Rotations and Abundances of Blue Horizontal-Branch Stars in Globular Cluster M15

High-resolution optical spectra of eighteen blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars in the globular cluster M15 indicate that their stellar rotation rates and photospheric compositions vary strongly as a function of effective temperature. Among the cooler stars in the sample, at Teff ~ 8500 K, metal abundances are in rough agreement with the canonical cluster metallicity, and the v sin i rotations appear to have a bimodal distribution, with eight stars at v sin i < 15 km/s and two stars at v sin i ~ 35 km/s. Most of the stars at Teff > 10000 K, however, are slowly rotating, v sin i < 7 km/s, and their iron and titanium are enhanced by a factor of 300 to solar abundance levels. Magnesium maintains a nearly constant abundance over the entire range of Teff, and helium is depleted by factors of 10 to 30 in three of the hotter stars. Diffusion effects in the stellar atmospheres are the most likely explanation for these large differences in composition. Our results are qualitatively very similar to those previously reported for M13 and NGC 6752, but with even larger enhancement amplitudes, presumably due to the increased efficiency of radiative levitation at lower intrinsic [Fe/H]. We also see evidence for faster stellar rotation explicitly preventing the onset of the diffusion mechanisms among a subset of the hotter stars.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, 1 table, accepted to ApJ

Search for vertical stratification of metals in atmospheres of blue horizontal-branch stars

The observed abundance peculiarities of many chemical species relative to the expected cluster metallicity in blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars presumably appear as a result of atomic diffusion in the photosphere. The slow rotation (typically $v\sin{i}<$ 10 km s$^{-1}$) of BHB stars with effective temperatures $T_{\rm eff}>$ 11,500 K supports this idea since the diffusion mechanism is only effective in a stable stellar atmosphere. In this work we search for observational evidence of vertical chemical stratification in the atmospheres of six hot BHB stars: B84, B267 and B279 in M15 and WF2-2541, WF4-3085 and WF4-3485 in M13. We undertake an abundance stratification analysis of the stellar atmospheres of the aforementioned stars, based on acquired Keck HIRES spectra. We have found from our numerical simulations that three stars (B267, B279 and WF2-2541) show clear signatures of the vertical stratification of iron whose abundance increases toward the lower atmosphere, while the other two stars (B84 and WF4-3485) do not. For WF4-3085 the iron stratification results are inconclusive. B267 also shows a signature of titanium stratification. Our estimates for radial velocity, $v\sin{i}$ and overall iron, titanium and phosphorus abundances agree with previously published data for these stars after taking the measurement errors into account. The results support the hypothesis regarding the efficiency of atomic diffusion in the stellar atmospheres of BHB stars with $T_{\rm eff}>$ 11,500 K.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Contamination of spectroscopic observations by satellite constellations

The number of satellites on low orbit has dramatically increased over the past years, raising concerns among the astronomical community about their impact on observations. Spectroscopic observations represent a large fraction of professional data, and spectrographs lack spatial information that can reveal the presence of a satellite. We simulated how often satellites contaminate spectrograph observations by using realistic constellations with over 400,000 objects. We also measured how a spectrum is affected by using real data from different scientific targets and a scaled solar analogue as the satellite, and using standard tools to measure astrophysical parameters and compare them with the clean spectrum. The fraction of affected spectra varies dramatically with the elevation of the sun, with a maximum of 10% at twilight and a nightly average of about 2%. Because of the fast motion of the satellites and the limiting magnitude of the spectrographs, high-resolution instruments are essentially blind to most satellites. For lower resolution spectrographs, the effect on the measured astrophysical parameters depends strongly on the signal-to-noise of the exposure, longer exposures on brighter targets being the least affected at <=1%. Satellites that are brighter and/or higher than the constellation satellites, while less numerous, can also contaminate spectra. While the fraction of affected spectra is likely to remain low, some of these contaminated spectra will be difficult to identify, as it is already the case with existing satellites and asteroids. The best mitigation is to ensure that their brightness is fainter than V=7, that their absolute magnitude V1000km is also fainter than 7, and, whenever possible, to shoot multiple exposures.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

Spectroscopic search for binaries among EHB stars in globular clusters

We performed a spectroscopic search for binaries among hot Horizontal Branch stars in globular clusters. We present final results for a sample of 51 stars in NGC6752, and preliminary results for the first 15 stars analyzed in M80. The observed stars are distributed along all the HBs in the range 8000 < Teff < 32000 K, and have been observed during four nights. Radial velocity variations have been measured with the cross-correlation technique. We carefully analyzed the statistical and systematic errors associated with the measurements in order to evaluate the statistical significance of the observed variations. No close binary system has been detected, neither among cooler stars nor among the sample of hot EHB stars (18 stars with Teff > 22000 K in NGC6752). The data corrected for instrumental effects indicate that the radial velocity variations are always below the 3sigma level of ~15 km/s. These results are in sharp contrast with those found for field hot subdwarfs, and open new questions about the formation of EHB stars in globular clusters, and possibly of the field subdwarfs.Comment: To appear in Baltic Astronomy. Proceedings of the 2nd meeting on Hot Subdwarf Stars, La Palma, June 2005. 4 pages, 2 figure

Chemical Abundances and Rotation Velocities of Blue Horizontal-Branch Stars in Six Globular Clusters

