English

On the Zero Point Constant of the Bolometric Correction Scale

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2021-03-24 v1

Abstract

Arbitrariness attributed to the zero point constant of the VV band bolometric corrections (BCVBC_V) and its relation to "bolometric magnitude of a star ought to be brighter than its visual magnitude" and "bolometric corrections must always be negative" was investigated. The falsehood of the second assertion became noticeable to us after IAU 2015 General Assembly Resolution B2, where the zero point constant of bolometric magnitude scale was decided to have a definite value CBol(W)=71.197 425 ...C_{Bol}(W)= 71.197~425~...~. Since the zero point constant of the BCVBC_V scale could be written as C2=CBolCVC_2=C_{Bol}-C_V, where CVC_V is the zero point constant of the visual magnitudes in the basic definition BCV=MBolMV=mbolmVBC_V=M_{Bol}-M_V=m_{bol}-m_V, and CBol>CVC_{Bol}>C_V, the zero point constant (C2C_2) of the BCVBC_V scale cannot be arbitrary anymore; rather, it must be a definite positive number obtained from the two definite positive numbers. The two conditions C2>0C_2>0 and 0<BCV<C20<BC_V<C_2 are also sufficient for LV<LL_V<L, a similar case to negative BCVBC_V numbers, which means that "bolometric corrections are not always negative". In sum it becomes apparent that the first assertion is misleading causing one to understand bolometric corrections must always be negative, which is not necessarily true.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2103.03258,
  title  = {On the Zero Point Constant of the Bolometric Correction Scale},
  author = {Z. Eker and V. Bakis and F. Soydugan and S. Bilir},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.03258},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

12 pages, including 3 figures and 1 table, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

R2 v1 2026-06-23T23:46:14.179Z