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Main Authors: Petkova, M. V., Petrov, G. P., Kacharov, N. M., Nedialkov, P. L.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.13140
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author Petkova, M. V.
Petrov, G. P.
Kacharov, N. M.
Nedialkov, P. L.
author_facet Petkova, M. V.
Petrov, G. P.
Kacharov, N. M.
Nedialkov, P. L.
contents We present a detailed analysis of the structural parameters of the globular cluster M 15 using g- and i-band photometric data from Pan-STARRS1 DR2. The central coordinates ($X_{\rm{C}}, Y_{\rm{C}}$), ellipticity ($ε$), and position angle (PA) are derived via two independent methods: ellipse fitting of the two-dimensional stellar number isodensity distribution and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. Our analysis of 38 stellar density intervals reveals a cluster center offset by only $4\,.\!\!^{\prime\prime}1\pm9\,.\!\!^{\prime\prime}6$ from the commonly accepted in the literature value, a good agreement on the order of our map resolution. We find a radial variation in the ellipticity, with a mean value of $ε=0.09\pm0.02$ for the inner region ($R\leq4\,.\!\!^{\prime}5$) and $ε=0.04\pm0.02$ for the outer region ($R>4\,.\!\!^{\prime}5$), where the errors correspond to $1σ$. The MCMC analysis of 75 datasets yields a mean $ε=0.022\pm0.005$ for the entire cluster. The PA remains constant with increasing distance from the cluster center, $\rm{PA}=44\,.\!\!{\rm{^\circ}}4\pm16\,.\!\!{\rm{^\circ}}2$, and the MCMC method providing a consistent value of $\rm{PA}=46\,.\!\!{\rm{^\circ}}6\pm7\,.\!\!{\rm{^\circ}}1$. Our results are in agreement with some recent studies but challenge others, suggesting that a single $ε$ value may be insufficient to fully characterize the overall oblateness of M 15 due to incompleteness and crowding effects in its core.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_13140
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Structural Parameters of the Globular Cluster M 15
Petkova, M. V.
Petrov, G. P.
Kacharov, N. M.
Nedialkov, P. L.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present a detailed analysis of the structural parameters of the globular cluster M 15 using g- and i-band photometric data from Pan-STARRS1 DR2. The central coordinates ($X_{\rm{C}}, Y_{\rm{C}}$), ellipticity ($ε$), and position angle (PA) are derived via two independent methods: ellipse fitting of the two-dimensional stellar number isodensity distribution and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. Our analysis of 38 stellar density intervals reveals a cluster center offset by only $4\,.\!\!^{\prime\prime}1\pm9\,.\!\!^{\prime\prime}6$ from the commonly accepted in the literature value, a good agreement on the order of our map resolution. We find a radial variation in the ellipticity, with a mean value of $ε=0.09\pm0.02$ for the inner region ($R\leq4\,.\!\!^{\prime}5$) and $ε=0.04\pm0.02$ for the outer region ($R>4\,.\!\!^{\prime}5$), where the errors correspond to $1σ$. The MCMC analysis of 75 datasets yields a mean $ε=0.022\pm0.005$ for the entire cluster. The PA remains constant with increasing distance from the cluster center, $\rm{PA}=44\,.\!\!{\rm{^\circ}}4\pm16\,.\!\!{\rm{^\circ}}2$, and the MCMC method providing a consistent value of $\rm{PA}=46\,.\!\!{\rm{^\circ}}6\pm7\,.\!\!{\rm{^\circ}}1$. Our results are in agreement with some recent studies but challenge others, suggesting that a single $ε$ value may be insufficient to fully characterize the overall oblateness of M 15 due to incompleteness and crowding effects in its core.
title Structural Parameters of the Globular Cluster M 15
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.13140