Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21715219b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #152.19; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Any study of stellar clusters invariably involves deriving the clusters' masses, ages, and metallicities. To determine these parameters, the light from stellar clusters has traditionally been studied in one of two regimes: as a ensemble of individual resolved stars, or as a single integrated value when stars cannot be individually resolved. When studying clusters residing within nearby galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope, both resolved and unresolved components of the light must be considered. We simulate star clusters with a range of ages, masses, and metallicities, assuming various limiting magnitudes for resolving stars, to investigate properties of the resolved and unresolved flux components. In general, most of the light is resolved in younger clusters, while most is unresolved for older clusters, suggesting that multiple detection and measurement techniques are necessary when analyzing a sample spanning a wide range of cluster ages. We also confirm that significant variations in flux and color due to stochastic effects exist for clusters whose mass is less than 104 solar masses. However, we find that these effects are minimized when the brightest stars in a cluster can be resolved, and the light of the fainter, unresolved stars can be analyzed separately. These simulations can be used to shape survey design and analysis procedures in projects such as the ongoing Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury.
Beerman Lori
Dalcanton Julianne J.
Johnson Clifton L.
Williams Benjamin F.
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