A previously reported literature search suggested that the AGB stars in Galactic globular clusters may be showing different distributions of CN-strong and CN-weak stars as compared to their RGB stars. In most cases the second giant branches of GCs ap
peared to be deficient in stars with strong CN bands. However the sample sizes of AGB stars at that time were too small to give a definitive picture. Thus an observing campaign targeting GC AGB stars was proposed. We now have medium resolution spectral observations of about 250 GC AGB stars across 9 globular clusters, obtained with the 2dF/AAOmega instrument on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. In this paper we report some preliminary results regarding the distributions of CN-strong and CN-weak stars on the two giant branches of a selection of globular clusters. We find that some GCs show a total lack of CN-strong stars on the AGB, whilst some show a reduction in CN-strong stars as compared to the RGB. Standard stellar evolution does not predict this change in surface abundance between the two giant branches. We discuss some possible causes of this unexpected phenomenon.
[Abridged] We calculate the structural evolution and nucleosynthesis of a grid of models covering the metallicity range: -6.5 < [Fe/H] < -3.0 (plus Z=0), and mass range: 0.85 < M < 3.0 Msun, amounting to 20 stars in total. In this paper, the first of
a series describing and analysing this large data set, we present the resulting stellar yields. Many of the models experience violent nuclear burning episodes not seen at higher metallicities. We refer to these events as `Dual Flashes. These events have also been reported by previous studies. Some of the material processed by the Dual Flashes is dredged up causing significant surface pollution with a distinct chemical composition. We also analyse the yields in terms of C and N, comparing them to the observed CEMP abundances. At the lowest metallicities ([Fe/H] < -4.0) we find the yields to contain ~1 to 2 dex too much carbon, in agreement with all previous studies. At higher metallicities ([Fe/H] = -3.0), where the observed data set is much larger, all our models produce yields with [C/Fe] values consistent with those observed in the most C-rich CEMPs. However it is only the low-mass models that undergo the Dual Shell Flash (which occurs at the start of the TPAGB) that can best reproduce the C and N observations. Normal Third Dredge-Up can not reproduce the observations because at these metallicities intermediate mass models (M > 2 Msun) suffer HBB which converts the C to N thus lowering [C/N] well below the observations, whilst if TDU were to occur in the low-mass (M < 1 Msun) models (we do not find it to occur in our models), the yields would be expected to be C-rich only, which is at odds with the `dual pollution of C and N generally observed in the CEMPs.
