Related papers: Blue Stragglers in Globular Clusters: Observations…
This chapter presents an overview of the main observational results obtained to date about Blue Straggler Stars (BSSs) in Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs). The BSS specific frequency, radial distribution, chemical composition and rotational…
For a sample of 38 Galactic globular clusters (GCs), we confront the observed distributions of blue straggler (BS) proper motions and masses (derived from isochrone fitting) from the BS catalog of Simunovic & Puzia with theoretical…
We have surveyed the blue straggler star population of the Galactic globular cluster M5 using high-resolution images of the core along with wide-field ground-based images reaching to more than 19 core radii. To gauge M5's relative…
Blue stragglers are thought to be formed from the merger or coalescence of two stars, but the details of their formation in clusters has been difficult to disentangle. We discuss the two main formation mechanisms for blue stragglers…
We examine the blue straggler populations of 13 low-luminosity (M_V_t >~ -6) globular clusters and 2 old open clusters. These clusters test blue straggler formation in environments intermediate between higher luminosity (and usually higher…
We use two stellar populations in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae to trace its dynamical history: blue stragglers and low mass main sequence stars. We assumed that the blue stragglers were formed through stellar collisions in all regions of…
In this chapter we review the various suggested channels for the formation and evolution of blue straggler stars (BSSs) in different environments and their observational predictions. These include mass transfer during binary stellar…
In this chapter we consider two formation channels for blue straggler stars: 1) the merger of two single stars via a collision, and 2) those produced via mass transfer within a binary. We review how computer simulations show that stellar…
We have used high resolution WFPC2-HST and wide field ground-based observations to construct a catalog of blue straggler stars (BSS) in the globular cluster 47 Tuc spanning the entire radial extent of the cluster. The BSS distribution is…
Blue stragglers have been found in all populations. These objects are important in both stellar evolution and stellar population synthesis. Much evidence shows that blue stragglers are relevant to primordial binaries. Here, we summarize the…
Recent surveys of the blue straggler (BS) population in the galactic globular cluster M3 (NGC 5272) give the first complete characterization of the number density of BSs as a function of radius over an entire globular cluster. The BSs in M3…
It was recently demonstrated that contact binaries occur in globular clusters (GCs) only immediately below turn-off point and in the region of blue straggler stars (BSs). In addition, observations indicate that at least a significant…
This review concentrates almost entirely on globular star clusters. It emphasises the increasing realisation that few of the traditional problems of star cluster astronomy can be studied in isolation: the influence of the Galaxy affects…
In this paper I present an overview of the main observational properties of a special class of exotic objects (the so-called Blue Straggler Stars, BSSs) in Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs). The BSS specific frequency and their radial…
Blue straggler stars have been proposeed as powerful indicators to measure the dynamical state of Galactic globular clusters. Here we examine for the first time if this framework of blue straggler stars as dynamical clocks, which was…
By combining high-resolution HST and wide-field ground based observations, in ultraviolet and optical bands, we study the Blue Stragglers Star (BSS) population of the galactic globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904) from its very central regions up…
This paper explores the quantitative connection between globular clusters and the diffuse stellar population of the galaxies they are associated with. Both NGC 1399 and NGC 4486 (M87) are well suited for this kind of analysis due to their…
Black holes (BHs) play a major role in the structural and dynamical evolutions of Globular Clusters (GCs). Several recent works searched for BHs in Galactic GCs using scaling relations derived from numerical simulations. However, the…
We present a detailed investigation of the radial distribution of blue straggler star and binary populations in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 5466, over the entire extension of the system. We used a combination of data acquired with the…
Stars in globular clusters are generally believed to have all formed at the same time, early in the Galaxy's history. 'Blue stragglers' are stars massive enough that they should have evolved into white dwarfs long ago. Two possible…