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Related Experiment Videos

Globular cluster ages

R Jimenez1

  • 1Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, United Kingdom.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|January 14, 1998
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Two new methods accurately date globular clusters (GCs), revealing the oldest are 13.5 ± 2 billion years old. This age range offers insights into the universe's expansion rate and cosmological models.

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Area of Science:

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Cosmology

Background:

  • Globular clusters (GCs) are ancient stellar systems crucial for understanding cosmic evolution.
  • Accurate age determination of GCs is vital for constraining cosmological parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and evaluate two novel, high-precision methods for dating globular clusters.
  • To compare the accuracy of these new techniques against the traditional isochrone fitting method.

Main Methods:

  • Method 1: Analysis of horizontal branch morphology, independent of distance modulus.
  • Method 2: Stellar luminosity function binning for simultaneous age and distance determination.

Main Results:

  • The oldest galactic globular clusters are dated at 13.5 ± 2 billion years (Gyr).

Related Experiment Videos

  • A 99% confidence interval for the oldest GC ages is 10.5 Gyr to 16.0 Gyr.
  • These ages are compatible with an Einstein-De Sitter Universe model if the Hubble constant is 65 ± 10 km/s/Mpc.

    • Conclusions:

    • The developed methods offer improved accuracy for globular cluster age determination.
    • The derived ages provide significant constraints on cosmological models, including the age of the Universe.
    • The findings suggest that a flat, matter-dominated universe (Omega = 1) remains a possibility within current observational uncertainties.