The period–metallicity–K-band luminosity (PLK) relation for RR Lyrae stars in 15 Galactic globular clusters and in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) globular cluster Reticulum has been derived. It is ...based on accurate near-infrared (K) photometry combined with Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) and other literature data. The PLK relation has been calibrated and compared with the previous empirical and theoretical determinations in literature. The zero point of the absolute calibration has been obtained from the K magnitude of RR Lyr whose distance modulus has been measured via trigonometric parallax with Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Using this relation, we obtain a distance modulus to the LMC of (m−M)0= 18.54 ± 0.15 mag, in good agreement with recent determinations based on the analysis of Cepheid variable stars.
As part of our on-going project on the homogeneous chemical characterisation of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters (GCs), we studied NGC 5634, associated to the Sagittarius dwarf ...spheroidal galaxy, using high-resolution spectroscopy of red giant stars collected with VLT/FLAMES. We present here the radial velocity distribution of the 45 observed stars, 43 of which are cluster members, the detailed chemical abundance of 22 species for the seven stars observed with UVES-FLAMES, and the abundance of six elements for stars observed with GIRAFFE. On our homogeneous UVES metallicity scale, we derived a low-metallicity Fe/H =−1.867 ± 0.019 ± 0.065 dex (±statistical ±systematic error) with σ = 0.050 dex (7 stars). We found the normal anticorrelations between light elements (Na and O, Mg and Al), a signature of multiple populations typical of massive and old GCs. We confirm the associations of NGC 5634 to the Sgr dSph, from which the cluster was lost a few Gyr ago, on the basis of its velocity and position, and the abundance ratios of α and neutron capture elements.
We present a new implementation of the Monte Carlo method to simulate the evolution of star clusters. The major improvement with respect to the previously developed codes is the treatment of the ...external tidal field taking into account for both the loss of stars from the cluster boundary and the disc/bulge shocks. We provide recipes to handle with eccentric orbits in complex galactic potentials. The first calculations for stellar systems containing 21 000 and 42 000 equal-mass particles show good agreement with direct N-body simulations in terms of the evolution of both the enclosed mass and the Lagrangian radii provided that the mass-loss rate does not exceed a critical value.
The presence of multiple populations in globular clusters has been well established thanks to high-resolution spectroscopy. It is widely accepted that distinct populations are a consequence of ...different stellar generations: intracluster pollution episodes are required to produce the peculiar chemistry observed in almost all clusters. Unfortunately, the progenitors responsible have left an ambiguous signature and their nature remains unresolved. To constrain the candidate polluters, we have measured lithium and aluminium abundances in more than 180 giants across three systems: NGC 1904, NGC 2808, and NGC 362. The present investigation along with our previous analysis of M12 and M5 affords us the largest data base of simultaneous determinations of Li and Al abundances. Our results indicate that Li production has occurred in each of the three clusters. In NGC 362, we detected an M12-like behaviour, with first- and second-generation stars sharing very similar Li abundances favouring a progenitor that is able to produce Li, such as asymptotic giant branches stars. Multiple progenitor types are possible in NGC 1904 and NGC 2808, as they possess both an intermediate population comparable in lithium to the first generation stars and also an extreme population, that is enriched in Al but depleted in Li. A simple dilution model fails in reproducing this complex pattern. Finally, the internal Li variation seems to suggest that the production efficiency of this element is a function of the cluster's mass and metallicity – low-mass or relatively metal-rich clusters are more adept at producing Li.
We present the abundance analysis of 82 red giant branch stars in the dense, metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6093 (M 80), the largest sample of stars analysed in this way for this cluster. From ...high-resolution UVES spectra of 14 stars and intermediate resolution GIRAFFE spectra for the other stars we derived abundances of O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu. On our UVES metallicity scale the mean metal abundance of M 80 is Fe/H = −1.791 ± 0.006 ± 0.076 (±statistical ±systematic error) with σ = 0.023 (14 stars). M 80 shows star-to-star variations in proton-capture elements, and the extension of the Na-O anti-correlation perfectly fit the relations with (i) total cluster mass; (ii) horizontal branch morphology; and (iii) cluster concentration previously found by our group. The chemistry of multiple stellar populations in M 80 does not look extreme. The cluster is also a representative of halo globular clusters concerning the pattern of α-capture and Fe-group elements. However we found that a significant contribution from the s-process is required to account for the distribution of neutron-capture elements. A minority of stars in M 80 seem to exhibit slightly enhanced abundances of s-process species, compatible with those observed in M 22 and NGC 1851, although further confirmation from larger samples is required.
