A broad perspective on multiple abundance populations in the globular cluster NGC 1851

Jeffrey D. Simpson*, Sarah L. Martell, Colin A. Navin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)
54 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We present an analysis of the multiple stellar populations of the globular cluster NGC 1851.We used lower resolution spectra of giant stars to measure CN, CH, and calcium H & K spectral indices, and determine elemental abundances for carbon and nitrogen. The CN and CH indices were used to confirm that there are four populations of stars in the cluster. The primordial population of stars, with the lowest CN, was found to be generally chemically distinct in elemental abundances from the second-generation populations. As expected, [N/Fe] increases with increasing CN strength, but the only other element that correlated with CN was barium. The two largest populations of stars were found to have the same rate of carbon astration as the stars that ascend the giant branch.We were also able to confirm that four previously identified extratidal stars are chemically associated with the cluster. This work shows the benefit of considering the chemistry of globular clusters with both high- and low-resolution spectra.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1123-1136
Number of pages14
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume465
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Bibliographical note

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2015 Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Globular clusters: individual: NGC 1851

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