Salpeter's initial luminosity function, `p(M5), should describe the observed distribution of absolute magnitudes in young galactic clusters. Comparison is made between the predicted function and the observed distribution in h Persei, the Pleiades, Coma Berenices, the Hyades, and Praesepe. The initial function fits these clusters satisfactorily, and this supports Salpeter's arguments that the particular form of the general luminosity function (Mt) brighter than M = +3.5 is due to stellar evolution. The number of white dwarfs is predicted from the normalized (M5) to be zero in h Persei, 2 in the Pleiades, 9 in Coma Berenices, 23 in the Hyades, 20 in Praesepe, and 146 in M67. Comparison with observation shows that these may be reasonable numbers. A corrected luminosity function for M3 is given. The predicted total mass for this cluster is 2.45 x 10' 0, which agrees well with the scaled-up dynamical mass of 2.4 x 10' O. obtained by Schwarzschild and Bernstein from Wilson and Coffeen's measurement of the velocity dispersion in M92. The total number of stars in M3 is estimated to be 588000. The number of white dwarfs is estimated to be 48500. These contribute 7.0 x t0 O to the total mass but a negligible amount to the light. The mass lost from these stars as they evolve from the main sequence to the white dwarf stage is 1.11 x 10' O. This mass, in the form of gas, has probably escaped from the cluster. Similar considerations for E nebulae show that this gas has probably not escaped from tbese systems and makes up about one two-hundredth of the total mass. Could this be the origin of the [0 ii] emission at X 3727 observed in E nebulae?
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Allan Sandage (1957) studied this question.