The Blue Straggler Population in the Globular Cluster M53 (NGC 5024): A Combined HST, LBT, and CFHT Study

We used a proper combination of high-resolution and wide-field multiwavelength observations collected at three different telescopes (HST, LBT, and CFHT) to probe the blue straggler star (BSS) population in the globular cluster M53. Almost 200 BSSs have been identified over the entire cluster extension. The radial distribution of these stars has been found to be bimodal (similar to that of several other clusters) with a prominent dip at ~60" (~2rc) from the cluster center. This value turns out to be a factor of 2 smaller than the radius of avoidance (ravoid, the radius within which all the stars of ~1.2 Msolar have sunk to the core because of dynamical friction effects in a Hubble time). While in most of the clusters with a bimodal BSS radial distribution, ravoid has been found to be located in the region of the observed minimum, this is the second case (after NGC 6388) where this discrepancy is noted. This evidence suggests that in a few clusters the dynamical friction seems to be somehow less efficient than expected. We have also used this database to construct the radial star density profile of the cluster; this is the most extended and accurate radial profile ever published for this cluster, including detailed star counts in the very inner region. The star density profile is reproduced by a standard King Model with an extended core (~25") and a modest value of the concentration parameter (c=1.58). A deviation from the model is noted in the most external region of the cluster (at r>6.5' from the center). This feature needs to be further investigated in order to address the possible presence of a tidal tail in this cluster.