The postcollapse core of M15 imaged with the HST planetary camera

It is shown here that, despite the severe spherical aberration present in the HST, the Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC) images still present useful high-resolution information on M15, the classic candidate for a cluster with a collapsed core. The stars in M15 have been resolved down to the main-se...

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Veröffentlicht in:The Astrophysical journal 1991-03, Vol.369 (2), p.L45-L49
Hauptverfasser: Lauer, Tod R., Holtzman, Jon A., Faber, S. M., Baum, William A., Currie, Douglas G., Ewald, S. P., Groth, Edward J., Hester, J. Jeff, Kelsall, T.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:It is shown here that, despite the severe spherical aberration present in the HST, the Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC) images still present useful high-resolution information on M15, the classic candidate for a cluster with a collapsed core. The stars in M15 have been resolved down to the main-sequence turnoff and have been subtracted from the images. The remaining faint, unresolved stars form a diffuse background with a surprisingly large core with r(c) = 0.13 pc. The existence of a large core interior to the power-law cusp may imply that M15 has evolved well past maximum core collapse and may rule out the presence of a massive central black hole as well.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1086/185955