REVISITING BOLOMETRIC CORRECTIONS: OLDER AND NEWER USAGES
Keywords:
stars: general, solar and stellar astrophysics, astrophysics - instrumentation and methods for astrophysics, astrophysics - instrumentation and , Stars: fundamental parameterAbstract
The concept of bolometric magnitude, introduced by Eddington in 1926, represented stellar luminosity for theoretical mass-luminosity studies, complementing photographic and visual magnitudes. Bolometric correction (BC), defined as
BC = Mbol - Mv = mbol – mv, became a crucial tool in the 20th century for calibrating stellar temperature scales, particularly when only B-V (photographic - visual) color indices were available. Despite advancements in multi-color photometry, classical BC usage persisted, leading to misconceptions: that BC must always be negative, bolometric magnitudes are inherently brighter than visual, and BC zero-points are arbitrary. These were clarified with IAU’s 2015 GAR B2 resolution, which established a consistent zero-point, revealing BC’s potential for accurately determining stellar luminosities. This study revisits the evolution of BC, addressing its historical and modern usage, and demonstrates how multi-color photometry combined with BC enables precise stellar luminosity measurements, accurate to a few percent.
