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Register a new userThe chemical abundance of the very metal rich old Open Clusters NGC 6253 and NGC 6791
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Authors
Eugenio Carretta
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In the framework of a project aiming at deriving in a homogeneous way the properties (age, distance, reddening and detailed chemical abundances) of a large sample of old open clusters, we present here the metal abundance and the abundance ratios of light (C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti) and heavier (Cr, Mn, Ni, Ba, Eu) elements in the galactic open clusters NGC 6253 and NGC 6791. We performed spectrum synthesis of selected lines on high resolution spectra of four red clump stars in NGC 6253, taken with the UVES and FEROS spectrographs. We also determined abundances of the same elements for four red clump stars in NGC 6791, observed with SARG, for which we had derived the atmospheric parameters and the iron, carbon and oxygen abundances in a previous paper (Gratton et al. 2006). The average metallicity of NGC 6253 is [Fe/H]=+0.46 (rms = 0.03 dex, systematic error = 0.08 dex), obtained by extensive spectral synthesis of Fe lines. This intermediate age cluster closely resembles the old open cluster NGC 6791, as far as the chemical composition is concerned. C, N, O do not show any significant abundance scatter; they are underabundant with respect to the solar values both in NGC 6253 and NGC 6791. We also find no evident star-to-star scatter in any of the elements measured in both clusters, with the possible exception of Na in NGC 6791. The two clusters show very similar abundances, except for Mg, overabundant in NGC 6791 and not in NGC 6253. Both have solar scaled alpha-elements abundances. We have compared our abundance ratios with literature values for disk giants and dwarfs and bulge giants, finding a general good agreement with the run of elemental ratios with [Fe/H] of disk objects.
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We report on a UV-oriented imaging survey in the fields of the old, metal-rich open clusters, NGC 6791, NGC 6819 and NGC 7142. These three clusters represent both very near and ideal stellar aggregates to match the distinctive properties of the evolved stellar populations, as in elliptical galaxies and bulges of spirals. The CMD of the three clusters is analyzed in detail, with special emphasis to the hot stellar component. We report, in this regard, one new extreme horizontal-branch star candidate in NGC 6791. For NGC 6819 and 7142, the stellar luminosity function points to a looser radial distribution of faint lower Main Sequence stars, either as a consequence of cluster dynamical interaction with the Galaxy or as an effect of an increasing fraction of binary stars toward the cluster core, as actually observed in NGC 6791 too.
NGC 6791 is a unique stellar system among Galactic open clusters being at the same time one of the oldest open clusters and the most metal rich. Combination of its properties is puzzling and poses question of its origin. One possible scenario is that the cluster formed close to the Galactic Center and later migrated outwards to its current location. In this work we study the clusters orbit and investigate the possible migration processes which might have displaced NGC 6791 to its present-day position, under the assumption that it actually formed in the inner disk. To this aim we performed integrations of NGC 6791s orbit in a potential consistent with the main Milky Way parameters. In addition to analytical expressions for halo, bulge and disk, we also consider the effect of bar and spiral arm perturbations, which are expected to be very important for the disk dynamical evolution, especially inside the solar circle. Starting from state-of-the art initial conditions for NGC 6791, we calculate 1000 orbits back in time for about 1 Gyr turning on and off different non-axisymmetric components of the global potential. We then compare statistical estimates of the clusters recent orbital parameters with the orbital parameters of 10^4 test-particles originating close to the Galactic Center (having initial galocentric radii in the range of 3-5 kpc) and undergoing radial migration during 8 Gyr of forward integration. We find that a model which incorporates a strong bar and spiral arm perturbations can indeed be responsible for the migration of NGC 6791 from the inner disk (galocentric radii of 3-5 kpc) to its present-day location. Such a model can provide orbital parameters which are close enough to the observed ones. However, the probability of this scenario as it results from our investigations is very low.
NGC 6791 is an old, metal-rich star cluster normally considered to be a disk open cluster. Its red giant branch is broad in color yet, to date, there is no evidence for a metallicity spread among its stars. The turnoff region of the main sequence is also wider than expected from broad-band photometric errors. Analysis of the color-magnitude diagram reveals a color gradient between the core of the cluster and its periphery; we evaluate the potential explanations for this trend. While binarity and photometric errors appear unlikely, reddening variations across the face of the cluster cannot be excluded. We argue that a viable alternative explanation for this color trend is an age spread resulting from a protracted formation time for the cluster; the stars of the inner region of NGC 6791 appear to be older by ~1 Gyr on average than those of the outer region.
We have observed four red clump stars in the very old and metal-rich open cluster NGC 6791 to derive its metallicity, using the high resolution spectrograph SARG mounted on the TNG. Using a spectrum synthesis technique we obtain an average value of [Fe/H] = +0.47 (+/- 0.04, rms=0.08) dex. Our method was tested on mu Leo, a well studied metal-rich field giant. We also derive average oxygen and carbon abundances for NGC 6791 from synthesis of [O I] at 6300 A and C_2 at 5086 A, finding [O/Fe] =~ -0.3 and [C/Fe] =~ -0.2.
Galactic open and globular clusters (OCs, GCs) appear to inhabit separate regions of the age-mass plane. However, the transition between them is not easily defined because there is some overlap between high-mass, old OCs and low-mass, young GCs. We are exploring the possibility of a clear-cut separation between OCs and GCs using an abundance feature that has been found so far only in GCs: (anti)correlations between light elements. Among the coupled abundance trends, the Na-O anticorrelation is the most widely studied. These anticorrelations are the signature of self-enrichment, i.e., of a formation mechanism that implies multiple generations of stars. Here we concentrate on the old, massive, metal-rich OC NGC 6791. We analyzed archival Keck/HIRES spectra of 15 NGC 6791 main sequence turn-off and evolved stars, concentrating on the derivation of C, N, O, and Na abundances. We also used WIYN/Hydra spectra of 21 evolved stars (one is in common). Given the spectral complexity of the very metal-rich NGC 6791 stars, we employed spectrum synthesis to measure most of the abundances. We confirmed the cluster super-solar metallicity and abundances of Ca and Ni that have been derived in past studies. More importantly, we did not detect any significant star-to-star abundance dispersion in C, N, O and Na. Based on the absence of a clear Na-O anticorrelation, NGC 6791 can still be considered a true OC, hosting a single generation of stars, and not a low-mass GC.
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