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Lecture4 MW1
Lecture4 MW1
0
c
Main Sequence Fitting
The further a star is from you, the dimmer it appears.
Bright stars are close, and faint stars are farther away. This
simple idea would work perfectly if all stars had the same
intrinsic brightness. They don't.
Main Sequence Fitting
Studying stars en masse has taught us hot stars
are very luminous and cool stars are relatively
dim, so star temperature/color tell us something
about luminosityand hence distance
So measure stellar temperature-get intrinsic lum,
use inverse square law and apparent luminosity to
get distance
Flux = L / 4td
2
Star Clusters
What are the two major types of star cluster?
Why are star clusters useful for studying stellar
evolution?
How do we measure the age of a star cluster?
Open Clusters
100s of stars
10
6
- 10
9
years old
irregular shapes
gas or nebulosity is
sometimes seen
Pleaides (8 x 10
7
yrs)
Globular Clusters
10
5
stars
8 to 15 billion years
old (10
10
yrs)
spherical shape
NO gas or nebulosity
M 80 (1.2 x 10
10
yrs)
Clusters are useful for studying
stellar evolution!
all stars are the same distance
use apparent magnitudes
all stars formed at about the same time
they are the same age
Plot an H-R Diagram!
Pleiades H-R Diagram
Globular Cluster
H-R Diagram
Palomar 3
Cluster H-R Diagrams Indicate Age
All stars arrived on the MS at about
the same time.
The cluster is as old as the most
luminous (massive) star left on the
MS.
All MS stars to the left have already
used up their H fuel and are gone.
The position of the hottest, brightest
star on a clusters main sequence is
called the main sequence
turnoff point.
Older Clusters have Shorter Main Sequences
Main Sequence Fitting
In reality the stars age affects luminosity too, so want to
take account of that
Plot HR diagram for the cluster
Determine age from main sequence cut-off point
Correct stellar luminosities to be as though they were in
zero-age stars
Then slide cluster main sequence until it overlays
calibrated zero-age main sequence -the amount of
luminosity shift gives the distance
(App. Brightness) Flux = L / 4td
2
Recap: Magnitude System
apparent magnitude
brightness of a star as it appears from Earth
= -2.5 log (app bright)
each step in magnitude is 2.5 times in
brightness
absolute magnitude
the apparent magnitude a star would have
if it were 10 pc away
Main Sequence Fitting
Often magnitudes are used instead of flux/luminosity
m-M = 5 log (D/pc) - 5
m is the apparent magnitude
M is the absolute magnitude
Astronomical Dust
dust grains:
Not the dust one finds around the house, which is typically
fine bits of fabric, dirt, or dead skin cells!!
Interstellar dust grains are much smaller clumps, on the
order of a fraction of a micron across, irregularly shaped,
and composed of carbon and/or silicates. Dust is most
evident by its absorption, causing large dark patches in
regions of our Milky Way Galaxy and dark bands across
other galaxies.
The exact nature and origin of interstellar dust grains is
unknown, but they are clearly associated with young stars
Extinction & Reddening
So extinction by dust gives a color change in the stellar
spectrum, consider specific intensity I at freq v for
material with abs coefficient k (absn coeff has unit of
1/length)
= k
v
I
v
+ j
v
d ln I
v
=
d I
v
I
v
= k
v
ds
Over distance ds a fraction k
v
ds
of photons of freq v are
scattered/absorbed
Integrate from 0 to s
dI
v
ds
lnI
v
(s) lnI
v
(0) =
0
s
}
ds'k
v
(s') t
v
(s)
lnI
v
(s) lnI
v
(0) =
0
s
}
ds'k
v
(s') t
v
(s)
where t is the optical depth, that depends on
frequency
This reduces to
t
v
I
v
(s) = I
v
(0)e
t
v
(s)
specific intensity is reduced by factor
compared to the case of no absorption
Exactly the same for flux (ie integrated over
all directions for isotropic source)
e
t
v
S
v
(s) = S
v
(0)e
t
v
(s)
m = 2.5logS + constant
I
v
(s) = I
v
(0)e
t
v
(s)
Recall the relation between flux and magnitude
m = 2.5logS + constant S 10
-0.4m
S
S
v,o
= 10
-0.4(mm
0
)
= e
t
v
= 10
log(e)t
v
Flux
v
m m
0
m
m
0
the apparent magnitude
the apparent magnitude without absorption
S
S
v,o
= 10
-0.4(mm
0
)
= e
t
v
= 10
log(e)t
v
Thus can also define an extinction coefficient that describes
change of apparent magnitude due to absorption
A
v
= m m
0
= 2.5log
S
S
v0
= 2.5log(e)t
v
=1.086t
