No Arabic abstract
Using the recently commissioned multi-object spectrograph AAOmega on the 3.9m AAT we have obtained medium-resolution near-infrared spectra for 10,500 stars in and around five southern globular clusters. The targets were 47 Tuc, M12, M30, M55 and NGC 288. We have measured radial velocities to +/- 1 km/s with the cross correlation method and estimated metallicity, effective temperature, surface gra vity and rotational velocity for each star by fitting synthetic model spectra. An analysis of the velocity maps and velocity dispersion of member stars revealed systemic rotation in four of the target clusters.
Well determined radial velocities and abundances are essential for analyzing the properties of the Globular Cluster system of the Milky Way. However more than 50% of these clusters have no spectroscopic measure of their metallicity. In this context, this work provides new radial velocities and abundances for twenty Milky Way globular clusters which lack or have poorly known values for these quantities. The radial velocities and abundances are derived from spectra obtained at the Ca II triplet using the FORS2 imager and spectrograph at the VLT, calibrated with spectra of red giants in a number of clusters with well determined abundances. For about half of the clusters in our sample we present significant revisions of the existing velocities or abundances, or both. We also confirm the existence of a sizable abundance spread in the globular cluster M54, which lies at the center of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. In addition evidence is provided for the existence of a small intrinsic internal abundance spread (sigma [Fe/H](int) ~ 0.11-0.14 dex, similar to that of M54) in the luminous distant globular cluster NGC 5824. This cluster thus joins the small number of Galactic globular clusters known to possess internal metallicity ([Fe/H]) spreads.
In this paper we present a new, accurate determination of the three components of the absolute space velocity of the Galactic globular cluster NGC6397 (l 338d, b -12d). We used three HST/WFPC2 fields with multi-epoch observations to obtain astrometric measurements of objects in three different fields in this cluster. The identification of 33 background galaxies with sharp nuclei allowed us to determine an absolute reference point and measure the absolute proper motion of the cluster. The third component has been obtained from radial velocities measured on spectra from the multi-fiber spectrograph FLAMES at UT2-VLT. We find [mu_alpha cos(delta), mu_delta](J2000.0) = [+3.39 +/- 0.15, -17.55 +/- 0.15] mas/yr, and V_rad = +18.36 +/- 0.09 (+/-0.10) km/s. Assuming a Galactic potential, we calculate the cluster orbit for various assumed distances, and briefly discuss the implications.
Although the globular clusters in the Milky Way have been studied for a long time, a significant fraction of them lack homogeneous metallicity and radial velocity measurements. In an earlier paper we presented the first part of a project to obtain metallicities and radial velocities of Galactic globular clusters from multiobject spectroscopy of their member stars using the ESO Very Large Telescope. In this paper we add metallicities and radial velocities for a new sample of 28 globular clusters, including in particular globular clusters in the MW halo and the Galactic bulge. Together with our previous results, this study brings the number of globular clusters with homogeneous measurements to $sim 69$ % of those listed in the W. Harris catalogue. As in our previous work, we have used the CaII triplet lines to derive metallicities and radial velocities. For most of the clusters in this study, this is the first analysis based on spectroscopy of individual member stars. The metallicities derived from the CaII triplet are then compared to the results of our parallel study based on spectral fitting in the optical region and the implications for different calibrations of the CaII triplet line strengths are discussed. We also comment on some interesting clusters and investigate the presence of an abundance spread in the globular clusters here. A hint of a possible intrinsic spread is found for NGC 6256, which therefore appears to be a good candidate for further study.
Near infrared spectra of 133 red giant stars from ten Galactic open clusters and two Galactic globular clusters spanning 2.2 dex in metallicity and 11 Gyr in age are presented. We combine this sample with ten clusters from Cole and collaborators to investigate the Ca II triplet line strengths and their relation to cluster metallicity and position along the red giant branch. We show that characterizing the stellar surface gravity using Ks band photometry (relative to the horizontal branch) taken from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey allows for metallicity measurements at least as precise as those derived using V or I band data. This has the great advantage that uniform photometry and reliable astrometry is available for a large number of clusters. Using Ks band photometry also reduces the effect of differential reddening within a given cluster. We find no significant evidence for age or metallicity effects to the linear Ca II triplet - metallicity relationship over the small range in magnitudes studied when homogeneous reference metallicities are used. We derive the first spectroscopic metallicity and new radial velocity estimates for five open clusters: Berkeley 81, Berkeley 99, IC 1311, King 2, and NGC 7044. King 2 has an anomalous radial velocity compared with the local disk population. We discuss the possibility that it is part of the Monoceros tidal stream.
As a part of our galaxy-cluster redshift survey, we present a set of 80 new velocities in the 4 clusters Abell 376, Abell 970, Abell 1356, and Abell 2244, obtained at Haute-Provence observatory. This set now completes our previous analysis, especially for the first two clusters. Data on individual galaxies are presented, and we discuss some cluster properties. For A376, we obtained an improved mean redshift <z> = 0.047503$ with a velocity dispersion of sigma_V = 860 km/s. For A970, we have <z> = 0.058747 with sigma_V = 881 km/s. We show that the A1356 cluster is not a member of the Leo-Virgo supercluster at a mean redshift <z>= 0.112 and should be considered just as a foreground group of galaxies at <z> = 0.0689, as well as A1435 at <z> = 0.062. We obtain <z> = 0.099623 for A2244 with sigma_V = 965 km/s. The relative proximity of clusters A2244 and A2245 (<z> = 0.0873816, sigma_V = 992 km/s) suggests that these could be members of a supercluster that would include A2249; however, from X-ray data there is no indication of interaction between A2244 and A2245.