On the Radial Distribution of White Dwarfs in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397

Details On the Radial Distribution of White Dwarfs in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397 On the Radial Distribution of White Dwarfs in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397

2007-09-26

arxiv.org/abs/0709.4286v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

13 pages including 1 table and 3 figures. Accepted for publication in the MNRAS Letters

Scientific paper

10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00402.x

We have examined the radial distribution of white dwarfs over a single HST/ACS field in the nearby globular cluster NGC 6397. In relaxed populations, such as in a globular cluster, stellar velocity dispersion, and hence radial distribution, is directly dependent on stellar masses. The progenitors of very young cluster white dwarfs had a mass of ~0.8 solar masses, while the white dwarfs themselves have a mass of ~0.5 solar masses. We thus expect young white dwarfs to have a concentrated radial distribution (like that of their progenitors) that becomes more extended over several relaxation times to mimic that of ~0.5 solar mass main-sequence stars. However, we observe young white dwarfs to have a significantly extended radial distribution compared to both the most massive main sequence stars in the cluster and also to old white dwarfs.

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