4.6 Article

Mass segregation in the globular cluster Palomar 5 and its tidal tails

Journal

ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL
Volume 128, Issue 5, Pages 2274-2287

Publisher

IOP Publishing Ltd
DOI: 10.1086/425046

Keywords

Galaxy : evolution; Galaxy : halo; globular clusters : general; globular clusters : individual (Palomar 5); stars : luminosity function, mass function

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We present the stellar main-sequence luminosity function (LF) of the disrupted, low-mass, low-concentration globular cluster Palomar 5 and its well-defined tidal tails, which emanate from the cluster as a result of its tidal interaction with the Milky Way. The results of our deep (B similar to 24.5) wide-field photometry unequivocally indicate that preferentially fainter stars were removed from the cluster so that the LF of the cluster's main body exhibits a significant degree of flattening compared with other globular clusters. There is clear evidence of mass segregation, which is reflected in a radial variation of the LFs. The LF of the tidal tails is distinctly enhanced with faint, low-mass stars. Pal 5 exhibits a binary main sequence, and we estimate a photometric binary frequency of roughly 10%. The binaries also show evidence of mass segregation, with more massive binary systems being more strongly concentrated toward the cluster center.

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