No Arabic abstract
NGC 5986 is a poorly studied but relatively massive Galactic globular cluster that shares several physical and morphological characteristics with iron-complex clusters known to exhibit significant metallicity and heavy element dispersions. In order to determine if NGC 5986 joins the iron-complex cluster class, we investigated the chemical composition of 25 red giant branch and asymptotic giant branch cluster stars using high resolution spectra obtained with the Magellan-M2FS instrument. Cluster membership was verified using a combination of radial velocity and [Fe/H] measurements, and we found the cluster to have a mean heliocentric radial velocity of +99.76 km s^-1 (sigma = 7.44 km s^-1). We derived a mean metallicity of [Fe/H] = -1.54 dex (sigma = 0.08 dex), but the clusters small dispersion in [Fe/H] and low [La/Eu] abundance preclude it from being an iron-complex cluster. NGC 5986 has <[Eu/Fe]> = +0.76 dex (sigma = 0.08 dex), which is among the highest ratios detected in a Galactic cluster. NGC 5986 exhibits classical globular cluster characteristics, such as uniformly enhanced [alpha/Fe] ratios, a small dispersion in Fe-peak abundances, and (anti-)correlated light element variations. Similar to NGC 2808, we find evidence that NGC 5986 may host at least 4-5 populations with distinct light element compositions, and the presence of a clear Mg-Al anti-correlation along with an Al-Si correlation suggests that the cluster gas experienced processing at temperatures >65-70 MK. However, the current data do not support burning temperatures exceeding ~100 MK. We find some evidence that the first and second generation stars in NGC 5986 may be fully spatially mixed, which could indicate that the cluster has lost a significant fraction of its original mass. [abridged]
We present chemical abundances for 17 elements in a sample of 11 red giant branch stars in NGC 6362 from UVES spectra. NGC 6362 is one of the least massive globulars where multiple populations have been detected, yet its detailed chemical composition has not been investigated so far. NGC 6362 turns out to be a metal-intermediate ([Fe/H]=-1.07pm0.01 dex) cluster, with its alpha- and Fe-peak elements content compatible with that observed in clusters with similar metallicity. It also displays an enhancement in its s-process element abundances. Among the light elements involved in the multiple populations phenomenon, only [Na/Fe] shows star-to-star variations, while [Al/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] do not show any evidence for abundance spreads. A differential comparison with M4, a globular cluster with similar mass and metallicity, reveals that the two clusters share the same chemical composition. This finding suggests that NGC 6362 is indeed a regular cluster, formed from gas that has experienced the same chemical enrichment of other clusters with similar metallicity.
As part of our on-going project on the homogeneous chemical characterization of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters (GCs), we studied NGC 5634, associated to the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy, using high-resolution spectroscopy of red giant stars collected with FLAMES@VLT. We present here the radial velocity distribution of the 45 observed stars, 43 of which are member, the detailed chemical abundance of 22 species for the seven stars observed with UVES-FLAMES, and the abundance of six elements for stars observed with GIRAFFE. On our homogeneous UVES metallicity scale we derived a low metallicity [Fe/H]=-1.867 +/-0.019 +/-0.065 dex (+/-statistical +/-systematic error) with sigma=0.050 dex (7 stars). We found the normal anti-correlations between light elements (Na and O, Mg and Al), signature of multiple populations typical of massive and old GCs. We confirm the associations of NGC 5634 to the Sgr dSph, from which the cluster was lost a few Gyr ago, on the basis of its velocity and position and the abundance ratios of alpha and neutron capture elements.
We present a detailed spectroscopic analysis of horizontal branch stars in the globular cluster NGC 3201. We collected optical (4580-5330 A), high resolution (~34,000), high signal-to-noise ratio (~200) spectra for eleven RR Lyrae stars and one red horizontal branch star with the multifiber spectrograph M2FS at the 6.5m Magellan telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory. From measured equivalent widths we derived atmospheric parameters and abundance ratios for {alpha} (Mg, Ca, Ti), iron peak (Sc, Cr, Ni, Zn) and s-process (Y) elements. We found that NGC 3201 is a homogeneous, mono-metallic ([Fe/H]=-1.47 +- 0.04), {alpha}-enhanced ([{alpha}/Fe]=0.37 +- 0.04) cluster. The relative abundances of the iron peak and s-process elements were found to be consistent with solar values. In comparison with other large stellar samples, NGC 3201 RR Lyraes have similar chemical enrichment histories as do those of other old (t>10 Gyr) Halo components (globular clusters, red giants, blue and red horizontal branch stars, RR Lyraes). We also provided a new average radial velocity estimate for NGC 3201 by using a template velocity curve to overcome the limit of single epoch measurements of variable stars: Vrad=494 +- 2 km s-1({sigma}=8 km s-1).
We present a new search for variable stars in the Galactic globular cluster M28 (NGC 6626). The search is based on a series of BVI images obtained with the SMARTS Consortiums 1.3m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. The search was carried out using the ISIS v2.2 image subtraction package. We find a total of 25 variable stars in the field of the cluster, 9 being new discoveries. Of the newly found variables, 1 is an ab-type RR Lyrae star, 6 are c-type RR Lyrae, and 2 are long-period/semi-regular variables. V22, previously classified as a type II Cepheid, appears as a bona-fide RRc in our data. In turn, V20, previously classified as an ab-type RR Lyrae, could not be properly phased with any reasonable period. The properties of the ab-type RR Lyrae stars in M28 appear most consistent with an Oosterhoff-intermediate classification, which is unusual for bona-fide Galactic globulars clusters. However, the clusters c-type variables do not clearly support such an Oosterhoff type, and a hybrid Oosterhoff I/II system is accordingly another possibility, thus raising the intriguing possibility of multiple populations being present in M28. Coordinates, periods, and light curves in differential fluxes are provided for all the detected variables.