A measurement of diffusion in 47 Tucanae
Publication date: 01 May 2015
Authors: Heyl, J., et al.
Journal: The Astrophysical Journal
Volume: 804
Issue: 1
Page: 53
Year: 2015
Copyright: IOP Publishing
Using images from the Hubble Space Telescope Wide-Field Camera 3, we measure the rate of diffusion of stars through the core of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc) using a sample of young white dwarfs that were identified in these observations. This is the first direct measurement of diffusion due to gravitational relaxation. We find that the diffusion rate κ ~ 10-13 arcsec2 Myr-1 is consistent with theoretical estimates of the relaxation time in the core of 47 Tuc of about 70 Myr.
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