| Abstract | The luminosities of the core helium burning stars in six Magellanic Cloud intermediate-age star clusters, whose ages have recently been determined from photometry reaching below the main-sequence turnoff, are compared with the predictions of a new grid of theoretical models. It is found that for the so-called 'short' distance moduli consistent results can be achieved with moderate amounts of mass loss from the main sequence to the core helium burning stage for the older clusters, and with rather more substantial mass loss for the younger objects. For the 'long' moduli, however, the results of the comparison give inconsistent results in that the required masses for the clump stars generally exceed the corresponding turnoff masses, in some cases by several tenths of a solar mass. The results support the adoption of smaller distances to these galaxies. |
