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Final Remarks & Bibliography

Keep in mind that in this study only binary evolution for open clusters was modeled and as compared to say globular clusters that are so dense cluster dynamics must be considered for BSs production, open clusters are relatively diffuse and therefore cluster dynamics may not be a necessary as once believed. The unexpected proximity of the simulated to the observed distributions seem to suggest that binary evolution alone can produce most of the observed BSs. To give more support for this hypothesis, a future attempt to determine the formation pathways of the observed BSs within the 1,000 to 10,000 day period range is essential. The verification or falsification of this prediction places a significant constraint on the legitimacy of not only our results, but also the plausibility of creating BSs through binary evolution without the involvement of cluster dynamics, or perhaps even binary evolution itself.
Observed BSs & wind accretion?

While the next logical step would be to create an experiment that could do this, it turns out that even at periods upward of 10,000 days, the separation distance of the binaries is not sufficient to observe a separation between the two stars, that is, the light from the both stars appears as a point source. Any resolving of its binary nature would then have to be done using spectroscopy, and at periods bordering on the 10,000 day mark, the sheer time of one revolution may prove too long to detect any shifting in the spectral lines indicating the presence of a companion star. The only proposed idea at this point is to detect spectral features of elements specific to the surface materials of Red Giant Branch or Super Giant stars from stars that appear as BSs. At any rate, this is a future goal of the our study.

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Websites Where the Diagrams Used in this Web Page Can Be Found

To Those Who Made This Study Possible - Thank You

  • To my advisor and mentor Dr. Bob Mathieu for his support throughout this study and instruction of stellar & binary evolution
  • To his student Aaron Geller for his patience, instruction, and especially in debugging my attempts at writing the programs used in the study
  • To Dr. Jarrod Hurley for allowing the use of his code and his help in modifying it when necessary
  • To Dr. Edwin Mierkiewicz for coordinating the REU
  • To Dr. Peter Frinchaboy for the observing run at Kitt Peak
  • To all the REU students for a great summer
  • To Dr. Amer Lahamer, Dr. Tracy Hodge, & Dr. Martin Veillette for my education

Funding for this REU was provided by the National Science Foundation
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