The multiple stellar populations (MPs) of $\sim$11-13 Gyr-old Globular Clusters (GCs) in our Galaxy are characterized by different content of several light elements. These elements describe well-defined patterns like the C-N and the Na-O anticorrelations and the He-N and Na-N correlations. The discovery of the MPs in Magellanic Cloud GCs opened up new paths for the investigation of chemical anomalies in clusters with different age and physical properties. In this context, we used Hubble Space Telescope photometry to investigate the MPs and constrain their chemical composition of four $\sim$6-11 Gyr extragalactic GCs, namely NGC 121,NGC 339, NGC 416 and Lindsay 1 in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The comparison of the stellar colors with synthetic spectra suggests that second-population stars of NGC 121, NGC 339, NGC 416 are slightly enhanced in helium by $δ$Y = 0.009$\pm$0.006, 0.007$\pm$0.004 and 0.010$\pm$0.003, respectively, with respect to the first population, while we find no significant helium variation in Lindsay 1 ($δ$Y = 0.000$\pm$0.004). Moreover, second-population stars of all the clusters are, on average, enhanced in nitrogen and depleted in carbon and oxygen, in close analogy with what we observe in Galactic GCs.
The recent measurements of internal variations of helium in Galactic and extragalactic Globular Clusters (GCs) set binding constraints to the models of formation of Multiple Populations (MPs) in GCs, and gave rise, at the same time, to crucial questions related with the influence of the environment on MP formation as well as with the role played by GCs in the early galactic formation. We present the most recent estimates of helium enrichment in the main populations of a large sample of Galactic and extragalactic GCs.
Recent studies suggest that the helium content of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters (GCs) is not uniform. The range of helium varies from cluster to cluster with more massive GCs having, preferentially, large helium spread. GCs with large helium variations also show extended-blue horizontal branch (HB). I exploit Hubble Space Telescope photometry to investigate multiple stellar populations in NGC6266 and infer their relative helium abundance. This cluster is an ideal target to investigate the possible connection between helium, cluster mass, and HB morphology, as it exhibits an…
Multiple Populations of the Large Magellanic Cloud Globular Cluster NGC 2257: No Major Environmental Effect on the Formation of Multiple Populations of the Old Globular Clusters in Large Magellanic Cloud
本研究通过 Ca–CN–CH 测光分析年老贫金属 LMC 球状星团 NGC 2257 的多族群，发现其族群比例、金属丰度及元素变化趋势与银河系普通球状星团一致，表明宿主星系环境对多族群形成演化无重大影响。
Recent work, based on data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs), has revealed that all the analyzed clusters host two groups of first- (1G) and second-generation (2G) stars. In most GCs, both 1G and 2G stars host sub-stellar populations with different chemical composition. We compare multi-wavelength HST photometry with synthetic spectra to determine for the first time the average helium difference between the 2G and 1G stars in a large sample of 57 GCs and the maximum helium variation within each of them. We find that in all clusters 2G st…
The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters is providing a major breakthrough in our knowledge of Globular Clusters (GCs) and their stellar populations. Among the main results, we discovered that all the studied GCs host two main discrete groups consisting of first generation (1G) and second generation (2G) stars. We exploit the multiwavelength photometry from this project to investigate, for the first time, the Red Giant Branch Bump (RGBB) of the two generations in a large sample of GCs. We identified, with high statistical significance, the RGBB of 1G and 2G sta…
I present the latest results from our group about the multiple stellar populations in the old Milky Way globular clusters (GCs) and in the young systems both in the Magellanic Clouds and in the Milky Way. For the ancient GCs in our Galaxy I summarize the chemical properties of the stellar populations as observed on the chromosome map. Both Type I and Type II GCs are discussed. For the youngest clusters I will briefly report our latest spectroscopic analysis on the Large Magellanic Cloud cluster NGC1818 and the Galactic open cluster NGC6705 (M11), which supports the co-existence of stellar popu…
In this paper we refine our method for the abundance analysis of high resolution spectroscopy of the integrated light of unresolved globular clusters (GCs). This method was previously demonstrated for the analysis of old ($>$10 Gyr) Milky Way GCs. Here we extend the technique to young clusters using a training set of 9 GCs in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Depending on the signal-to-noise ratio of the data, we use 20-100 Fe lines per cluster to successfully constrain the ages of old clusters to within a $\sim$5 Gyr range, the ages of $\sim$2 Gyr clusters to a 1-2 Gyr range, and the ages of …
