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We present a Spitzer Space Telescope imaging survey of the most massive Galactic globular cluster, omega Centauri, and investigate stellar mass loss at low metallicity and the intracluster medium (ICM). The survey covers approximately 3.2x the cluster half-mass radius at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8, and 24 microns, resulting in a catalog of over 40,000 point-sources in the cluster. Approximately 140 cluster members ranging 1.5 dex in metallicity show a red excess at 24 microns, indicative of circumstellar dust. If all of the dusty sources are experiencing mass loss, the cumulative rate of loss is estimated at 2.9 - 4.2 x 10^(-7) solar masses per year, 63% -- 66% of which is supplied by three asymptotic giant branch stars at the tip of the Red Giant Branch (RGB). There is little evidence for strong mass loss lower on the RGB. If this material had remained in the cluster center, its dust component (> 1 x 10^(-4) solar masses) would be detectable in our 24 and 70 micron images. While no dust cloud located at the center of omega Cen is apparent, we do see four regions of very faint, diffuse emission beyond two half-mass radii at 24 microns. It is unclear whether these dust clouds are foreground emission or are associated with omega Cen. In the latter case, these clouds may be the ICM in the process of escaping from the cluster.
In response to the proposed high helium content stars as an explanation for the double main sequence observed in Omega Centauri, we investigated the consequences of such stars elsewhere on the color-magnitude diagram. We concentrated on the horizonta
We present HST observations that show a bifurcation of colors in the middle main sequence of the globular cluster Omega Centauri. We see this in three different fields, observed with different cameras and filters. We also present high precision photo
We used archival multi-band Hubble Space Telescope observations obtained with the Wide-Field Camera 3 in the UV-optical channel to present new important observational findings on the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the Galactic globular cluster omeg
We present a spectral atlas of the post-main-sequence population of the most massive Galactic globular cluster, omega Centauri. Spectra were obtained of more than 1500 stars selected as uniformly as possible from across the (B, B-V) colour-magnitude