INTEGRATED NEAR-INFRARED COLORS OF STAR-CLUSTERS - ANALYSIS OF THE STOCHASTIC EFFECTS ON THE INITIAL MASS FUNCTION

In this paper we examine the influence of stochastic effects on the in tegrated near-infrared light of star clusters with ages between 7.5 < log t < 9.25. To do this, we use stellar evolution models and a Monte Carlo technique to simulate the effects of stochastic variations in th e numbers of main sequence, giant, and supergiant stars for single-gen eration stellar populations. The fluctuations in the integrated light produced by such variations are evaluated for the VJHK bands. We show that the VJHK light of the star clusters can be strongly affected by p lausible stochastic fluctuations in the numbers of bright but scarce s tars. In particular, the inclusion of thermally pulsing asymptotic gia nt branch (AGB) stars in the stellar evolution models yields integrate d colors with values in agreement with the spread seen for Large Magel lanic Cloud clusters that are known to have significant numbers of AGB stars. Implications of this analysis are important for studies of the integrated light of stellar populations where it is not possible to r esolve individual stars.