Fixed boundary conditions analysis of the 3d Gonihedric Ising model with κ=0\kappa=0

The Gonihedric Ising model is a particular case of the class of models defined by Savvidy and Wegner intended as discrete versions of string theories on cubic lattices. In this paper we perform a high statistics analysis of the phase transition exhibited by the 3d Gonihedric Ising model with $k=0$ in the light of a set of recently stated scaling laws applicable to first order phase transitions with fixed boundary conditions. Even though qualitative evidence was presented in a previous paper to support the existence of a first order phase transition at $k=0$, only now are we capable of pinpointing the transition inverse temperature at $\beta_c = 0.54757(63)$ and of checking the scaling of standard observables.Comment: 14 pages, 5 tables, 2 figures, uses elsart.cls packag

The helium content of globular clusters: NGC6121 (M4)

He has been proposed as a key element to interpret the observed multiple MS, SGB, and RGB, as well as the complex horizontal branch (HB) morphology. Stars belonging to the bluer part of the HB, are thought to be more He rich (\Delta Y=0.03 or more) and more Na-rich/O-poor than those located in the redder part. This hypothesis was only partially confirmed in NGC 6752, where stars of the redder zero-age HB showed a He content of Y=0.25+-0.01, fully compatible with the primordial He content of the Universe, and were all Na-poor/O-rich. Here we study hot blue HB (BHB) stars in the GC NGC 6121 (M4) to measure their He plus O/Na content. We observed 6 BHB stars using the UVES@VLT2 spectroscopic facility. In addition to He, O, Na, and Fe abundances were estimated. Stars turned out to be all Na-rich and O-poor and to have a homogeneous enhanced He content with a mean value of Y=0.29+-0.01(random)+-0.01(systematic). The high He content of blue HB stars in M4 is also confirmed by the fact that they are brighter than red HB stars (RHB). Theoretical models suggest the BHB stars are He-enhanced by \Delta Y=0.02-0.03 with respect to the RHB stars. The whole sample of stars has a metallicity of [Fe/H]=-1.06+-0.02 (internal error). This is a rare direct measurement of the (primordial) He abundance for stars belonging to the Na-rich/O-poor population of GC stars in a temperature regime where the He content is not altered by sedimentation or extreme mixing as suggested for the hottest, late helium flash HB stars. Our results support theoretical predictions that the Na-rich/O-poor population is also more He-rich than the Na-poor/O-rich generation and that a leading contender for the 2^{nd} parameter is the He abundance.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication on Ap

Absolute motions of globular clusters. II. [HST astrometry and VLT radial velocities in NGC6397]

In this paper we present a new, accurate determination of the three components of the absolute space velocity of the Galactic globular cluster NGC6397 (l 338d, b -12d). We used three HST/WFPC2 fields with multi-epoch observations to obtain astrometric measurements of objects in three different fields in this cluster. The identification of 33 background galaxies with sharp nuclei allowed us to determine an absolute reference point and measure the absolute proper motion of the cluster. The third component has been obtained from radial velocities measured on spectra from the multi-fiber spectrograph FLAMES at UT2-VLT. We find [mu_alpha cos(delta), mu_delta](J2000.0) = [+3.39 +/- 0.15, -17.55 +/- 0.15] mas/yr, and V_rad = +18.36 +/- 0.09 (+/-0.10) km/s. Assuming a Galactic potential, we calculate the cluster orbit for various assumed distances, and briefly discuss the implications.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in A&A, on April 27 200

The peculiar Na-O anticorrelation of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6440

Context. Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs) are essential tools to understand the earliest epoch of the Milky Way, since they are among the oldest objects in the Universe and can be used to trace its formation and evolution. Current studies using high resolution spectroscopy for many stars in each of a large sample of GCs allow us to develop a detailed observational picture about their formation and their relation with the Galaxy. However, it is necessary to complete this picture by including GCs that belong to all major Galactic components, including the Bulge. Aims. Our aim is to perform a detailed chemical analyses of the bulge GC NGC 6440 in order to determine if this object has Multiple Populations (MPs) and investigate its relation with the Bulge of the Milky Way and with the other Galactic GCs, especially those associated with the Bulge, which are largely poorly studied. Methods. We determined the stellar parameters and the chemical abundances of light elements (Na, Al), iron-peak elements (Fe, Sc, Mn, Co, Ni), $\alpha$-elements (O, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti) and heavy elements (Ba, Eu) in seven red giant members of NGC 6440 using high resolution spectroscopy from FLAMES@UVES. Results. We found a mean iron content of [Fe/H]=-0.50$\pm$0.03 dex in agreement with other studies. We found no internal iron spread. On the other hand, Na and Al show a significant intrinsic spread, but the cluster has no significant O-Na anticorrelation nor exhibits a Mg-Al anticorrelation. The $\alpha$-elements show good agreement with the Bulge field star trend, although they are at the high alpha end and are also higher than those of other GCs of comparable metallicity. The heavy elements are dominated by the r-process, indicating a strong contribution by SNeII. The chemical analysis suggests an origin similar to that of the Bulge field stars.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

NGC 5385, NGC 2664 and Collinder 21: three candidate Open Cluster Remnants

We present CCD UBVI photometric and medium/high resolution spectroscopic observations obtained in the field of the previously unstudied dissolving open cluster candidates NGC 5385, NGC 2664 and Collinder~21. Our analysis stands on the discussion of star counts, photometry, radial velocity distribution, and proper motions available from the Tycho~2 catalogue. All the three aggregates clearly emerge from the mean Galactic field, but, regrettably, the close scrutiny of proper motions and radial velocities reveals that we are not facing any physical group. Instead, what we are looking at are just chance alignments of a few bright unrelated stars. Our analysis casts some doubt on the Bica et al. (2001) criterion to look for Possible Open Cluster Remnants. It seems mandatory to define a better criterion to adopt for further investigations.Comment: 12 pages, 12 eps figures (7, 9 and 11 degraded in resolution), accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

A double stellar generation in the Globular Cluster NGC6656 (M 22). Two stellar groups with different iron and s-process element abundance

AIMS. In this paper we present the chemical abundance analysis from high resolution UVES spectra of seventeen bright giant stars of the Globular Cluster M~22. RESULTS. We obtained an average iron abundance of [Fe/H]=-1.76\pm0.02 (internal errors only) and an \alpha enhancement of 0.36\pm0.04 (internal errors only). Na and O, and Al and O follow the well known anti-correlation found in many other GCs. We identified two groups of stars with significantly different abundances of the s-process elements Y, Zr and Ba. The relative numbers of the two group members are very similar to the ratio of the stars in the two SGBs of M22 recently found by Piotto (2009). Y and Ba abundances do not correlate with Na, O and Al. The s-element rich stars are also richer in iron and have higher Ca abundances. The results from high resolution spectra have been further confirmed by lower resolution GIRAFFE spectra of fourteen additional M22 stars. GIRAFFE spectra show also that the Eu -- a pure r-process element -- abundance is not related to the iron content. We discuss the chemical abundance pattern of M22 stars in the context of the multiple stellar populations in GC scenario.Comment: 17 Pages, 21 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Metal abundances in extremely distant Galactic old open clusters. II. Berkeley 22 and Berkeley 66

We report on high resolution spectroscopy of four giant stars in the Galactic old open clusters Berkeley~22 and Berkeley~66 obtained with HIRES at the Keck telescope. We find that $[Fe/H]=-0.32\pm0.19$ and $[Fe/H]=-0.48\pm0.24$ for Berkeley~22 and Berkeley~66, respectively. Based on these data, we first revise the fundamental parameters of the clusters, and then discuss them in the context of the Galactic disk radial abundance gradient. We found that both clusters nicely obey the most updated estimate of the slope of the gradient from \citet{fri02} and are genuine Galactic disk objects.Comment: 20 pages, 6 eps figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Chemical composition of stellar populations in Omega Centauri

We derive abundances of Fe, Na, O, and s-elements from GIRAFFE@VLT spectra for more than 200 red giant stars in the Milky Way satellite Omega Centauri. Our preliminary results are that: (i) we confirm that Omega Centauri exibiths large star-to-star metallicity variations ($\sim$ 1.4 dex); (ii) the metallicity distribution reveals the presence of at least five stellar populations with different [Fe/H]; (iii) a clear Na-O anticorrelation is clearly observed for the metal-poor and metal-intermediate populations while apparently the anticorrelation disappears for the most metal-rich populations. Interestingly the Na level grows with iron.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the proceedings of IAU Symp. 268 "Light elements in the Universe" (C. Charbonnel, M. Tosi, F. Primas, C. Chiappini, eds., Cambridge Univ. Press