A large number of intermediate-age (~1-2-Gyr old) globular clusters (GCs) in the Large and the Small Magellanic Cloud (MC) exhibit either bimodal or extended main-sequence (MS) turn off and dual red clump. Moreover, recent papers have shown that the MS of the young clusters NGC1844 and NGC1856 is either broadened or split. These features of the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) are not consistent with a single isochrone and suggest that star clusters in MCs have experienced a prolonged star formation, in close analogy with Milky-Way GCs with multiple stellar populations. As an alternative, stellar…
Intermediate-age star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds harbour signatures of the multiple stellar populations long thought to be restricted to old globular clusters. We compare synthetic horizontal branch models with Hubble Space Telescope photometry of clusters in the Magellanic Clouds, with age between ~2 and ~10 Gyr, namely NGC 121, Lindsay 1, NGC 339, NGC 416, Lindsay 38, Lindsay 113, Hodge 6 and NGC 1978. We find a clear signature of initial helium abundance spreads (delta(Y)) in four out of these eight clusters (NGC 121, Lindsay 1, NGC 339, NGC 416) and we quantify the value of delta(Y)…
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…
Recent work revealed that both the helium variation within globular clusters (GCs) and the relative numbers of first and second-generation stars (1G, 2G) depend on the mass of the host cluster. Precise determination of the internal helium variations and of the fraction of 1G stars are crucial constraints to the formation scenarios of multiple populations (MPs). We exploit multi-band Hubble Space Telescope photometry to investigate MPs in NGC 2419, which is one of the most-massive and distant GCs of the Galaxy, almost isolated from its tidal influence. We find that the 1G hosts the ~37% of the …
Studies based on Hubble Space Telescope ($HST$) photometry in F275W, F336W, and F438W have shown that the incidence and complexity of multiple populations (MPs) in Globular Clusters (GCs) depend on cluster mass. This result, however, is based on nearby, low-reddening Galactic GCs, for which we can obtain accurate F275W photometry. In this work we exploit $HST$ photometry in F336W, F438W, and F814W to characterize MPs in 68 Galactic and extragalactic GCs by using the pseudo-color $C_{F336W,F438W,F814W}$, which is more efficient in terms of observation time than the pseudo-color $C_{F275W,F336W,…
Globular clusters (GCs) are spheroidal concentrations typically containing of the order of 10^5 to 10^6, predominantly old, stars. Historically, they have been considered as the closest counterparts of the idealized concept of "simple stellar populations." However, some recent observations suggest than, at least in some GCs, some stars are present that have been formed with material processed by a previous generation of stars. In this sense, it has also been suggested that such material might be enriched in helium, and that blue horizontal branch stars in some GCs should accordingly be the nat…
We present observations of the most bright main sequence stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud stellar cluster NGC330 obtained with the integral field spectrograph MUSE@VLT. The use of this valuable instrument allows us to study both photometric and spectroscopic properties of stellar populations of this young star cluster. The photometric data provide us a precise color magnitude diagram, which seems to support the presence of two stellar populations of ages of $\sim$ 18 Myr and $\sim$ 30 Myr assuming a metallicity of Z = 0.002. Thanks to the spectroscopic data, we derive helium abundance of 10…
We exploit multi-band Hubble Space Telescope photometry to investigate multiple populations (MPs) along the red horizontal branches (HBs) and red clumps of fourteen metal-rich Globular Clusters (GCs), including twelve Milky Way GCs and the Magellanic Cloud GCs NGC 1978 and NGC 416. Based on appropriate two-color diagrams we find that the fraction of 1G stars in Galactic GCs correlates with cluster mass, confirming previous results based on red-giant branch (RGB) stars. Magellanic-Cloud GCs show higher fractions of 1G stars than Galactic GCs with similar masses, thus suggesting that the environ…
Multiple stellar populations (MPs) are a distinct characteristic of Globular Clusters (GCs). Their general properties have been widely studied among main sequence, red giant branch (RGB) and horizontal branch (HB) stars, but a common framework is still missing at later evolutionary stages. We studied the MP phenomenon along the AGB sequences in 58 GCs, observed with the Hubble Space Telescope in ultraviolet (UV) and optical filters. By using UV-optical color-magnitude diagrams, we selected the AGB members of each cluster and identified the AGB candidates of the metal-enhanced population in typ…
