The blue stragglers formed via mass transfer in old open clusters

¹ National Astronomical Observatories, CAS, Beijing 100012, PR China e-mail: tianbin@bao.ac.cn
² Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
³ National Astronomical Observatories/Yunnan Observatory, CAS, Kunming 650011, PR China

Received: 19 January 2006
Accepted: 31 March 2006

Abstract

Aims.In this paper, we present the simulations for the primordial blue stragglers in the old open cluster M 67 based on detailed modelling of the evolutionary processes. The principal aim is to discuss the contribution of mass transfer between the components of close binaries to the blue straggler population in M 67.

Methods.First, we followed the evolution of a binary of 1.4 +0.9 . The synthetic evolutionary track of the binary system revealed that a primordial blue straggler had a long lifetime in the observed blue straggler region of color–magnitude diagram. Second, a grid of models for close binary systems experiencing mass exchange were computed from 1 Gyr to 6 Gyr in order to account for primordial blue-straggler formation in a time sequence. Based on such a grid, Monte-Carlo simulations were applied for the old open cluster M 67.

Results.Adopting appropriate orbital parameters, 4 primordial blue stragglers were predicted by our simulations. This was consistent with the observational fact that only a few blue stragglers in M 67 were binaries with short orbital periods. An upper boundary of the primordial blue stragglers in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) was defined and could be used to distinguish blue stragglers that were not formed via mass exchange. Using the grid of binary models, the orbital periods of the primordial BSs could be predicted.

Conclusions.Compared with the observations, it is clear that the mechanism discussed in this work alone cannot fully predict the blue straggler population in M 67. There must be several other processes also involved in the formation of the observed blue stragglers in M 67.