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The HR Diagram

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

Jesse L. Greenstein*
Affiliation:
Hale Observatories, California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Extract

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The HR diagram is a useful shorthand locating a star in a two-coordinate space. For the astrophysicist, the y-coordinate is bolometric luminosity, Mbol, the x-coordinate, effective temperature, Teff. Objects of given chemical composition, age (or evolutionary status) are labeled in the xy plane by mass. For an observer, y may be apparent or absolute magnitude in a certain wavelength region and x may be spectral type or color. The HR diagrams for populations differ because of age, chemical composition and stellar masses present. HR diagrams are often of mixed nature; some involve observables others derived or semi-theoretical quantities. I will display various types of HR diagrams for low-luminosity stars. For galactic or extragalactic studies the HR diagram needs a further dimension, the frequency of stars at an x,y. The mass of the Galaxy, but not its light, may be dominated by M dwarfs. HR diagrams are also interesting for their nearly empty spaces. In Fig. 1 we show as a sample, the basic results of the U.S. Naval Observatory parallax program, in which broad band (B-V) colors define the visual luminosity, My, on the main (MS) and degenerate (WD) sequences.

Type
Part III: HR Diagrams, Subluminous Stars
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1978