The location of Galactic Globular Clusters' (GC) stars on the horizontal branch (HB) should mainly depend on GC metallicity, the "first parameter", but it is actually the result of complex interactions between the red giant branch (RGB) mass loss, the coexistence of multiple stellar populations with different helium content, and the presence of a "second parameter" which produces dramatic differences in HB morphology of GCs of similar metallicity and ages (like the pair M3--M13). In this work, we combine the entire dataset from the Hubble Space Telescope Treasury survey and stellar evolutionar…
We have imaged with HST's WFC3/UVIS the central 2.7$\times$2.7 arcmin$^2$ region of the giant elliptical galaxy M 87, using the ultraviolet filter F275W. In combination with archival ACS/WFC data taken through the F606W and F814W filters, covering the same field, we have constructed integrated-light UV-optical colors and magnitudes for 1460 objects, most of which are believed to be globular clusters belonging to M 87. The purpose was to ascertain whether the multiple-populations syndrome, ubiquitous among Galactic globular clusters (GCs), exists also among the M 87 family of clusters. To achie…
I discuss a scenario in which the ultraviolet (UV) upturn of giant early-type galaxies (ETGs) is primarily due to helium-rich stellar populations that formed in massive metal-rich globular clusters (GCs) which subsequently dissolved in the strong tidal field in the central regions of the massive host galaxy. These massive GCs are assumed to show UV upturns similar to those observed recently in M87, the central giant elliptical galaxy in the Virgo cluster of galaxies. Data taken from the literature reveals a strong correlation between the strength of the UV upturn and the specific frequency of …
We use HST observations to study the LMC's young cluster NGC1844. We estimate the fraction and the mass-ratio distribution of photometric binaries and report that the main sequence presents an intrinsic breadth which can not be explained in terms of photometric errors only, and is unlikely due to differential reddening. We attempt some interpretation of this feature, including stellar rotation, binary stars, and the presence of multiple stellar populations with different age, metallicity, helium, or C+N+O abundance. Although we exclude age, helium, and C+N+O variations to be responsible of the…
Globular Cluster (GC) Color-Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs) are reasonably well understood in terms of standard stellar-evolution. However, there are still some open issues, such as fully accounting for the Horizontal Branch (HB) morphology in terms of chemical and dynamical parameters. Mass-loss on the Red Giant Branch (RGB) shapes the mass-distribution of the HB stars, and the color distribution in turn. The physical mechanisms driving mass-loss are still unclear, as direct observations fail to reveal a clear correlation between mass-loss rate and stellar properties. The horizontal-branch mass-dis…
We present detailed abundance measurements for 45 globular clusters (GCs) in galaxies in (and, in one case, beyond) the Local Group. The measurements are based on new high-resolution integrated-light spectra of GCs in NGC 185, NGC 205, M31, M33, and NGC 2403, combined with reanalysis of previous observations of GCs in the Fornax dSph, WLM, NGC 147, NGC 6822, and the Milky Way. The GCs cover the range -2.8 < [Fe/H] < -0.1 and we determined abundances for Fe, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Zr, Ba, and Eu. Corrections for non local thermodynamic equilibrium effects are included for N…
Employing tidally enhanced stellar wind, we studied in binaries the effects of metallicity, mass ratio of primary to secondary, tidal enhancement efficiency and helium abundance on the formation of blue hook (BHk) stars in globular clusters (GCs). A total of 28 sets of binary models combined with different input parameters are studied. For each set of binary model, we presented a range of initial orbital periods that is needed to produce BHk stars in binaries. All the binary models could produce BHk stars within different range of initial orbital periods. We also compared our results with the …
Our understanding of the formation and early evolution of globular clusters (GCs) has been totally overthrown with the discovery of the peculiar chemical properties of their long-lived host stars. As a consequence, the interpretation of the observed color-magnitude diagrams and of the properties of the GC stellar populations requires the use of stellar models computed with relevant chemical compositions. We present a grid of 224 stellar evolution for low-mass stars with initial masses between 0.3 and 1.0 Msun and initial helium mass fraction between 0.248 and 0.8 computed for [Fe/H]=-1.75 with…
The horizontal branch (HB) morphology of globular clusters (GCs) is mainly determined by metallicity. However, the fact that GCs with almost the same metallicity exhibit different HB morphologies demonstrates that at least one more parameter is needed to explain the HB morphology. It has been suggested that one of these should be a global parameter that varies from GC to GC, and the other a non-global parameter that varies within the GC. In this study we provide empirical evidence corroborating this idea. We used the photometric catalogs obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) of t…
The 'chromosome map' diagram (ChM) proved a successful tool to identify and characterize multiple populations (MPs) in 59 Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs). Here, we construct ChMs for 11 GCs of both Magellanic Clouds (MCs) and with different ages to compare MPs in Galactic and extra-Galactic environments, and explore whether this phenomenon is universal through 'place' and 'time'. MPs are detected in five clusters. The fractions of 1G stars, ranging from about 50% to more than 80%, are significantly higher than those observed in Galactic GCs with similar present-day masses. By considering both…
Excitation of radial pulsations in red supergiants of Magellanic Clouds is investigated using the stellar evolution calculations and the self-consistent solution of the equations of radiation hydrodynamics and turbulent convection. The stars with initial masses 6M_odot<=M_zams<=28 M_odot and the initial chemical composition X=0.7, 0.004<=Z<=0.008 are shown to be unstable against fundamental mode oscillations with periods from 17 to 1200 days as they become helium burning red supergiants. The period-luminosity relation slightly depends on the mass loss rate varying with a factor of three, where…
The horizontal branch (HB) morphology of globular clusters (GCs) is mainly described by metallicity. The fact that some clusters with almost the same metallicity exhibit different HB demonstrates that other parameters are at work. We present results from the analysis of the CMD of 72 GCs obtained with the Advanced Camera for Survey (ACS) of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We find a significant correlation between the HB color extension and the mass of the hosting cluster, while the color distance between the HB and the red-giant branch (RGB) depends on metallicity and age. We suggest that ag…
Recent studies have revealed that the Multiple Populations (MPs) phenomenon does not occur only in ancient and massive Galactic globular clusters (GCs), but it is also observed in external galaxies, where GCs sample a wide age range with respect to the Milky Way. However, for a long time, it was unclear whether we were looking at the same phenomenon in different environments or not. The first evidence that the MPs phenomenon is the same regardless of cluster age and host galaxy came out recently when an intermediate-age cluster from the Small Magellanic Cloud, Lindsay 1, and a Galactic GC have…
Using a combination of high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope/WFPC2 observations, we explore the physical properties of the stellar populations in two intermediate-age star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud, NGC 1831 and NGC 1868, based on their color-magnitude diagrams. We show that both clusters exhibit extended main-sequence turn-offs. To explain the observations, we consider variations in helium abundance, binarity, age dispersions, and fast rotation of the clusters' member stars. The observed narrow main sequence excludes significant variations in helium abundance in both clusters. W…
We use images acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 and new models to probe the Horizontal Branch (HB) population of the We use images acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 and new models to probe the horizontal branch (HB) population of the Galactic globular cluster (GC) NGC 2419. A detailed analysis of the composite HB highlights three populations:(1) the blue luminous HB, hosting standard helium stars (Y=0.25) with a very small spread of mass, (2) a small population of stars with intermediate helium content (0.26<Y<=0.29), and (3) the well-popul…
MASYS is the AKARI spectroscopic survey of Symbiotic Stars in the Magellanic Clouds, and one of the European Open Time Observing Programmes approved for the AKARI (Post-Helium) Phase-3. It is providing the first ever near-IR spectra of extragalactic symbiotic stars. The observations are scheduled to be completed in July 2009.
An increasing number of photometric observations of multiple stellar populations in Galactic globular clusters is seriously challenging the paradigm of GCs hosting single, simple stellar populations. These multiple populations manifest themselves in a split of different evolutionary sequences as observed in the cluster color-magnitude diagrams. Multiple stellar populations have been identified in Galactic and Magellanic Cloud clusters. In this paper we will summarize the observational scenario.
Large star-to-star variations of the abundances of proton-capture elements, such as Na and O, in globular clusters (GCs) are interpreted as the effect of internal pollution resulting from the presence of multiple stellar populations. To better constrain this scenario we investigate the abundance distribution of the heavy element rubidium (Rb) in NGC 6752, NGC 1904, and NGC 104 (47 Tuc). Combining the results from our sample with those in the literature, we found that Rb exhibits no star-to-star variations, regardless the cluster metallicity, with the possible intriguing, though very uncertain,…
One of the most interesting results from the OGLE-III study of the LMC Cepheids is the large number of objects that pulsate simultaneously in the first and second overtone (denoted 1O/2O). Double-mode Cepheids yield important constraint on stellar evolution models. We show that great majority of the LMC 1O/2O Cepheids have masses M=3.0+/-0.5 Msun. According to current stellar evolution calculations, these masses are lower than needed for the blue loop in the helium burning phase to reach the instability strip. On the other hand, we found most of these stars significantly overluminous if they a…
We started a photometric survey using the WFC3/UVIS instrument onboard the Hubble Space Telescope to search for multiple populations within Magellanic Cloud star clusters at various ages. In this paper, we introduce this survey. As first results of this programme, we also present multi-band photometric observations of NGC 121 in different filters taken with the WFC3/UVIS and ACS/WFC instruments. We analyze the colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) of NGC 121, which is the only "classical" globular cluster within the Small Magellanic Cloud. Thereby, we use the pseudo-colour C_(F336W,F438W,F343N)=(F336…
Disentangling distinct stellar populations along the red-giant branches (RGBs) of Globular Clusters (GCs) is possible by using the pseudo two-color diagram dubbed chromosome map (ChM). One of the most intriguing findings is that the so-called first-generation (1G) stars, characterized by the same chemical composition of their natal cloud, exhibit extended sequences in the ChM. Unresolved binaries and internal variations in helium or metallicity have been suggested to explain this phenomenon. Here, we derive high-precision Hubble Space Telescope photometry of the GCs NGC6362 and NGC6838 and bui…
It is now well established that globular clusters (GCs) exhibit star-to-star light-element abundance variations (known as multiple stellar populations, MPs). Such chemical anomalies have been found in (nearly) all the ancient GCs (more than 10 Gyr old) of our Galaxy and its close companions, but so far no model for the origin of MPs is able to reproduce all the relevant observations. To gain new insights into this phenomenon, we have undertaken a photometric Hubble Space Telescope survey to study clusters with masses comparable to that of old GCs, where MPs have been identified, but with signi…
Massive stars at low metallicity are among the main feedback agents in the early Universe and in present-day star forming galaxies. When in binaries, these stars are potential progenitors of gravitational-wave events. Knowledge of stellar masses is a prerequisite to understanding evolution and feedback of low-metallicity massive stars. Using abundant spectroscopic and photometric measurements of an outstandingly bright eclipsing binary, we compare its dynamic, spectroscopic, and evolutionary mass estimates and develop a binary evolution scenario. We comprehensively studied the eclipsing binary…
We present Ca-CN-CH-NH photometry for the well-known globular cluster (GC) M3 (NGC 5272). We show new evidence for two M3 populations with distinctly different carbon and nitrogen abundances, seen in a sharp division between CN-weak and CN-strong red-giant branches (RGBs) in M3. The CN-strong population shows a C-N anticorrelation that is a natural consequence of the CN cycle, while the CN-weak population shows no or a weak C-N anticorrelation. Additionally, the CN-weak population exhibits an elongated spatial distribution that is likely linked to its fast rotation. Our derived metallicity rev…
Context. The evolution of massive stars is strongly influenced by internal mixing processes such as semiconvection, convective core overshooting, and rotationally induced mixing. None of these is currently well constrained. Aims. We investigate models for massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We aim to constrain the various mixing efficiencies by comparing model results to observations. Methods. We use the stellar evolution code MESA to compute more than 60 grids of detailed evolutionary models for stars with initial masses of 9 to 100 Msol, in each grid assuming different combina…
