BVI Photometry and the Red Giant Branch Luminosity Function of M15

Summary, in English

We present new BVI photometry containing 40,000 stars of the Galactic globular cluster M15 (NGC 7078) covering a 25×25 arcminute area centered on the cluster with a magnitude range from the tip of the Red Giant Branch to three magnitudes below the main sequence turn-off. Using α -enhanced Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program models, we find an age of 13.0 ± 1.0 Gyr and distance modulus of (m−M)V=15.4±0.1 through isochrone fitting. Unlike previous works, we find good agreement between the observed completeness-corrected stellar luminosity function and models.

• Author: Diane Feuillet; N. E. Q. Paust; B. Chaboyer
• Publishing year: 2014-08
• Language: English
• Publication/Series: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
• Volume: 126
• Issue: 942
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/677845
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Topic: Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1538-3873