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arXiv · 2606.07751

A Colour-colour Fingerprint Links the UV Upturn in Early-type Galaxies to Second-generation Stars from Dissolved Globular Clusters

Paul Goudfrooij·Andrea Bellini·Thomas M. Brown·Thomas H. Puzia
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Abstract

We address two mass-dependent properties among early-type galaxies (ETGs): (1) abundance ratios [N/Fe] and [Na/Fe], and (2) the centrally concentrated "UV upturn" at far-UV (FUV) wavelengths, which is likely produced by extreme horizontal branch stars with supersolar helium abundances. Using new HST/WFC3 observations of one FUV-weak and one FUV-bright ETG, we probe the "MP scenario" by Goudfrooij who posited that the UV upturn and the mass-dependent abundance variations of N and Na within and among ETGs are physically connected and produced by dissolution of metal-rich globular clusters, which represent the only galactic environment where mass-dependent enrichment of He, N, and Na is known to occur (i.e., second-generation stars of the "multiple stellar populations" (MPs) phenomenon). We show that passbands F275W and F390W are uniquely sensitive to correlated changes in $Y$ and [N/Fe] in integrated-light photometry when combined with archival data in F475W and F850LP. While F475W-F850LP is found to decrease with increasing radius in both galaxies, consistent with known metallicity gradients, F275W-F390W increases with increasing radius, as expected if the UV upturn is caused by second-generation stars with supersolar $Y$ and [N/Fe]. Furthermore, the radial gradient in F275W-F390W and the implied fractions of He- and N-enhanced stars are found to be significantly larger in the FUV-bright ETG than in the FUV-weak one, consistent with the predictions of the MP scenario.

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Paul Goudfrooij, Andrea Bellini, Thomas M. Brown, Thomas H. Puzia. 2026-06-05. A Colour-colour Fingerprint Links the UV Upturn in Early-type Galaxies to Second-generation Stars from Dissolved Globular Clusters. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras%2Fstag1087

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