Related papers: The HST Large Programme on Omega Centauri -- VII. …
White dwarfs (WDs) offer unrealized potential in solving two problems in astrophysics: stellar age accuracy and precision. WD cooling ages can be inferred from surface temperatures and radii, which can be constrained with precision by high…
We identify 233 X-ray sources, of which 95 are new, in a 222 ks exposure of Omega Centauri with the Chandra X-ray Observatory's ACIS-I detector. The limiting unabsorbed flux in the core is $f_x$ (0.5$-$6.0 keV) $\simeq$ 3 $\times$…
Context: Open clusters (OCs) provide homogeneous samples of white dwarfs (WDs) with known distances, extinctions, and total ages. The unprecedented astrometric precision of \textit{\textit{Gaia}} allows us to identify many novel OC--WD…
White Dwarf luminosities are powerful age indicators, whose calibration should be based on reliable models. We discuss the uncertainty of some chemical and physical parameters and their influence on the age estimated by means of white dwarf…
Recently, the power of Gaia data has revealed an enhancement of high-mass white dwarfs (WDs) on the Hertzsprung--Russell diagram, called the Q branch. This branch is located at the high-mass end of the recently identified crystallization…
We present metallicity measurements based on GIRAFFE@VLT spectra of 80 subgiant-branch stars of the Galactic globular cluster Omega Centauri. The VLT spectroscopic data are complemented by ACS/HST and [email protected] high-accuracy…
Only a small number of exoplanets has been identified in stellar cluster environments. We initiated a high angular resolution direct imaging search using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and its NICMOS instrument for self-luminous giant…
We have used the two-degree field (2dF) multi-fibre spectrograph of the Anglo-Australian Telescope to search for candidate members of the unusual globular cluster omega Centauri at and beyond the cluster tidal radius. Velocities with an…
White dwarfs are stellar embers depleted of nuclear energy sources that cool over billions of years. These stars, which are supported by electron degeneracy pressure, reach densities of 1e7 grams per cubic centimetre in their cores. It has…
We present evolutionary calculations and colors for massive white dwarfs with oxygen-neon cores for masses between 1.06 and 1.28 Mo. The evolutionary stages computed cover the luminosity range from log(L/Lo) approx. 0.5 down to -5.2. Our…
We present a new determination of the distance (and age) of the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104) based on the fit of its white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence with the empirical fiducial sequence of local WD with known…
An understanding of the assembly history of the complex star cluster Omega Centauri has long been sought after, with many studies separating the stars on the color-magnitude diagram into multiple groupings across small magnitude ranges.…
Omega Centauri is the most massive globular cluster of the Milky Way, and possesses many peculiar properties. In particular, the cluster contains distinct multiple stellar populations, with a large spread in metallicity and different…
We present results of a search for optical counterparts of X-ray sources in and toward the globular cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The ACS data consist of a…
We have observed (with vby filters) a field north of the core of the most massive globular cluster in our galaxy, Omega Centauri. We have found a correlation of age and metallicity in a region which avoids the dense core and the…
The deepest optical image ever in a globular star cluster, a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) 123 orbit exposure in a single field of Messier 4, was obtained in 2 filters (F606W, F814W) over a 10 week period in early 2001. A somewhat shallower…
We have used deep high-resolution multiband images taken at the ESO Very Large Telescope to identify the optical binary companion to the millisecond pulsar (PSR J1911-5958A) located in the halo of the Galactic Globular Cluster NGC6752. The…
Using deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, color-magnitude diagrams are constructed for the globular clusters 47 Tuc and NGC 6397. As expected, because of its lower metal abundance, the main sequence of NGC 6397 lies well to the blue of…
Aim: To extend the investigations of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) beyond the well studied Fornax and Virgo clusters. Methods: We measured spectroscopic redshifts of about 400 compact object candidates with 19.2 < V < 22.4 mag in the…
The maximum mass of a star that can produce a white dwarf (WD) is an important astrophysical quantity. One of the best approaches to establishing this limit is to search for WDs in young star clusters in which only massive stars have had…