Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Metallicity Dependence Of The Stellar Luminosity And Initial Mass Functions: Hst Observations Of Open And Globular Clusters, Ted Von Hippel, Gerard Gilmore, Nial R. Tanvir, David Robinson, Derek H.P. Jones

Publications

Using HST and the WFPC2 we have acquired very deep V- and I-band photometry of stars in NGC 2420 and NGC 2477 to study cluster luminosity functions at approximately solar metallicity. We have determined these cluster luminosity functions down to MI = 10.5 (0.2 M⊙) and find that the luminosity function of NGC 2420 turns over at MI ≈ 9.0, and possibly stops altogether by MI ≈ 9.5. The luminosity function of NGC 2477 may flatten at MI ≥ 9.5. We compare our open cluster luminosity functions to the solar neighborhood field star luminosity function of Kroupa, Tout \& Gilmore …