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arXiv · 2503.14642

The Bulge Cluster Origin (BulCO) survey at the ESO-VLT: probing the early history of the Milky Way assembling. Design and first results in Liller1

F. R. Ferraro·L. Chiappino·A. Bartolomei·L. Origlia·C. Fanelli·B. Lanzoni·C. Pallanca·M. Loriga·S. Leanza·E. Valenti·D. Romano·A. Mucciarelli·D. Massari·M. Cadelano·E. Dalessandro·C. Crociati·R. M. Rich
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Abstract

We present the scientific goals and the very first results of the Bulge Cluster Origin (BulCO) survey. This survey has been specifically designed to perform an unprecedented chemical screening of stellar systems orbiting the Milky Way bulge, with the aim to unveil their true origin. It takes advantage of the improved performances of the spectrograph CRIRES+ operating at the ESO Very Large telescope, in the near-infrared domain. Due to the complex evolutionary history of the Milky Way, a variety of relics tracing different phenomena is expected to populate the Bulge: globular clusters formed in-situ or accreted from outside the Galaxy, nuclear star clusters of cannibalized structures, and possibly a few remnants of the proto-bulge formation process (the so-called ``bulge fossil fragments"). The signatures of the different origins are imprinted in the chemical properties of these stellar systems because specific abundance patterns provide authentic "chemical DNA" tests univocally tracing the enrichment process and, therefore, the environment where the stellar population formed. Thus, each system can provide a new piece of information on the bulge formation and evolutionary history. As first results of the survey, here we discuss the alpha-element and iron abundances of a sample of stars observed in the stellar system Liller 1, which is proposed to be a bulge fossil fragment. By combining this dataset with a recently published sample of high/mid-resolution spectra, we discuss the overall chemical properties of the stellar populations in Liller1, proving its link with the Galactic bulge and providing new constraints on its star formation history.

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F. R. Ferraro, L. Chiappino, A. Bartolomei, L. Origlia, C. Fanelli, B. Lanzoni, C. Pallanca, M. Loriga, S. Leanza, E. Valenti, D. Romano, A. Mucciarelli, D. Massari, M. Cadelano, E. Dalessandro, C. Crociati, R. M. Rich. 2025-03-18. The Bulge Cluster Origin (BulCO) survey at the ESO-VLT: probing the early history of the Milky Way assembling. Design and first results in Liller1. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361%2F202554092

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