球状星团的金属丰度特征与其恒星形成史

本文根据球状星团所特有的金属丰度特征,利用星族综合方法,探讨了球状星团诸恒星的形成史。研究表明,这些恒星不可能通过恒星形成率和初始质量函数均不随时间变化的单一恒星形成模式产生。原初云通过恒星演化而得到金属丰度污染的过程和多数恒星的形成过程必须分为两个不同的阶段。 球状星团得到金属丰度污染的过程中,若恒星形成具有通常的初始质量函数,则其恒星形成率必须较低,且初始质量函数不能太陡,从而使污染过程中只形成数量较少的低质量恒星,以保证单个球状星团内金属丰度的均匀性。另一种可能性是污染阶段有非常特殊的初始质量函数,只形成大质量的恒星,从而除提供适量污染外不留下任何痕迹。 多数恒星应是在原初云不同部位得到适当污染后通过局域的短暂的爆发性恒星形成(星暴过程)产生。本文进一步探讨了在Fan和Rees球状星团形成模型的框架下,两相介质中温云块相互碰撞造成星暴过程的可能性。     

球状星团的形成与演化（Ⅰ）：观测特征

对与球状星团形成与演化有关的观测特征进行了总结，分别从球产太星团的空间分布特征、金属度分布特征、光度函数和质量函数，以及不同星系中球状星团的数量特征等方面介绍了银河系和河外星系中球状星团的最新观测事实。     

老年疏散星团的金属丰度及银盘金属丰度梯度演化研究

疏散星团是探究银河系结构与演化的良好示踪体,一直以来颇受关注.之前关于疏散星团的研究中,仅有一小部分疏散星团有金属丰度参数,而且,金属丰度的测量,是基于不同质量的观测数据,采用了不同的方法.收集了一个年龄大于2 Gyr的老年疏散星团样本,通过整理这些星团成员星的金属丰度数据,一方面,以星团NGC 2682为例,对比了不同光谱巡天项目给出的星团成员星金属丰度的系统差异;另一方面,计算了星团成员星金属丰度的平均值和中位值,作为该疏散星团的金属丰度推荐值.此外,还利用该样本探究了银盘径向金属丰度梯度随时间的演化,结果表明,早期银盘有着更加陡峭的径向金属丰度梯度,随着演化时间的增加,银盘径向金属丰度梯度逐渐趋于平缓,为银盘化学演化模型提供了更加严格的观测约束.     

球状星团M4中另一颗周期约一天的小变幅新红变星

A66是位于球状星团M4红巨星支最底部(近亚巨星支顶部)的一颗红星．按其在C-M图上的位置,A66可能是星团成员．目前尚无自行或视线速度的测定．发现A66为一小变幅的新变星,周期约一天, v波段的总变幅约0．05等．但是,如果自行或视线速度测定证实为其成员星,那么变光的原因也许不是脉动．因为按照熊氏理论,这样低光度的红星其脉动周期不可能长于0．1天．对于A66这样的周期和变幅,又很难想像变光原因是黑子星的自转或EW型双星的交食．或者,A66不是星团成员．     

球状星团的天体测量

球状星团是银河系中最年老的天体之一，是储存着银河系早期演化珍贵信息的“化石”。球状星团的天体测量，主要包括球状星团天区内恒星相对自行的测定，并由这些相对自行数据采用适当方法定出星团的绝对自行，或者直接测定绝对自行。利用这些自行数据，或者进一步与测光和视向速度数据结合，可以开展与球状星团的距离、运动、动力学状况、质量、年龄、演化等等以及银河系的结构和演化等有关的一系列重要的研究。在本文中对本世纪７０     

球状星团致密度及其演化

根据球状星团动力学演化理论,本文探讨了球状星团致密度的演化与球状星用质量和位置的关系。结果表明,银心距和球状星团质量都与致密度的演化紧密相关。一般来说,银心距很大时致密度演化极少,球状星团质量愈大致密度演化愈缓慢。对现有球状星团致密度的分布作了统计研究,结果表明,在银心距较小的区域,致密度的分布与理论分析结果一致。在大银心距处发现,质量不同的球状星团其致密度分布有明显不同,它可能反映了球状星团形成阶段其致密度与质量紧密相关。     

TRIFFID Photometry of Globular Cluster Cores — I. Photometric Techniques and Variable Stars in M15

The Galway/DIAS Image Sharpening Camera, TRIFFID, has been used to make observations in two colours of the centre of the post-core-collapse globular cluster M15. We present here our analysis of the photometry in B over two seasons. We have combined the complementary qualities of the HST 's high astrometric precision and TRIFFID's extended coverage and photometric precision, to perform crowded-field photometry in the innermost region of M15. Our technique virtually eliminates the problem of extreme crowding which has hitherto hampered studies of the variable star populations in globular cluster cores, and thereby provides an extension of the HST 's capability. Candidate variables detected with the HST have been confirmed and monitored over longer periods. We show that most of these are RR Lyrae stars, and that one is a short-period Type II Cepheid (the third to be discovered in M15). Our photometric study also produced evidence of a similar number of new variables. These also appear to be RR Lyrae stars, except for a possible eclipsing system. Further data from an upgraded version of TRIFFID have recently been obtained to help to refine the light curves of all these objects.     

