Thirteen facts that you need to know on multiple populations in globular clusters
A. P. Milone
备注:
10 pages, 5 figures. To appear in: "Star Clusters: From the Milky Way to the Early Universe", Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 351, 2019, A. Bragaglia, M.B. Davies, A. Sills & E. Vesperini, eds
I review the methods, mostly developed in the last decade, that are commonly used to identify and characterize multiple populations (MPs) in Globular Clusters based on photometry. I summarize the results from the recent surveys of MPs with the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based facilities and provide a list of the main properties of MPs as inferred from these studies.
We report results of VI time series photometry for the bright globular cluster M5 taken between 2007-2011 using the 0.5-m telescope at Bowling Green State Univ. and the PROMPT #4 telescope at Cerro Tololo. We used DAOPHOT to obtain photometry to a limiting magnitude of V~19 mag. A search for variable stars using the DAOMASTER variability index enabled us to recover the three known bright variables (two Cepheids and one red, long period variable, or LPV) and many known RR Lyrae stars, and to discover as many as thirteen new, low-amplitude LPVs. We present light curves of several stars and analy…
We present VI-band photometry for stars in the metal-rich globular cluster NGC 6496. Our time-series data were cadenced to search for long period variables (LPVs) over a span of nearly two years, and our variability search yielded the discovery of thirteen new variable stars, of which six are LPVs, two are suspected LPVs, and five are short period eclipsing binaries. An additional star was found in the ASAS database, and we clarify its type and period. We argue that all of the eclipsing binaries are field stars, while 5-6 of the LPVs are members of NGC 6496. We compare the period-luminosity di…
We present an observational far-UV (FUV) and near-UV (NUV) study of the core region of the globular cluster NGC 6397. The observations were obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS, FUV), and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3, NUV) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. Here, we focus on the UV bright stellar populations such as blue stragglers (BSs), white dwarfs (WDs) and cataclysmic variables (CVs). We present the first FUV-NUV color-magnitude diagram (CMD) for this cluster. To support our classification of the stellar populations, we compare our FUV-NUV CMD with optical data …
Large spectroscopic surveys of the Milky Way have revealed that a small population of stars in the halo have light element abundances comparable to those found in globular clusters. The favoured explanation for the peculiar abundances of these stars is that they originated inside a globular cluster and were subsequently lost. Using orbit calculations we assess the likelihood that an existing sample of 57 field stars with globular cluster-like CN band strength originated in any of the currently known Milky Way globular clusters. Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Gaia data, we determine orbits …
Recently, Kundu et al (2019) reported that the globular cluster NGC 5024 (M53) possesses five extra-tidal RR Lyrae. In fact, four of them were instead known members of a nearby globular cluster NGC 5053. The status of the remaining extra-tidal RR Lyrae is controversial depending on the adopted tidal radius of NGC 5024. We have also searched for additional extra-tidal RR Lyrae within an area of $\sim8$~deg$^2$ covering both globular clusters. This includes other known RR Lyrae within the search area, as well as stars that fall within the expected range of magnitudes and colors for RR Lyrae (and…
The membership of Matsunaga's variable 1, a carbon-rich, mass-losing, Mira variable, in the globular cluster Lynga 7 is discussed on the basis of radial velocities. We conclude that it is a member, the first known C-Mira in a globular cluster. Since such a variable is expected to have an age of $\sim 1-2$ Gyr and an initial mass of $\sim 1.5$ solar masses, we conclude that this star must be the product of a stellar merger.
Tidal streams of globular clusters are ideal tracers of the Galactic gravitational potential. Compared to the few known, complex and diffuse dwarf-galaxy streams, they are kinematically cold, have thin morphologies and are abundant in the halo of the Milky Way. Their coldness and thinness in combination with potential epicyclic substructure in the vicinity of the stream progenitor turns them into high-precision scales. With the example of Palomar 5, we demonstrate how modeling of a globular cluster stream allows us to simultaneously measure the properties of the disrupting globular cluster, it…
We present a far-ultraviolet (FUV) study of the globular cluster M30 (NGC 7099). The images were obtained using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS/SBC, F150LP, FUV) and the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2, F300W, UV) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We compare the catalogue of FUV objects to ten known X-ray sources and find six confident matches of two cataclysmic variables (CVs), one RS CVn, one red giant with strong FUV emission and two sources only detected in the FUV. We also searched for variable sources in our dataset and found a total of seven blue stragglers (BSs), fou…
We present results of time series photometry to search for variable stars in the field of metal-poor globular cluster NGC 4590 (M68). Periods have been revised for 40 known variables and no significant changes were found. A considerable change in Blazhko effect for V25 has been detected. Among nine newly discovered variable candidates, 5 stars are of RRc Bailey type variables while 4 stars are unclassified. The variable stars V10, V21, V50 and V51 are found to be cluster members based on the radial velocity data taken from literature.