We present the first results of eight Globular Clusters (GCs) from the AstroSat/UVIT Legacy Survey program GlobULeS based on the observations carried out in two FUV filters (F148W and F169M). The FUV-optical and FUV-FUV color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of GCs with the proper motion membership were constructed by combining the UVIT data with HST UV Globular Cluster Survey (HUGS) data for inner regions and Gaia Early Data Release (EDR3) for regions outside the HST's field. We detect sources as faint as F148W $\sim$ 23.5~mag which are classified based on their locations in CMDs by overlaying stell…
The presence of multiple populations (MPs) in almost all globular clusters (GCs) older than ~10 Gyr, has caught lots of attention. Recently, cumulative evidence indicates that extragalactic GCs that are older than 2 Gyr, seem to also harbor MPs, however, those that are younger than 2 Gyr do not. These observations seem to imply that age is a primary property that controls the presence of MPs in star clusters. However, because of the lack of studies of {intermediate-age (~2--6 Gyr-old),} low mass clusters, it is unclear if the cluster mass, in addition to age, also plays a role in the occurrenc…
Globular Clusters in the Time of the JWST. I. Survey Design and First Results on Multiple Populations and Beyond
Università di Padova（帕多瓦大学）；Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova（意大利国家天体物理研究所-帕多瓦天文台）；Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University（澳大利亚国立大学天文学与天体物理学研究学院）；Physics Department, American University of Sharjah（沙迦阿美利加大学物理系）；Space Telescope Science Institute（太空望远镜科学研究所）；Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma（意大利国家天体物理研究所-罗马天文台）
We have demonstrated the advantage of combining multi-wavelength observations, from the ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared, to study Kron 3, a massive star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud. We have estimated the radius of the cluster Kron 3 to be 2.'0 and for the first time, we report the identification of NUV-bright red clump (RC) stars and the extension of the RCin colour and magnitude in the NUV vs (NUV-optical) colour-magnitude diagram (CMD). We found that extension of the RC is an intrinsic property of the cluster and it is not due to contamination of field stars or differential redde…
We present a model for the concurrent formation of globular clusters (GCs) and supermassive stars (SMSs, $>10^3\,{\rm M}_\odot$) to address the origin of the HeCNONaMgAl abundance anomalies in GCs. GCs form in converging gas flows and accumulate low-angular momentum gas, which accretes onto protostars. This leads to an adiabatic contraction of the cluster and an increase of the stellar collision rate. A SMS can form via runaway collisions if the cluster reaches sufficiently high density before two-body relaxation halts the contraction. This condition is met if the number of stars $\gtrsim10^6$…
Historically, photometry has been largely used to identify stellar populations (MPs) in Globular Clusters (GCs) by using diagrams that are based on colours and magnitudes that are mostly sensitive to stars with different metallicities or different abundances of helium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. In particular, the pseudo two-colour diagram called chromosome map (ChM), allowed the identification and the characterization of MPs in about 70 GCs by using appropriate filters of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) that are sensitive to the stellar content of He, C, N, O and Fe. We use here high-preci…
Nearly all the star clusters with ages of ~1-2 Gyr in both Magellanic Clouds exhibit an extended main-sequence turn off (eMSTO) whose origin is under debate. The main scenarios suggest that the eMSTO could be either due to multiple generations of stars with different ages or to coeval stellar populations with different rotation rates. In this paper we use Hubble-Space-Telescope images to investigate the ~80-Myr old cluster NGC1755 in the LMC. We find that the MS is split with the blue and the red MS hosting about the 25% and the 75% of the total number of MS stars, respectively. Moreover, the …
We present a photometric and spectroscopic study of multiple populations along the asymptotic-giant branch (AGB) of the intermediate-metallicity globular clusters (GCs) NGC2808 and NGC6121 (M4). Chemical abundances of O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Y, and Ce in AGB stars from high-resolution FLAMES+UVES@VLT spectra are reported for both clusters. Our spectroscopic results have been combined with multi-wavelength photometry from the HST UV survey of Galactic GCs and ground-based photometry, plus proper motions derived by combining stellar positions from ground-based image…
