Abstract
THE axial rotation of globular star clusters has not yet been measured, so far as we know, from the differences of radial velocities at their opposite edges, but indirect evidence of their rotation is the observed ellipticity. The oblateness e of a rotating body depends on the ratio of the centrifugal force to the gravity at the star's surface ; that is: and as has been proved by Clairaut1 ½ and 5/4 being the limiting cases for the homogeneous and the centrally condensed stars. The constant C as a function of the density distribution, that is, as a function of the polytrope class, was studied by H. N. Russell2 and recently very exhaustively by S. Chandrasekhar3.
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References
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KOPAL, Z., SLOUKA, H. Axial Rotation of Globular Star Clusters. Nature 137, 621 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137621a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137621a0
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