Monte Carlo simulations of star clusters — I. First Results

A revision of Stodoíkiewicz's Monte Carlo code is used to simulate evolution of star clusters. The new method treats each superstar as a single star and follows the evolution and motion of all individual stellar objects. The first calculations for isolated, equal-mass N -body systems with three-body energy generation according to Spitzer's formulae show good agreement with direct N -body calculations for N  = 2000, 4096 and 10 000 particles. The density, velocity, mass distributions, energy generation, number of binaries, etc., follow the N -body results. Only the number of escapers is slightly too high compared with N -body results, and there is no level-off anisotropy for advanced post-collapse evolution of Monte Carlo models as is seen in N -body simulations for N  ≤ 2000. For simulations with N  > 10 000 gravothermal oscillations are clearly visible. The calculations of N   2000, 4096, 10 000, 32 000 and 100 000 models take about 2, 6, 20, 130 and 2500 h, respectively. The Monte Carlo code is at least 10⁵ times faster than the N -body one for N  = 32 768 with special-purpose hardware. Thus it becomes possible to run several different models to improve statistical quality of the data and run individual models with N as large as 100 000. The Monte Carlo scheme can be regarded as a method which lies in the middle between direct N -body and Fokker–Planck models and combines most advantages of both methods.     

Monte Carlo simulations of star clusters – II. Tidally limited, multimass systems with stellar evolution

A revision of Stodółkiewicz's Monte Carlo code is used to simulate evolution of large star clusters. The new method treats each superstar as a single star and follows the evolution and motion of all individual stellar objects. A survey of the evolution of N -body systems influenced by the tidal field of a parent galaxy and by stellar evolution is presented. The process of energy generation is realized by means of appropriately modified versions of Spitzer's and Mikkola's formulae for the interaction cross-section between binaries and field stars and binaries themselves. The results presented are in good agreement with theoretical expectations and the results of other methods (Fokker–Planck, Monte Carlo and N -body). The initial rapid mass loss, resulting from stellar evolution of the most massive stars, causes expansion of the whole cluster and eventually leads to the disruption of less bound systems ( W ₀=3). Models with larger W ₀ survive this phase of evolution and then undergo core collapse and subsequent post-collapse expansion, like isolated models. The expansion phase is eventually reversed when tidal limitation becomes important. The results presented are the first major step in the direction of simulating evolution of real globular clusters by means of the Monte Carlo method.     

RR Lyrae pulsational temperature scales: on the consistency between different empirical relations

In this paper, by assuming the equilibrium temperatures of RRab Lyrae variables defined by Carney, Storm & Jones as correct we show that temperatures derived from ( B − V ) colour (mean colour over the pulsational cycle calculated on the magnitude scale) transformations by Bessel, Castelli & Plez are consistent with the Carney et al. equilibrium temperatures within a probable error of δ  log  T _e =±0.003 . As a consequence, it is shown that the pulsational temperature scale temperature–period–blue amplitude [ T _eff= f ( P , A _B )] relation provided by De Santis, who studied the ( B − V ) colour of about 70 stars of Lub's sample, is a suitable relation, being reddening- and metallicity-free, to calculate equilibrium temperatures for RRab variables. This relation is independent of variable mass and luminosity within a large range of period-shift from the mean period–amplitude relation valid for Lub's sample of variables. On the contrary, it is also shown that a temperature–amplitude–metallicity relation is strictly dependent on the period–amplitude relation of the sample used for calibrating it: we prove that this means it is dependent on both the mass and luminosity variations of variables.     

Radio Emission from Globular Clusters

1 INTRODUCTION Many radio observations have been conducted on globular clusters in the past years, stimu-lated by the detection of pulsars and X-ray sources in them. Globular clusters are good placesfor hunting pulsars (Lyne et al. 2000). Until now, about 50 pulsars have been detected in 17globular clusters (Lyne et al. 1995; Biggs & Lyne 1996; D'Amico et al. 2001; Lyne et al. 2000;Camilo et al. 2000). Except for four long period pulsars, all of these pulsars are millisecondpulsars (M…     

Globular clusters and the Mira period–luminosity relation

A globular cluster distance scale based on Hipparcos parallaxes of subdwarfs has been used to derive estimates of M _K for cluster Miras, including one in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) globular cluster NGC 121. These lead to a zero-point of the Mira infrared period–luminosity (PL) relation, PL( K ), in good agreement with that derived from Hipparcos parallaxes of nearby field Miras. The mean of these two estimates together with data on LMC Miras yields a Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) distance modulus of     in evident agreement with a metallicity-corrected Cepheid modulus     .
The use of luminous asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars as extragalactic population indicators is also discussed.     

Globular clusters in modified Newtonian dynamics: velocity dispersion profiles from self-consistent models

We test the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) theory with the velocity dispersion profiles of Galactic globular clusters populating the outermost region of the Milky Way halo, where the Galactic acceleration is lower than the characteristic MOND acceleration a ₀. For this purpose, we constructed self-consistent, spherical models of stellar systems in MOND, which are the analogues of the Newtonian King models. The models are spatially limited, reproduce well the surface brightness profiles of globular clusters and have velocity dispersion profiles that differ remarkably in shape from the corresponding Newtonian models. We present dynamical models of six globular clusters, which can be used to efficiently test MOND with the available observing facilities. A comparison with recent spectroscopic data obtained for NGC 2419 suggests that the kinematics of this cluster might be hard to explain in MOND.