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Register a new userObservations of the Bright Star in the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)
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The Bright Star in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104) is a post-AGB star of spectral type B8 III. The ultraviolet spectra of late-B stars exhibit a myriad of absorption features, many due to species unobservable from the ground. The Bright Star thus represents a unique window into the chemistry of 47 Tuc. We have analyzed observations obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, and the MIKE Spectrograph on the Magellan Telescope. By fitting these data with synthetic spectra, we determine various stellar parameters (T_eff = 10,850 +/- 250 K, log g = 2.20 +/- 0.13) and the photospheric abundances of 26 elements, including Ne, P, Cl, Ga, Pd, In, Sn, Hg, and Pb, which have not previously been published for this cluster. Abundances of intermediate-mass elements (Mg through Ga) generally scale with Fe, while the heaviest elements (Pd through Pb) have roughly solar abundances. Its low C/O ratio indicates that the star did not undergo third dredge-up and suggests that its heavy elements were made by a previous generation of stars. If so, this pattern should be present throughout the cluster, not just in this star. Stellar-evolution models suggest that the Bright Star is powered by a He-burning shell, having left the AGB during or immediately after a thermal pulse. Its mass (0.54 +/- 0.16 M_sun) implies that single stars in 47 Tuc lose 0.1--0.2 M_sun on the AGB, only slightly less than they lose on the RGB.
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We have analyzed FUSE, COS, GHRS, and Keck HIRES spectra of the UV-bright star Barnard 29 in M13 (NGC 6205). By comparing the photospheric abundances derived from multiple ionization states of C, N, O, Si, and S, we infer an effective temperature T_eff = 21,400 +/- 400 K. Balmer-line fits yield a surface gravity log g = 3.10 +/- 0.03. We derive photospheric abundances of He, C, N, O, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, Ar, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, and Ge. Barnard 29 exhibits an abundance pattern typical of the first-generation stars in M13, enhanced in oxygen and depleted in aluminum. An underabundance of C and an overabundance of N suggest that the star experienced nonconvective mixing on the RGB. We see no evidence of significant chemical evolution since the star left the RGB; in particular, it did not undergo third dredge-up. Previous workers found that the stars FUV spectra yield an iron abundance about 0.5 dex lower than its optical spectrum, but the iron abundances derived from all of our spectra are consistent with the cluster value. We attribute this difference to our use of model atmospheres without microturbulence, which is ruled out by careful fits to optical absorption features. We derive a mass M_*/M_sun = 0.45 - 0.55 and luminosity log (L_*/L_sun) = 3.26 - 3.35. Comparison with stellar-evolution models suggests that Barnard 29 evolved from a ZAHB star of mass M_*/M_sun between 0.50 and 0.55, near the boundary between the extreme and blue horizontal branches.
We report the first detection of circumstellar CO in a globular cluster. Observations with ALMA have detected the CO J=3-2 and SiO v=1 J=8-7 transitions at 345 and 344 GHz, respectively, around V3 in 47 Tucanae (NGC 104; [Fe/H] = -0.72 dex), a star on the asymptotic giant branch. The CO line is detected at 7 sigma at a rest velocity v_LSR = -40.6 km/s and expansion velocity of 3.2 +/- ~0.4 km/s. The brighter, asymmetric SiO line may indicate a circumstellar maser. The stellar wind is slow compared to similar Galactic stars, but the dust opacity remains similar to Galactic comparisons. We suggest that the mass-loss rate is set by the levitation of material into the circumstellar environment by pulsations, but that the terminal wind-expansion velocity is determined by radiation pressure on the dust: a pulsation-enhanced dust-driven wind. We suggest the metal-poor nature of the star decreases the grain size, slowing the wind and increasing its density and opacity. Metallic alloys at high altitudes above the photosphere could also provide an opacity increase. The CO line is weaker than expected from Galactic AGB stars, but its strength confirms a model that includes CO dissociation by the strong interstellar radiation field present inside globular clusters.
We present 22 new (+3 confirmed) cataclysmic variables (CVs) in the non core-collapsed globular cluster 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc). The total number of CVs in the cluster is now 43, the largest sample in any globular cluster so far. For the identifications we used near-ultraviolet (NUV) and optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope, in combination with X-ray results from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This allowed us to build the deepest NUV CV luminosity function of the cluster to date. We found that the CVs in 47 Tuc are more concentrated towards the cluster center than the main sequence turnoff stars. We compared our results to the CV populations of the core-collapsed globular clusters NGC 6397 and NGC 6752. We found that 47 Tuc has fewer bright CVs per unit mass than those two other clusters. That suggests that dynamical interactions in core-collapsed clusters play a major role creating new CVs. In 47 Tuc, the CV population is probably dominated by primordial and old dynamically formed systems. We estimated that the CVs in 47 Tuc have total masses of approx. 1.4 M_sun. We also found that the X-ray luminosity function of the CVs in the three clusters is bimodal. Additionally, we discuss a possible double degenerate system and an intriguing/unclassified object. Finally, we present four systems that could be millisecond pulsar companions given their X-ray and NUV/optical colors. For one of them we present very strong evidence for being an ablated companion. The other three could be CO- or He-WDs.
We report the discovery of the likely white dwarf companions to radio millisecond pulsars 47 Tuc Q and 47 Tuc S in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. These blue stars were found in near-ultraviolet images from the Hubble Space Telescope for which we derived accurate absolute astrometry, and are located at positions consistent with the radio coordinates to within 0.016 arcsec (0.2sigma). We present near-ultraviolet and optical colours for the previously identified companion to millisecond pulsar 47 Tuc U, and we unambiguously confirm the tentative prior identifications of the optical counterparts to 47 Tuc T and 47 Tuc Y. For the latter, we present its radio-timing solution for the first time. We find that all five near-ultraviolet counterparts have U300-B390 colours that are consistent with He white dwarf cooling models for masses ~0.16-0.3 Msun and cooling ages within ~0.1-6 Gyr. The Ha-R625 colours of 47 Tuc U and 47 Tuc T indicate the presence of a strong Ha absorption line, as expected for white dwarfs with an H envelope.
ALMA observations show a non-detection of carbon monoxide around the four most luminous asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. Stellar evolution models and star counts show that the mass-loss rates from these stars should be ~1.2-3.5 x 10^-7 solar masses per year. We would naively expect such stars to be detectable at this distance (4.5 kpc). By modelling the ultraviolet radiation field from post-AGB stars and white dwarfs in 47 Tuc, we conclude CO should be dissociated abnormally close to the stars. We estimate that the CO envelopes will be truncated at a few hundred stellar radii from their host stars and that the line intensities are about two orders of magnitude below our current detection limits. The truncation of CO envelopes should be important for AGB stars in dense clusters. Observing the CO (3-2) and higher transitions and targeting stars far from the centres of clusters should result in the detections needed to measure the outflow velocities from these stars.
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