Paper detail

Proper Motions in Globular Clusters using Deconvolution of HST Images

A sub-sampled deconvolution technique for crowded field photometry with the HST WFPC2 instrument was proposed by Butler (2000) and applied to search for optical counterparts to pulsars in globular clusters (Golden et al. 2001). Simulations showed that the method, which takes account of the point-spread function (PSF) spatial variation, can provide better star detection and recovers the resolution lost to aberrations and poor sampling. The original emphasis was on precision photometry in crowded fields. In the present work, we have extended this technique to determine proper motions of stars in globular clusters. Actual HST images of the globular clusters, along with realistic simulations of the globular clusters, were used to benchmark the technique for astrometric accuracy. The ultimate aim is to use this dynamical data to search for intermediate-mass black holes in globular cluster cores.