Inverting Color-Magnitude Diagrams to Access Precise Star Cluster Parameters: A Bayesian Approach

摘要

We demonstrate a new Bayesian technique to invert color-magnitude diagrams to reveal the underlying cluster properties of age, distance, metallicity, and line-of-sight absorption, as well as individual stellar masses. Within the confines of a given set of often-used models of stellar evolution, the initial-final mass relation, and white dwarf (WD) cooling, and assuming photometric errors that one could reasonably achieve with the Hubble Space Telescope, our technique yields exceptional precision for even modest numbers of cluster stars.