High-resolution spectroscopic measurements of blue horizontal-branch stars in six metal-poor globular clusters -- M3, M13, M15, M68, M92, and NGC 288 -- reveal remarkable variations in photospheric composition and rotation velocity as a function of a star's position along the horizontal branch. For the cooler stars (Teff < 11200 K), the derived abundances are in good agreement with the canonical cluster metallicities, and we find a wide range of v sin i rotation velocities, some as high as 40 km/s. In the hotter stars, however, most metal species are strongly enhanced, by as much as 3 dex, relative to the expected cluster metallicity, while helium is depleted by 2 dex or more. In addition, the hot stars all rotate slowly, with v sin i < 8 km/s. The anomalous abundances appear to be due to atomic diffusion mechanisms -- gravitational settling of helium, and radiative levitation of metals -- in the non-convective atmospheres of these hot stars. We discuss the influence of these photospheric metal enhancements on the stars' photometric properties, and explore possible explanations for the observed distribution of rotation velocities.Comment: 77 pages, 27 figures, accepted for November 2003 publication in ApJ

An Overview of the Rotational Behavior of Metal--Poor Stars

The present paper describes the behavior of the rotational velocity in metal--poor stars ([Fe/H]<-0.5 dex) in different evolutionary stages, based on Vsini values from the literature. Our sample is comprised of stars in the field and some Galactic globular clusters, including stars on the main sequence, the red giant branch (RGB), and the horizontal branch (HB). The metal--poor stars are, mainly, slow rotators, and their Vsini distribution along the HR diagram is quite homogeneous. Nevertheless, a few moderate to high values of Vsini are found in stars located on the main sequence and on the HB. We show that the overall distribution of Vsini values is basically independent of metallicity for the stars in our sample. In particular, the fast-rotating main sequence stars in our sample present similar rotation rates as their metal-rich counterparts, suggesting that some of them may actually be fairly young, in spite of their low metallicity, or else that at least some of them would be better classified as blue straggler stars. We do not find significant evidence of evolution in Vsini values as a function of position on the RGB; in particular, we do not confirm previous suggestions that stars close to the RGB tip rotate faster than their less evolved counterparts. While the presence of fast rotators among moderately cool blue HB stars has been suggested to be due to angular momentum transport from a stellar core that has retained significant angular momentum during its prior evolution, we find that any such transport mechanisms must likely operate very fast as the star arrives on the zero-age HB (ZAHB), since we do not find a link between evolution off the ZAHB and Vsini values. We present an extensive tabulation of all quantities discussed in this paper, including rotation velocities, temperatures, gravitieComment: 22 pages, 10 figure

The ubiquitous nature of the Horizontal Branch second U-jump: A link with the Blue Hook scenario?

In a previous paper we reported on a discontinuity in the extreme horizontal branch (EHB) of the Galactic globular cluster NGC6752, which we called the second U-jump. This feature was attributed to a combination of post zero-age horizontal branch evolution and diffusion effects. In this follow-up study we analyze other EHB clusters and show that the second U-jump is a common feature among EHB clusters reaching T_{eff}\ge 23,000K, and that its onset in different clusters converges around T_{eff}\sim 21,000\pm3,000K. We also present near-ultraviolet diagrams of \omega Cen and NGC2808, the only two objects with spectroscopically confirmed ``blue hook'' stars (T_{eff}\ge 35,000K). We confirm predictions of a photometric discontinuity separating late from early-helium flashers. Moreover, we present empirical evidence that the second U-jump population might be mainly composed by early-helium flashers. Lastly, we revisit the discussion on the ubiquitous nature of the gaps and jumps so far identified in the blue HB tails, suggesting a possible discrete nature of the distribution in temperature of the HB stars.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. Higher resolution version available via ftp at ftp://ftp.pd.astro.it/pub/momany/momany.tar A&A accepte

Rotation of Hot Horizontal Branch Stars in the Globular Clusters NGC 1904, NGC 2808, NGC 6093 and NGC 7078

We present high resolution UVES+VLT spectroscopic observations of 56 stars in the extended horizontal branch (EHB) of the Galactic globular clusters NGC 1904, NGC 2808, NGC 6093, and NGC 7078. Our data reveal for the first time the presence in NGC 1904 of a sizable population of fast (vsini > 20 km/s) horizontal branch (HB) rotators, confined to the cool end of the EHB, similar to that found in M13. We also confirm the fast rotators already observed in NGC 7078. The cooler stars (Teff < 11,500 K) in these three clusters show a range of rotation rates, with a group of stars rotating at ~ 15 km/s or less, and a fast rotating group at ~ 30 km/s. Apparently, the fast rotators are relatively more abundant in NGC 1904 and M13, than in NGC 7078. No fast rotators have been identified in NGC 2808 and NGC 6093. All the stars hotter than Teff ~ 11,500 K have projected rotational velocities vsini < 12 km/s, but less than 20% have vsini < 2 km/s. The connection between photometric gaps in the HB and the change in the projected rotational velocities is not confirmed by the new data. However, our data are consistent with a relation between this discontinuity and the HB jump. We discuss a number of possibilities for the origin of the stellar rotation distribution along the HB. We conclude that none of them can yet provide a satisfactory explanation of the observations.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, ApJ Letter, accepte

Discovery of Blue Hook Stars in the Massive Globular Cluster M54

We present BV photometry centered on the globular cluster M54 (NGC 6715). The color-magnitude diagram clearly shows a blue horizontal branch extending anomalously beyond the zero age horizontal branch theoretical models. These kinds of horizontal branch stars (also called ``blue hook'' stars), which go beyond the lower limit of the envelope mass of canonical horizontal branch hot stars, have so far been known to exist in only a few globular clusters: NGC 2808, Omega Centauri (NGC 5139), NGC 6273, and NGC 6388. Those clusters, like M54, are among the most luminous in our Galaxy, indicating a possible correlation between the existence of these types of horizontal branch stars and the total mass of the cluster. A gap in the observed horizontal branch of M54 around T(eff)= 27000 K could be interpreted within the late helium flash theoretical scenario, a possible explanation for the origin of those stars.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa