High-resolution CRIRES spectra of Terzan1: a metal-poor globular cluster toward the inner bulge

Containing the oldest stars in the Galaxy, globular clusters toward the bulge can be used to trace its dynamical and chemical evolution. In the bulge direction, there are ~50 clusters, but only about 20% have been subject of high-resolution spectroscopic investigations. So far, the sample observed at high resolution spans a moderate-to-high metallicity regime. In this sample, however, very few are located in the innermost region ($R_{GC}\leq$1.5\,Kpc and $|l, b|\leq5^{\circ}$). To constrain the chemical evolution enrichment of the innermost region of Galaxy, accurate abundances and abundance patterns of key elements based on high-resolution spectroscopy are necessary. Here we present the results we obtained for Terzan 1, a metal-poor cluster located in the innermost bulge region. Using the near-infrared spectrograph CRIRES at ESO/VLT, we obtained high-resolution (R$\approx$50,000) H-band spectra of 16 bright giant stars in the innermost region ($r\leq 60"$) of Terzan1. Full spectral synthesis techniques and equivalent width measurements of selected lines, isolated and free of significant blending and/or contamination by telluric lines, allowed accurate chemical abundances and radial velocities to be derived. Fifteen out of 16 observed stars are likely cluster members, with an average heliocentric radial velocity of +57$\pm$1.8\,km/s and mean iron abundance of [Fe/H]=--1.26$\pm$0.03\,dex. For these stars we measured some [$\alpha$/Fe] abundance ratios, finding average values of [O/Fe]=+0.39$\pm$0.02\,dex, [Mg/Fe]=+0.42$\pm$0.02\,dex, [Si/Fe]=+0.31$\pm$0.04\,dex, and [Ti/Fe]=+0.15$\pm$0.04\,dex The $\alpha$ enhancement ($\approx +0.4$\,dex) found in the observed giant stars of Terzan1 is consistent with previous measurements on other, more metal-rich bulge clusters, which suggests a rapid chemical enrichment.Comment: 7, pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication on A&

The First Detailed Abundances for M giants in Baade's Window from Infrared Spectroscopy

We report the first abundance analysis of 14 M giant stars in the Galactic bulge, based on R=25,000 infrared spectroscopy (1.5-1.8um) using NIRSPEC at the Keck II telescope. Because some of the bulge M giants reach high luminosities and have very late spectral type, it has been suggested that they are the progeny of only the most metal rich bulge stars, or possibly members of a younger bulge population. We find the iron abundance and composition of the M giants are similar to those of the K giants that have abundances determined from optical high resolution spectroscopy: =-0.190 +/- 0.020 with a 1-sigma dispersion of 0.08 +/- 0.015. Comparing our bulge M giants to a control sample of local disk M giants in the Solar vicinity, we find the bulge stars are enhanced in alpha elements at the level of +0.3 dex relative to the Solar composition stars, consistent with other studies of bulge globular clusters and field stars. This small sample shows no dependence of spectral type on metallicity, nor is there any indication that the M giants are the evolved members of a subset of the bulge population endowed with special characteristics such as relative youth or high metallicity. We also find low 12C/13C < 10, confirming the prsence of extra-mixing processes during the red gaint phase of evolutionComment: 19 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Stellar and gaseous abundances in M82

The near infrared (IR) absorption spectra of starburst galaxies show several atomic and molecular lines from red supergiants which can be used to infer reliable stellar abundances. The metals locked in stars give a picture of the galaxy metallicity prior to the last burst of star formation. The enrichment of the new generation of stars born in the last burst can be traced by measuring the hot gas in the X-rays. For the first time detailed stellar abundances in the nuclear region of the starburst galaxy M82 have been obtained. They are compared with those of the hot gas as derived from an accurate re-analysis of the XMM and Chandra nuclear X-ray spectra. The cool stars and the hot gas suggest [Fe/H]=-0.35+/-0.2 dex, and an overall [Si,Mg/Fe] enhancement by 0.4 and 0.5 dex, respectively. This is consistent with a major chemical enrichment by SNe II explosions in recursive bursts on short timescales. Oxygen is more puzzling to interpret since it is enhanced by 0.3 dex in stars and depleted by 0.2 dex in the hot gas. None of the standard enrichment scenarios can fully explain such a behavior when compared with the other alpha-elements.Comment: APJ, in pres

A near-infrared spectroscopic screening of the red giant populations in omega Centauri

Near-infrared spectra of 21 giants in omega Centauri, spanning the whole range of metallicities observed in this cluster, are presented. This work is part of a coordinated photometric and spectroscopic campaign in the optical and in the infrared, aimed at studying the complex stellar population of omega Centauri and understanding its formation and chemical evolution. By analyzing the several CO and OH molecular bands and atomic lines in the spectra of the selected giants, metal abundances and abundance ratios have been obtained. The existence of three major metallicity regimes at [Fe/H]=-1.6, -1.2 and [Fe/H]<-0.5 has been confirmed. The most metal-rich stars in our sample show a lower (if any) alpha-enhancement when compared to the more metal-poor components, suggesting that they should have formed in a medium significantly polluted by type Ia supernova ejecta. Isotopic carbon abundances have been also inferred, providing an average 13C/12C=4, which clearly indicates that extra-mixing processes occurred in the stellar interiors during the ascent on the Red Giant Branch.Comment: 22 pages, 7 .ps figures. aastex. Accepted for pubilcation in the Astrophysical Journa

No evidence of chemical anomalies in the bimodal turnoff cluster NGC 1806 in the LMC

We have studied the chemical composition of NGC 1806, a massive, intermediate-age globular cluster that shows a double main sequence turnoff. We analyzed a sample of high-resolution spectra (secured with FLAMES at the Very Large Telescope) for 8 giant stars, members of the cluster, finding an average iron content of [Fe/H]=--0.60 +- 0.01 dex and no evidence of intrinsic star-to-star variations in the abundances of light elements (Na, O, Mg, Al). Also, the (m_(F814W); m_(F336W)-m_(F814W)) color-magnitude diagram obtained by combining optical and near-UV Hubble Space Telescope photometry exhibits a narrow red giant branch, thus ruling out intrinsic variations of C and N abundances in the cluster. These findings demonstrate that NGC 1806 does not harbor chemically distinct sub-populations, at variance with what was found in old globular clusters. In turn, this indicates that the double main sequence turnoff phenomenon cannot be explained in the context of the self-enrichment processes usually invoked to explain the chemical anomalies observed in old globulars. Other solutions (i.e., stellar rotation, merging between clusters or collisions with giant molecular clouds) should be envisaged to explain this class of globulars.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ Letters; 15 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Detection of ionized gas in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae

We report the detection of ionized intracluster gas in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. Pulsars in this cluster with a negative period derivative, which must lie in the distant half of the cluster, have significantly higher measured integrated electron column densities than the pulsars with a positive period derivative. We derive the plasma density within the central few pc of the cluster using two different methods which yield consistent values. Our best estimate of n_e = (0.067+-0.015)/cm^3 is about 100 times the free electron density of the ISM in the vicinity of 47 Tucanae, and the ionized gas is probably the dominant component of the intracluster medium.Comment: 5 pages, 3 included figures, accepted for publication by ApJ Letter

Verification of Knoop indenters with Gal-Indent optical system

Le normative internazionali ISO 4545-2 e 4545-3 per i test di durezza Knoop richiedono la verifica geometrica dei penetratori. Il laboratorio di durezza INRiM, in collaborazione con la Galileo-LTF®, ha sviluppato uno specifico sistema ottico di misurazione(commercializzato da Galileo-LTF® come Gal-Indent) , utilizzato per la verifica dei penetratori Vickers. Questo sistema è in grado di misurare i due angoli al vertice tra due facce opposte, i quattro angoli della base quadrangolare e l'angolo tra l'asse della piramide di diamante e l'asse del codolo del penetratore. Usando le misure degli angoli al vertice e della base come input di un appropriato modello geometrico, gli angoli al vertice tra spigoli opposti di penetratori Knoop, nominalmente di 172.5° e 130°, e l'angolo tra l'asse della piramide di diamante e l'asse del supporto del penetratore, nominalmente di 0°, possono essere verificati con un'incertezza estesa di 0.05°, come richiesto dalle normative. Il confronto tra le misure sperimentali eseguite con questo metodo su tre diversi penetratori Knoop, precedentemente verificati da un laboratorio accreditato tedesco, mostrano risultati compatibili, in termini di errore normalizzato.ISO 4545-2 and 4545-3 of Knoop hardness tests require the geometrical verification of the indenters. INRiM hardness laboratory, in cooperation with Galileo-LTF® has developed a specific optical measuring system (commercialized by Galileo-LTF® as Gal-Indent) which is addressed for the verification of Vickers indenters. This system is able to measure the two vertex angles between two opposite faces, the four angles of the quadrilateral base and the angle between the axis of the diamond pyramid and the axis of the indenter holder. Using the measured quantities of the vertex and base angles as inputs of a suitable geometrical model, the angles from the opposite edges at the vertex of Knoop indenters, nominally 172.5° and 130°, and the angle between the axis of the diamond pyramid and the axis of the indenter holder, nominally 0°, can be verified with an expanded uncertainty of 0.05°, as required by the relevant Standard. Comparison of experimental measurements performed on three different Knoop indenters, previously verified by a German accredited laboratory, shows compatible results in terms of normalized error

Multiple populations in the old and massive Small Magellanic Cloud globular cluster NGC121

We used a combination of optical and near-UV Hubble Space Telescope photometry and FLAMES/ESO-VLT high-resolution spectroscopy to characterize the stellar content of the old and massive globular cluster (GC) NGC121 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We report on the detection of multiple stellar populations, the first case in the SMC stellar cluster system. This result enforces the emerging scenario in which the presence of multiple stellar populations is a distinctive-feature of old and massive GCs regardless of the environment, as far as the light element distribution is concerned. We find that second population (SG) stars are more centrally concentrated than first (FG) ones. More interestingly, at odds with what typically observed in Galactic GCs, we find that NGC121 is the only cluster so far to be dominated by FG stars that account for more than 65% of the total cluster mass. In the framework where GCs were born with a 90-95% of FG stars, this observational finding would suggest that either NGC121 experienced a milder stellar mass-loss with respect to Galactic GCs or it formed a smaller fraction of SG stars.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in Ap