519 research outputs found
Optimal Integrated Abundances for Chemical Tagging of Extragalactic Globular Clusters
High resolution integrated light (IL) spectroscopy provides detailed
abundances of distant globular clusters whose stars cannot be resolved.
Abundance comparisons with other systems (e.g. for chemical tagging) require
understanding the systematic offsets that can occur between clusters, such as
those due to uncertainties in the underlying stellar population. This paper
analyses high resolution IL spectra of the Galactic globular clusters 47 Tuc,
M3, M13, NGC 7006, and M15 to (1) quantify potential systematic uncertainties
in Fe, Ca, Ti, Ni, Ba, and Eu and (2) identify the most stable abundance ratios
that will be useful in future analyses of unresolved targets. When stellar
populations are well-modelled, uncertainties are ~0.1-0.2 dex based on
sensitivities to the atmospheric parameters alone; in the worst case scenarios,
uncertainties can rise to 0.2-0.4 dex. The [Ca I/Fe I] ratio is identified as
the optimal integrated [alpha/Fe] indicator (with offsets <0.1 dex), while [Ni
I/Fe I] is also extremely stable to within <0.1 dex. The [Ba II/Eu II] ratios
are also stable when the underlying populations are well modelled and may also
be useful for chemical tagging.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices
of the Royal Astronomical Societ
CN Bimodality at Low Metallicity: The Globular Cluster M53
We present low resolution UV-blue spectroscopic observations of red giant
stars in the globular cluster M53 ([Fe/H]=-1.84), obtained to study primordial
abundance variations and deep mixing via the CN and CH absorption bands. The
metallicity of M53 makes it an attractive target: a bimodal distribution of
3883 angstrom CN bandstrength is common in moderate- and high-metallicity
globular clusters ([Fe/H] > -1.6) but unusual in those of lower metallicity
([Fe/H] < -2.0). We find that M53 is an intermediate case, and has a broad but
not strongly bimodal distribution of CN bandstrength, with CN and CH
bandstrengths anticorrelated in the less-evolved stars. Like many other
globular clusters, M53 also exhibits a general decline in CH bandstrength and
[C/Fe] abundance with rising luminosity on the red giant branch.Comment: 8 pages including 11 figures and 1 table, accepted by PAS
Clear evidence for the presence of second-generation asymptotic giant branch stars in metal-poor Galactic globular clusters
Galactic globular clusters (GCs) are known to host multiple stellar
populations: a first generation with a chemical pattern typical of halo field
stars and a second generation (SG) enriched in Na and Al and depleted in O and
Mg. Both stellar generations are found at different evolutionary stages (e.g.,
the main-sequence turnoff, the subgiant branch, and the red giant branch). The
non detection of SG asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in several metal-poor
([Fe/H] < -1) GCs suggests that not all SG stars ascend the AGB phase, and that
failed AGB stars may be very common in metal-poor GCs. This observation
represents a serious problem for stellar evolution and GC formation/evolution
theories. We report fourteen SG-AGB stars in four metal-poor GCs (M 13, M 5, M
3, and M 2) with different observational properties: horizontal branch (HB)
morphology, metallicity, and age. By combining the H-band Al abundances
obtained by the APOGEE survey with ground-based optical photometry, we identify
SG Al-rich AGB stars in these four GCs and show that Al-rich RGB/AGB GC stars
should be Na-rich. Our observations provide strong support for present,
standard stellar models, i.e., without including a strong mass-loss efficiency,
for low-mass HB stars. In fact, current empirical evidence is in agreement with
the predicted distribution of FG and and SG stars during the He-burning stages
based on these standard stellar models.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters (16
pages, 4 figures, and 1 table
Bright Variable Stars in NGC 6819 - An Open Cluster in the Kepler Field
We describe a variability study of the moderately old open cluster NGC 6819.
We have detected 4 new detached eclipsing binaries near the cluster turnoff
(one of which may be in a triple system). Several of these systems should be
able to provide mass and radius information, and can therefore constrain the
age of the cluster. We have also newly detected one possible detached binary
member about 3.5 magnitudes below the turnoff. One EW-type binary (probably not
a cluster member) shows unusually strong night-to-night light curve variations
in sets of observations separated by 8 years. According to the best current
information, the three brightest variables we detected (2 of them new) are
cluster members, making them blue stragglers. One is a delta Scu pulsating
variable, one is a close but detached binary, and the third contains a detached
short period binary that shows total eclipses. In each case, however, there is
evidence hinting that the system may have been produced through the interaction
of more than two stars.Comment: 33 pages, 15 figures, accepted to A
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