Probing Relics of Galaxy Formation with Cosmic Clocks: Pulsars in Globular Clusters
Abstract
Globular clusters are relics of galactic formation. There are more than a hundred of these star clusters in our own Galaxy. These spherical collection of stars are typically made up of very old stellar populations and therefore hold clues about the very early stages of galaxy evolution. Hence, understanding these clusters is critically important in solving the galactic jigsaw puzzle. It typically takes very long observational efforts to analyze thousands of individual stars in order to infer important kinematic parameters for each globular cluster. Here we show an analytically tractable method that enables us to probe these globular cluster properties with only a handful of pulsars. Additionally, probing the kinematics of globular clusters through a distinct population of compact stars has other advantages. It enables us to probe the very centers of these clusters that may harbor massive black holes.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #224
- Pub Date:
- June 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014AAS...22420408K