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Globular Clusters: Low Mass Stars, Still No Brown Dwarfs!

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2016

Guido De Marchi
Guido De Marchi*
Affiliation:
European Space Agency, Space Telescope Operations Division, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore MD 21218, USA

Abstract

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In spite of all the attempts to find them, no one has yet detected any brown dwarf in a globular cluster. Although powerful instruments such as the VLT and Advanced Camera could further push the frontiers of this search, globular clusters will probably hold tight to their secrets for a while longer. Nonetheless, the search for very low mass stars in globular clusters has taught us a lot about their original mass distribution (IMF) and its evolution in time. I shall review the results of an investigation carried out over what is presently the largest, most homogeneous sample, and discuss the reasons suggesting that: 1. dynamical evolution (internal and external) has reshaped the cluster mass function over time, but the imprint of the IMF is still visible; 2. the IMF appears to vary very little from cluster to cluster; 3. the most likely functional form of the IMF is that of a power law that rises to a peak at ˜ 0.3 M⊙ and tapers off at smaller masses.

Type
Part 5. Imaging Searches for Mature Ultracool Dwarfs
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 211: Brown Dwarfs , 2003 , pp. 215 - 222
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2001 

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