Luminous late-type stars in a field of M 31.
Abstract
Five late-type carbon stars and 41 cool M stars were discovered in a field in M31, the smallest C/M ratio found yet in any system with exception of the Milky Way Galaxy. The implication here is that the metal abundance in this field is higher than that in the LMC or NGC 300 (as expected), less than that in the Galactic center, but similar to that in the disk of the Milky Way in the solar neighborhood. The mean I absolute magnitude of the five carbon stars is found to be similar to that in other Local Group galaxies. The AGB luminosity function for the field observed, although containing rather few stars, seems fully consistent with that in the LMC displaying the same lack of luminous AGB stars noticed by several authors.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- November 1985
- DOI:
- 10.1086/184557
- Bibcode:
- 1985ApJ...298L..13R
- Keywords:
-
- Andromeda Galaxy;
- Carbon Stars;
- Late Stars;
- M Stars;
- Stellar Luminosity;
- Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars;
- Local Group (Astronomy);
- Magellanic Clouds;
- Stellar Color;
- Astrophysics