Stellar Populations in Star Clusters: The Role Played by Stochastic Effects

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the observed variability in star cluster colors and magnitudes can be explained by stochastic effects in stellar populations, using population synthesis models combined with Monte Carlo simulations, without ad-hoc adjustments.

Contribution

It introduces a combined approach of population synthesis and Monte Carlo simulations to account for stochastic effects in star cluster analysis, eliminating the need for arbitrary corrections.

Findings

Stochastic effects explain observed scatter in cluster magnitudes and colors.

Monte Carlo simulations match observational data without ad-hoc corrections.

Current stellar evolution models are sufficient to interpret cluster variability.

Abstract

In this paper I combine the results of a set of population synthesis models with simple Montecarlo simulations of stochastic effects in the number of stars occupying sparsely populated stellar evolutionary phases, to show that the scatter observed in the magnitudes and colors of LMC and NGC 7252 star clusters can be understood in the framework of current stellar evolution theory, without the need to introduce ad-hoc corrections (e.g. artificially increasing the number of AGB stars).