We present the analysis of a kinematic data set of stars in the globular cluster NGC 2419, taken with the DEep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph at the Keck II telescope. Combined with a reanalysis ...of deep Hubble Space Telescope and Subaru Telescope imaging data, which provide an accurate luminosity profile of the cluster, we investigate the validity of a large set of dynamical models of the system, which are checked for stability via N-body simulations. We find that isotropic models in either Newtonian or Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) are ruled out with extremely high confidence. However, a simple Michie model in Newtonian gravity with anisotropic velocity dispersion provides an excellent representation of the luminosity profile and kinematics of the cluster. The anisotropy profiles of these models ensure an isotropic center to the cluster, which progresses to extreme radial anisotropy toward the outskirts. In contrast, with MOND we find that Michie models that reproduce the luminosity profile either overpredict the velocity dispersion on the outskirts of the cluster if the mass-to-light ratio (M/L) is kept at astrophysically motivated values or else they underpredict the central velocity dispersion if the M/L is taken to be very small. We find that the best Michie model in MOND is a factor of ~104 less likely than the Newtonian model that best fits the system. A likelihood ratio of 350 is found when we investigate more general models by solving the Jeans equation with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo scheme. We verified with N-body simulations that these results are not significantly different when the MOND external field effect is accounted for. If the assumptions that the cluster is in dynamical equilibrium, spherical, not on a peculiar orbit, and possesses a single dynamical tracer population of constant M/L are correct, we conclude that the present observations provide a very severe challenge for MOND.
We used archival Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) images to obtain the luminosity function of the remote globular cluster NGC 2419 from 2 mag above the horizontal branch level down ...to ≃ 3.0 mag below the turn-off point (to M
I
≃ 6.4), approximately covering the range of initial stellar masses
. The completeness-corrected luminosity function does not display any change of shape over the radial range covered by the WFC3 data, out to ≃ 6 core radii (r
c), or, equivalently, to ≃ 2 half-light radii. The luminosity function in this radial range is also identical to that obtained from ground-based data at much larger distances from the cluster centre (
), in the magnitude range in which the two distributions overlap (M
I
≤ 4.0). These results support the conclusion by Dalessandro et al. that there is no significant mass segregation among cluster stars; hence, the stellar mass-to-light ratio remains constant with distance from the cluster centre. We fitted the observed luminosity function with theoretical counterparts with the proper age and metallicity from different sets of stellar evolution models, and we consistently derive a total V-band mass-to-light ratio
by extrapolating to the hydrogen-burning limit, with a best-fitting value M/L
V
= 1.5 ± 0.1. On the other hand, assuming that there are no cluster stars with m≤ 0.3 M⊙, we establish a robust lower limit M/L
V
> 0.8. These estimates provide useful constraints for dynamical models of the cluster that were forced to consider the stellar mass-to-light ratio as a (nearly) free parameter.
We use colour–magnitude diagram synthesis together with theoretical relations from non-linear pulsation models to approach the long-standing problem of the Oosterhoff dichotomy related to the ...distribution of the mean periods of fundamental RR Lyrae variables in globular clusters. By adopting the chemical composition determined from spectroscopic observations and a criterion to account for the hysteresis mechanism, we tuned age and mass loss to simultaneously reproduce the morphology of both the turn-off and the horizontal branch of a sample of 17 globular clusters of the Milky Way and of nearby dwarf galaxies in the crucial metallicity range (−1.9 < Fe/H < −1.4) where the Oostheroff transition is apparent. We find that the Oosterhoff dichotomy among Galactic globular clusters is naturally reproduced by models. The analysis of the relative impact of the various involved parameters indicates that the main responsibles of the dichotomy are the peculiar distribution of clusters in the age–metallicity plane and the hysteresis. In particular, there is a clear connection between the two main branches of the age–metallicity relation for Galactic globular clusters and the Oosterhoff groups. The properties of clusters’ RR Lyrae belonging to other Oostheroff groups (OoInt and OoIII) are instead not well reproduced. While for OoIII clusters a larger helium abundance for a fraction of the cluster's stars can reconcile the model prediction with observations, some other parameter affecting both the horizontal branch morphology and the RR Lyrae periods is required to reproduce the behaviour of OoInt clusters.
We use a combination of data acquired with the Advanced Camera for Survey on board the Hubble Space Telescope and the Large Binocular Camera (LBC-blue) mounted on the Large Binocular Telescope to ...sample the main sequence (MS) stars of the globular cluster (GC) NGC 5466 in the mass range 0.3 < M/M sub(middot in circle) < 0.8. We derive the cluster's Luminosity Function (LF) in several radial regions, from the center of the cluster out to the tidal radius. After corrections for incompleteness and field contamination, this was compared to theoretical LFs, obtained by multiplying a simple power-law mass function in the form dN/dm proportional, variant m super(alpha) by the derivative of the mass- luminosity relationship of the best-fit isochrone. We find that alpha varies from -0.6 in the core region to -1.9 in the outer region. This fact allows us to prove by observation that the stars in NGC 5466 have experienced the effects of mass segregation. We compare the radial variation of alpha from the center out to 5 core radii (r sub(c)) in NGC 5466 and the GC M10, finding that the gradient of alpha in the first 5r sub(c) is more than a factor of 2 shallower in NGC 5466 than in M10, in line with the differences in the clusters' relaxation timescales. NGC 5466 is dynamically younger than M10, with two-body relaxation processes only recently starting to shape the distribution of MS stars. This result fully agrees with the conclusion obtained in our previous works on the radial distribution of blue straggler stars, further confirming that this can be used as an efficient clock to measure the dynamical age of stellar systems.
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