviolet and blue filters. Comparative analyses of the WD luminosity function (LF) with theoretical counterparts have shown that a single-age population for the cluster is compatible with the data. However, an analysis of just the WD LF cannot entirely exclude the possibility of an age range, due to uncertainties in the present-day WD mass function, with a star formation history potentially spanning up to 5 billion years, predominantly comprising stars about 13 Gyr old, and with just a minority potentially as young as 8 Gyr. This underscores the need for global spectroscopic and photometric investigations that include simultaneously the WD populations together with the previous evolutionary phases to fully understand the cluster's diverse chemical compositions and ages.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_04533
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The HST Large Programme on Omega Centauri -- VII. The white dwarf cooling sequence
Scalco, M.
Salaris, M.
Bedin, L.
Griggio, M.
Bellini, A.
Libralato, M.
Nardiello, D.
Vesperini, E.
Anderson, J.
Bergeron, P.
Burgasser, A.
Apai, D.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We present a study of the white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence (CS) in the globular cluster (GC) Omega Centauri, the primary goal of a dedicated Hubble Space Telescope (HST) programme. Our analysis has revealed that the peak at the termination of the WD CS is located at $m_{\rm F606W}$=30.1$\pm$0.2 (equivalent to $V$$\sim$31). The brighter part of Omega Centauri's WD CS is consistent with the presence of massive He-core WDs, in agreement with previous HST analyses with ultraviolet and blue filters. Comparative analyses of the WD luminosity function (LF) with theoretical counterparts have shown that a single-age population for the cluster is compatible with the data. However, an analysis of just the WD LF cannot entirely exclude the possibility of an age range, due to uncertainties in the present-day WD mass function, with a star formation history potentially spanning up to 5 billion years, predominantly comprising stars about 13 Gyr old, and with just a minority potentially as young as 8 Gyr. This underscores the need for global spectroscopic and photometric investigations that include simultaneously the WD populations together with the previous evolutionary phases to fully understand the cluster's diverse chemical compositions and ages.
title The HST Large Programme on Omega Centauri -- VII. The white dwarf cooling sequence
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.04533