A Binary Study of Colour-Magnitude Diagrams of 12 Globular Clusters

Zhongmu Li, Caiyan Mao, Ruheng Li, Ruxi Li, Maocai Li

Published 2013-02-01Version 1

Binary stars are common in star clusters and galaxies, but the detailed effects of binary evolution are not taken into account in some colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) studies. This paper studies the CMDs of twelve globular clusters via binary-star stellar populations. The observational CMDs of star clusters are compared to those of binary-star populations, and then the stellar metallicities, ages, distances and reddening values of these star clusters are obtained. The paper also tests the different effects of binary and single stars on CMD studies. It is shown that binaries can fit the observational CMDs of the sample globular clusters better compared to single stars. This suggests that the effects of binary evolution should be considered when modeling the CMDs and stellar populations of star clusters and galaxies.