I shall review what has been learnt during 20 years of lithium observations in stars belonging to metal-poor globular clusters. The focus will be on little evolved main-sequence, turnoff-point (TOP) and subgiant-branch (SGB) stars expected to display Spite-plateau lithium abundances like those found in the majority of field stars of similar metallicities. But is the Spite plateau of globular clusters the same as those of field stars? What effect does, e.g., cluster-internal pollution have on lithium abundances in the now dominant second generation of stars? It will be shown that it is primaril…
We report CCD V and I time series photometry of the globular cluster NGC 5024 (M53). The technique of difference image analysis has been used which enables photometric precisions better than 10 mmag for stars brighter than V 18.5mag even in the crowded central regions of the cluster. The high photometric precision has resulted in the discovery of two new RR1 stars and thirteen SX Phe stars. A detailed identification chart is given for all the variable stars in the field of our images of the cluster. Periodicities were calculated for all RR Lyraes and SX Phe stars and a critical comparison is m…
We present new identifications of five red giant stars in the Galactic halo with chemical abundance patterns that indicate they originally formed in globular clusters. Using data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) Survey available through Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12 (DR12), we first identify likely halo giants, and then search those for the well-known chemical tags associated with globular clusters, specifically enrichment in nitrogen and aluminum. We find that 2% of the halo giants in our sample have this chemical signature, in agreement with…
Globular clusters produce many exotic stars due to a much higher frequency of dynamical interactions in their dense stellar environments. Some of these objects were observed together with several hundred thousands other stars in our MUSE survey of 26 Galactic globular clusters. Assuming that at least a few exotic stars have exotic spectra, that means spectra that contain emission lines, we can use this large spectroscopic data set of over a million stellar spectra as a blind survey to detect stellar exotica in globular clusters. To detect emission lines in each spectrum, we model the expected …
We present a spectroscopic search for halo field stars that originally formed in globular clusters. Using moderate-resolution SDSS-III/SEGUE-2 spectra of 561 red giants with typical halo metallicities (-1.8 < [Fe/H] < -1.0), we identify 16 stars, 3% of the sample, with CN and CH bandstrength behavior indicating depleted carbon and enhanced nitrogen abundances relative to the rest of the data set. Since globular clusters are the only environment known in which stars form with this pattern of atypical light-element abundances, we claim that these stars are second-generation globular cluster star…
Only four globular cluster planetary nebulae (GCPN) are known so far in the Milky Way. About 50 new globular clusters have been recently discovered towards the Galactic bulge. We present a search for planetary nebulae within 3 arcmin of the new globular clusters, revealing the identification of new candidate GCPN. These possible associations are PN SB 2 with the GC Minni 06, PN G354.9-02.8 with the GC Minni 11, PN G356.8-03.6 with the GC Minni 28, and PN Pe 2-11 with the GC Minni 31. We discard PN H 2-14 located well within the projected tidal radius of the new globular cluster FSR1758 because…
We report the discovery of a large timescale candidate microlensing event of a bulge stellar source based on near-infrared observations with the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea Survey (VVV). The new microlensing event is projected only 3.5 arcmin away from the center of the globular cluster NGC 6553. The source appears to be a bulge giant star with magnitude Ks = 13.52, based on the position in the color-magnitude diagram. The foreground lens may be located in the globular cluster, which has well-known parameters such as distance and proper motions. If the lens is a cluster member, we can di…
In this contribution the hypothesis that the Galactic globular clusters with substantial internal [Fe/H] abundance ranges are the former nuclei of disrupted dwarf galaxies is discussed. Evidence considered includes the form of the metallicity distribution function, the occurrence of large diffuse outer envelopes in cluster density profiles, and the presence of ([s-process/Fe], [Fe/H]) correlations. The hypothesis is shown to be plausible but with the caveat that if significantly more than the current nine clusters known to have [Fe/H] spreads are found, then re-evaluation will be required.
The VVV is currently surveying the central regions of the Milky Way at near-infrared wavelengths, including 36 known Galactic globular clusters. We already have data in several filters to generate their color-magnitude diagrams. We also have enough epochs to begin producing the light-curves of the cluster stars and look for any possible member variable stars. We are especially interested in RR Lyrae stars, since they are abundant in Galactic globular clusters, and the period-luminosity relation they show at near-infrared wavelengths, can help enormously in providing accurate distances and redd…
We present detailed chemical abundances for $>$20 elements in $\sim$30 globular clusters in M31. These results have been obtained using high resolution ($λ/Δλ\sim$24,000) spectra of their integrated light and analyzed using our original method. The globular clusters have galactocentric radii between 2.5 kpc and 117 kpc, and therefore provide abundance patterns for different phases of galaxy formation recorded in the inner and outer halo of M31. We find that the clusters in our survey have a range in metallicity of $-2.2<$[Fe/H]$<-0.11$. The inner halo clusters cover this full range, while the …
We present the preliminary results of an image-subtraction analysis of the Galactic globular cluster M79 (NGC 1904), as well as a new investigation of the variable star population in NGC 1851. Both M79 and NGC 1851 have been previously associated with the Canis Major overdensity, which has been suggested to have an extragalactic origin. We found 6 new RR Lyrae in M79, and also recovered 3 previously known RR Lyrae. The average period of the 5 ab-type RR Lyrae is 0.68 ~ d, corresponding to an Oosterhoff II classification -- which is unusual, though not unprecedented, for systems of extragalacti…
Globular clusters host multiple stellar populations that display star-to-star variation of light elements that are affected by hot hydrogen burning (e.g., He, C, N, O). Several scenarios have been suggested to explain these variations. Most involve multiple star formation episodes, where later generations are born from material contaminated by the nucleosynthetic products of the previous stellar generation(s). One difficulty in the modelling of such scenarios is knowing the extent to which processed and pristine material are mixed. In this context, beryllium abundances measured in turn-off sta…
Abundances of C, N, and O are determined in four bright red giants that span the known abundance range for light (Na and Al) and s-process (Zr and La) elements in the globular cluster NGC 1851. The abundance sum C+N+O exhibits a range of 0.6 dex, a factor of 4, in contrast to other clusters in which no significant C+N+O spread is found. Such an abundance range offers support for the Cassisi et al. (2008) scenario in which the double subgiant branch populations are coeval but with different mixtures of C+N+O abundances. Further, the Na, Al, Zr, and La abundances are correlated with C+N+O, and t…
We have developed a novel technique based on a clustering algorithm which searches for kinematically- and chemically-clustered stars in the APOGEE DR12 Cannon data. As compared to classical chemical tagging, the kinematic information included in our methodology allows us to identify stars that are members of known globular clusters with greater confidence. We apply our algorithm to the entire APOGEE catalog of 150,615 stars whose chemical abundances are derived by the Cannon. Our methodology found anti-correlations between the elements Al and Mg, Na and O, and C and N previously identified in …
In 2000 July/August a microlensing event occurred at a distance of 2.33 arcmin from the center of the globular cluster M22 (NGC6656), observed against the dense stellar field of the Milky Way bulge. We have used the adaptive optics system NACO at the ESO Very Large Telescope to resolve the two objects that participated in the event: the lens and the source. The position of the objects measured in 2011 July is in agreement with the observed relative proper motion of M22 with respect to the background bulge stars. Based on the brightness of the microlens components we find that the source is a s…
Recent observations suggest the presence of supermassive black holes at the centers of many galaxies. The existence of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in globular clusters has also been predicted. We focus on gravitational lensing as a new way to explore these entities. It is known that the mass distribution of a self-gravitating system such as a globular cluster changes greatly depending on the presence or absence of a central massive object. After considering possible mass distributions for a globular cluster belonging to the Milky Way galaxy, we estimate that the effect on the separat…
We present preliminary results obtained from analysis of the VI photometry of the globular cluster M79. Stellar variability survey performed with the image subtraction method yielded six new pulsating stars: two of RR Lyrae type, three SX Phoenicis stars and even one W Virginis star. Using all eleven RR Lyrae stars known in the cluster we find that M79 is Oosterhoff type II globular cluster.
The Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy is well known for its very high globular cluster specific frequency, SN=26. Furthermore, while the field star metallicity distribution peaks at [Fe/H]=-1, four of the five GCs have [Fe/H]<-2. Only about 5 percent of the field stars have such low metallicities. Hence, a very large fraction of about 1/5-1/4 of the most metal-poor stars belong to the four most metal-poor GCs. This implies that these clusters could, at most, have been a factor of 4-5 more massive initially. A second, even more extreme case may be the IKN dwarf galaxy where SN=124. Although metall…
Dwarf novae in globular clusters seem to be rare with only 13 detections in the 157 known Galactic globular clusters. We report the identification of a new dwarf nova in M13, the 14th dwarf nova identified in a globular cluster to date. Using the 2m Faulkes Telescope North, we conducted a search for stars in M13 that show variability over a year (2005-2006) on timescales of days and months. This led to the detection of one dwarf nova showing several outbursts. A Chandra X-ray source is coincident with this dwarf nova and shows both a spectrum and variability consistent with that expected from …
Using an image subtraction method we have searched for variable stars in the globular cluster M14. We confirmed 62 previously known catalogued variables. In addition to the previoulsy known variables we have identified 71 new variables. We have confirmed the periods of most of the cataloged variables with just a few exceptions. Of the the total number of confirmed variables, we found a total of 112 RR Lyrae stars, several of which exhibited the Blazhko Effect. Of the total we classified 55 RR0, 57 RR1, 19 variables with periods greater than 2 days, a W UMa contact binary, and an SX Phe star. W…
Globular clusters are the oldest conglomerates of stars in our Galaxy and can be useful laboratories to test theories from stellar evolution to cosmology. In this paper, we present a new method to estimate the absolute age of a globular cluster from observations of its brown dwarfs. The transition region between the end of the main sequence and the brown dwarf regime is characterized by a dearth of objects as function of magnitude. The brightest of the cooling brown dwarfs is easily identified by an increase in density in the color-magnitude diagram as you go fainter in magnitudes, and these b…
We compiled a list of about 250 SX Phoenicis stars known in Galactic globular clusters in order to study period-luminosity relation for this type of variable. The absolute magnitudes of these stars are derived using metallicity-luminosity calibration for RR Lyrae stars. The mixture of different radial and non-radial modes present in SX Phoenicis stars and the lack of unique method of mode identification cause the difficulties in defining strict period-luminosity relation. As a solution we propose to use confirmed double-mode radial pulsators.
We investigate near-ultraviolet (NUV) variability in the Galactic globular cluster (GC) 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc). This work was undertaken within the GC sub-project of the Transient UV Objects project, a programme which aims to find and study transient and strongly variable UV sources. Globular clusters are ideal targets for transient searches because of their high stellar densities and large populations of variable systems. Using all archival observations of 47 Tuc obtained with the UV/optical telescope (UVOT) aboard the Neil Gehrels Swift observatory with the uvm2 filter, we searched for UV varia…
Hundreds of stellar-mass black holes likely form in a typical globular star cluster, with all but one predicted to be ejected through dynamical interactions. Some observational support for this idea is provided by the lack of X-ray-emitting binary stars comprising one black hole and one other star ("black-hole/X-ray binaries") in Milky Way globular clusters, even though many neutron-star/X-ray binaries are known. Although a few black holes have been seen in globular clusters around other galaxies, the masses of these cannot be determined, and some may be intermediate-mass black holes that form…
Although numerous photometric and spectroscopic studies of stars in Galactic globular clusters suggest the existence of several stellar generations in the majority of clusters studied so far, kinematical properties of these stellar generations are still relatively poorly know. In this contribution we present first results of our study of kinematical properties of chemically-tagged stellar populations in the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tuc. Our analysis reveals the existence of three stellar generations in 47 Tuc that are different in their [Li/Na] and [Na/O] ratios. Additionally, we find that…
The field of the globular cluster NGC 6362 was monitored between 1995 and 2009 in a search for variable stars. BV light curves were obtained for 69 periodic variables including 34 known RR Lyr stars, 10 known objects of other types and 25 newly detected variables. Among the latter we identified 18 proper-motion members of the cluster: seven detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs), six SX Phe stars, two W UMa binaries, two spotted red giants, and a very interesting eclipsing binary composed of two red giants - the first example of such a system found in a globular cluster. Five of the DEBs are locat…
We present new time-series CCD photometry, in the B and V bands, for the moderately metal-rich ([Fe/H] ~ -1.3) Galactic globular cluster (GC) M62 (NGC 6266). The present dataset is the largest obtained so far for this cluster, and consists of 168 images per filter, obtained with the Warsaw 1.3m telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) and the 1.3m telescope of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), in two separate runs over the time span of three months. The procedure adopted to detect the variable stars was the optimal image subtraction method (ISIS v2.2), as implemented b…
It is generally accepted today that Galactic globular clusters (GGCs) consist of at least two generations of stars that are different in their chemical composition and perhaps age. However, knowledge about the kinematical properties of these stellar generations, which may provide important information for constraining evolutionary scenarios of the GGCs, is still limited. We therefore study the connections between chemical and kinematical properties of different stellar generations in the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tuc. To achieve this goal, we used abundances of Li, O, and Na determined in 1…
The current constraints in the neutrino magnetic dipole moment and axion-electron coupling constant ($\mathrm{μ_ν\leq2.2\times10^{-12}μ_{B}}$ and $\mathrm{α_{ae}\leq0.5\times10^{-26}}$) are tested against the observational calibration on the tip-RGB of fifty galactic globular clusters, covering $\mathrm{-1.95\leq[M/H]\leq+0.04}$. When each energy sink is introduced into stellar models separately, the current known constraints predict a tip-RGB bolometric luminosity that does not conflict the calibration, while when they are assumed to occur simultaneously, these constraints can be lowered down…
Currently three isolated radio pulsars and one binary radio pulsar with no evidence of any previous recycling are known in 97 surveyed Galactic globular clusters. As pointed out by Lyne et al., the presence of these pulsars cannot be explained by core-collapse supernovae, as is commonly assumed for their counterparts in the Galactic disk. We apply a Bayesian analysis to the results from surveys for radio pulsars in globular clusters and find the number of potentially observable non-recycled radio pulsars present in all clusters to be < 3600. Accounting for beaming and retention considerations,…
We present a new abundance analysis of HD 55496, previously known as a metal-poor barium star. We found that HD 55496 has a metallicity [Fe/H] $=-1.55$ and is s-process enriched. We find that HD 55496 presents four chemical peculiarities: (i) a Na-O abundance anti-correlation; (ii) it is aluminum rich; (iii) it is carbon poor for a s-process enriched star and (iv) the heavy 2$^{nd}$ s-process peak elements, such as Ba, La, Ce, and Nd, present smaller abundances than the lighter s-process elements, such as Sr, Y and Zr, which is not usually observed among the chemically-peculiar binary stars at…
We report the discovery of two new variable stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 288, found by means of time-series CCD photometry. We classified the new variables as SX Phoenicis due to their characteristic fundamental mode periods (1.02 +- 0.01 and 0.69 +- 0.01 hours), and refine the period estimates for other six known variables. SX Phe stars are known to follow a well-defined Period-Luminosity (P-L) relation and, thus, can be used for determining distances; they are more numerous than RR Lyraes in NGC~288. We obtain the P-L relation for the fundamental mode M_V = (-2.59 +- 0.18) lo…
The UV-initiative Hubble Space Telescope Treasury survey of Galactic globular clusters provides a new window into the phenomena that shape the morphological features of the horizontal branch (HB). Using this large and homogeneous catalog of UV and blue photometry, we demonstrate that the HB exhibits discontinuities that are remarkably consistent in color (effective temperature). This consistency is apparent even among some of the most massive clusters hosting multiple distinct sub-populations (such as NGC 2808, omega Cen, and NGC 6715), demonstrating that these phenomena are primarily driven b…
We report on the results of a long time photometric monitoring of the two metal poor Galactic globular clusters M22 and IC4499 searching for long period variables (LPVs) on the upper giant branch. We detected 22 new LPVs in the field of M22 and confirmed the variability of six known variables. Periods could be determined for 16 of them. In the field of IC4499 we detected and characterized 2 new LPVs. Cluster membership is evaluated for all the variables based on photometry and literature data, and the location of the stars in logP-K-diagram is discussed. Our findings give further support to th…