v
Frequency dependence of extinction means it changes spectral
color, and thus often described in terms of the ratio of amounts of
flux in different frequency ranges
v
v
A
v
is the extinction coefficient that describes change of
apparent magnitude due to absorption
A
v
= m m
0
= 2.5log
S
S
v0
v
Absorption always linked to a color change in the stars spectrum,
this is described by the color excess (CE)
So color excess defined as:
E(X Y) = A
X
A
Y
= (X X
0
) (Y Y
0
) = (X Y) (X Y)
0
Ratio depends on physical properties of dust
A
X
A
Y
E(X Y) = A
X
A
Y
= A
X
(1
A
Y
A
X
) A
X
R
X
1
Nicely separated out a factor of proportionality between extinction
coefficient and the color excess -depends on colors considered
and the composition of the dust in the system
Blue (B) and visual (V) common colors used in astronomy so
commonly see A
v
= R
v
E(B - V)
for the dust in the Milky Way
A
v
= 1mag
D
1kpc
in the neighborhood of the Sun
A
v
= (3.1+/-0.1) E(B - V)
~
Color-Color Diagram
Sometimes color differentials
are plotted, like (U-B) v (B-V)
The relative suppression of the
two bands depends on dust
composition (assume known)
Then we see how big the shift is
to estimate extinction
m-M = 5 log (D/pc) - 5 + A
Distance determination
Another way to get distance (or mass)
..track a binary star system
Reminder: Newtons version Keplers 3rd Law
Consider isolated system of 2 bodies mass m
1
, m
2
orbiting at distances r
1
, r
2
from mutual center of gravity
Bodies complete one orbit in same period, P
Centripetal force F = mv
2
/r
Reminder: Centripetal Force
The centripetal force is the external force required
to make a body follow a circular path at constant
speed
The force is directed inward, oriented toward the
axis of rotation (force which is directed outward is
centrifugal force)
Centripetal force is a force requirement, not a
particular kind of force. Any force (gravitational,
electromagnetic, etc.) can act as a centripetal force
Reminder: Newtonian physics
Consider isolated system of 2 bodies mass m
1
, m
2
orbiting at distances
r
1
, r
2
from mutual center of gravity
Bodies complete one orbit in same period, P, vel in orbit=2tr/P
Centripetal forces of the orbits are:
F
1
=m
1
v
1
2
/r
1
=4t
2
m
1
r
1
/P
2
(1)
F
2
=m
2
v
2
2
/r
2
=4t
2
m
2
r
2
/P
2
Reminder: Newtonian physics
F
1
=m
1
v
1
2
/r
1
=4t
2
m
1
r
1
/P
2
(1)
F
2
=m
2
v
2
2
/r
2
=4t
2
m
2
r
2
/P
2
Newtons 3rd Law has F
1
= F
2
giving
r
1
/ r
2
=m
2
/m
1
more massive body orbits closer to center of mass
separation of two bodies a= r
1
+ r
2
which gives us
r
1
=m
2
a/(m
1
+ m
2
) (2)
Mutual gravitational force F=G m
1
m
2
/ a
2
(3)
Combine 1,2,3 -> P
2
=4t
2
a
3
/G(m
1
+ m
2
)
Distances of Visual Binary Stars
Period, p, and apparent orbit
diameter (a is semi-major axis)
are direct observables
orbit may be inclined to sight-
line
If know masses can get true
separation, a
True versus apparent
separation gives distance
P
2
=
4t
2
G(m
1
+ m
2
)
a
3
Keplers 3rd law
Cepheid Variables
Henrietta Leavitt
(1868-1921)
She studied the
light curves of
variable stars in
the Magellenic
clouds.
Same distance
Cepheid Variables
The brightness of the stars varied
in a regular pattern.
Cepheid Variables
prototype: o Cephei
F - G Bright Giants (II) whose
pulsation periods (1-100 days) get
longer with increased luminosity
Distance Indicator!!
Cepheid Variables
Recap: Luminosity of Stars
Flux = L / 4td
2
Luminosity the total amount of power radiated by a star into space.
The Instability Strip
There appears to be an
almost vertical region on
the H-R Diagram where
all stars within it (except
on the Main Sequence)
are pulsating and
variable.
Distances of pulsating stars
Pulsations -radial density waves propagating with speed of
sound, c
s
Period comparable to sound-crossing time P~ R/ c
s
Speed of sound ~ thermal vel of gas particles so k
B
T~m
p
c
s
2 (
m
p
is the mass of a proton, ie characteristic mass of
particles in the stellar plasma; k
B
is Boltmanns constant)
Virial Theorem - gravitational binding energy of the star is
twice the kinetic (thermal) energy ->
Distances of pulsating stars
Virial Theorem - gravitational binding energy of the star is
twice the kinetic (thermal) energy -> k.e.=1/2 m v
2
twice
k.e. is thus m
p
c
s
2
GMm
p
R
: k
B
T
Use k
B
T~m
p
c
s
2
P :
R
c
s
:
R m
p
K
B
T
:
R
3
2
GM
1
2
1
2