arXiv subjects

S. Jang

Publications and source records attributed to S. Jang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The Large Magellanic Cloud through the lens of the James Webb Space Telescope: Binaries and the mass function in the galaxy's outskirts

Nearby galaxies such as the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) offer an ideal laboratory to test the initial mass function under different physical conditions, but previous works have been limited by photometric depth and have therefore poorly constrained the low-mass regime. Here, we analyze ultra-deep James Webb Space Telescope observations of a field in the LMC outskirts, near the intermediate-age and massive star cluster NGC 1846. Using the $m_{\rm F322W2}$ versus $m_{\rm F115W}-m_{\rm F322W2}$ color-magnitude diagram, we derive the mass function (MF) down to unprecedentedly low masses ($M=0.17 M_{\odot}$), explicitly accounting for the contribution of unresolved binaries, whose fraction is constrained directly from the data. For systems with mass ratios $q>0.6$, we measure a binary fraction of $f_{\rm bin}^{q>0.6}=0.15\pm0.01$, implying a total binary fraction of $f_{\rm bin}^{\rm TOT}=0.34\pm0.02$ for a flat mass-ratio distribution. This is consistent with values in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and in the Milky Way field, suggesting similar binary formation efficiency across low-density environments. We also derive the MF over the mass interval 0.17-0.82 $M_{\odot}$ and fit it with a power law, obtaining a slope of $\alpha = -1.49 \pm 0.16$. This slope is shallower than the canonical Salpeter value ($\alpha=-2.35$) and slightly shallower than that measured in the SMC field, while remaining consistent with determinations for Galactic open clusters and for several clusters in the Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way. Together, these results support a scenario in which both binary formation efficiency and the shape of the low-mass MF depend only weakly on the environment.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

A JWST project on 47 Tucanae. Binaries among multiple populations

Almost all globular clusters (GCs) contain multiple populations consisting of stars with varying helium and light-element abundances. These populations include first-population stars, which exhibit similar chemical compositions to halo-field stars with comparable [Fe/H], and second-population stars, characterized by enhanced He and N abundances along with reduced levels of O and C. Nowadays, one of the most intriguing open questions about GCs pertains to the formation and evolution of their multiple populations. Recent works based on N-body simulations of GCs show that the fractions and characteristics of binary stars can serve as dynamic indicators of the formation period of multiple-population in GCs and their subsequent dynamical evolution. Nevertheless, the incidence of binaries among multiple populations is still poorly studied. Moreover, the few available observational studies are focused only on the bright stars of a few GCs. In this work, we use deep images of the GC 47 Tucanae collected with the JWST and HST to investigate the incidence of binaries among multiple populations of M-dwarfs and bright main-sequence stars. To reach this objective, we use UV, optical, and near infrared filters to construct photometric diagrams that allow us to disentangle binary systems and multiple populations. Moreover, we compared these observations with a large sample of simulated binaries. In the cluster central regions, the incidence of binaries among first-population stars is only slightly higher than that of second-population stars. In contrast, in the external regions, the majority (>85%) of the studied binaries are composed of first population stars. Results are consistent with the GC formation scenarios where the second-population stars originate in the cluster's central region, forming a compact and dense stellar group within a more extended system of first-population stars

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

Linking Photometry and spectroscopy: profiling multiple populations in globular clusters

Our understanding of multiple populations in globular clusters (GCs) largely comes from photometry and spectroscopy: appropriate photometric diagrams can disentangle first and second populations (1P and 2P)-1P having chemical signatures similar to field stars, and 2P stars showing unique light-element variations-while spectroscopy enables detailed chemical abundances analyses of these populations. We combine multi-band photometry with extensive spectroscopic data to investigate the chemical composition of multiple populations across 38 GCs, yielding a chemical abundance dataset for stars with precise population tagging. This dataset provides the most extensive analysis of C, N, O, Na, Mg, and Al variations, revealing the largest sample yet of light-element spreads across GCs. GC mass correlates with light-element variations, supporting earlier photometric studies. We investigated iron differences among 1P stars, confirming their presence in 19 GCs, and finding a spread consistent with prediction based on photometry. Notably, in eight of them we detected a correlation between [Fe/H] and the position in iron-sensitive photometric diagrams. More massive GCs display larger lithium depletion among 2P stars, which is consistent with zero at smaller masses. Notably, some 2P stars with the most extreme chemical differences compared to 1P stars still show Li comparable to 1P, suggesting that the 1P polluters have produced some amount of this element. We analyzed the anomalous stars, a population characterized by enrichment in iron, s-process elements, and C+N+O, in ten GCs. NGC1851, NGC5139, NGC6656, and NGC 6715 display light-element inhomogeneities similar to 1P and 2P stars. Iron and barium enrichment varies widely-negligible in some clusters and much larger than errors in others. Generally, these elemental spreads correlate with GC mass.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Mass loss along the red giant branch of the intermediate stellar populations in NGC6752 and NGC2808

The morphology of the Horizontal Branch (HB) in Globular Clusters (GC) is among the early evidences that they contain multiple populations of stars. Indeed, the location of each star along the HB depends both on its initial helium content (Y) and on the global average mass loss along the red giant branch ($\mu$). In most GCs, it is generally straightforward to analyse the first stellar population (standard Y), and the most extreme one (largest Y), while it is more tricky to look at the "intermediate" populations (mildly enhanced Y). In this work, we do this for the GCs NGC6752 and NGC2808; wherever possible the helium abundance for each stellar populations is constrained by using independent measurements present in the literature. We compare population synthesis models with photometric catalogues from the Hubble Space Telescope Treasury survey to derive the parameters of these HB stars. We find that the location of helium enriched stars on the HB is reproduced only by adopting a higher value of $\mu$ with respect to the first generation stars in all the analysed stellar populations. We also find that $\mu$ correlates with the helium enhancement of the populations. This holds for both clusters. This finding is naturally predicted by the model of ''pre-main sequence disc early loss'', previously suggested in the literature, and is consistent with the findings of multiple-populations formation models that foresee the formation of second generation stars in a cooling flow.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

New perspective on the multiple population phenomenon in Galactic globular clusters from a wide-field photometric survey

Wide-field photometry of Galactic globular clusters (GCs) has been investigated to overcome limitations from the small field of view of the Hubble Space Telescope in the study of multiple populations. In particular, 'chromosome maps' (ChMs) built with ground-based photometry were constructed to identify the first and second generation stars (1G and 2G) over the wide-field of view. The ChMs allow us to derive the fraction of distinct populations in an analyzed field of view. We present here the radial distribution of the 2G fraction in 29 GCs. The distributions show that all the GCs either have a flat distribution or more centrally concentrated 2G stars. Notably, we find that the fraction of 1G stars outside the half-light radius is clearly bifurcated across all mass range. It implies that a group of GCs with lower 1G fractions (hereafter Group II) have efficiently lost their 1G stars in the outermost cluster regions. In fact, in connection with the trends of the radial distribution, most GCs of Group II have spatially mixed populations, while only less massive GCs in Group I (a group with higher 1G fraction) show that feature. Lastly, we investigate links between these two groups and host cluster parameters. We find that most GCs of Group II are distributed along a broader range of galactocentric distances with smaller perigalactic distances < 3.5 kpc. Besides, by using the Gaia data, it is observed that Group II GCs have higher energy on the integrals of motion diagrams than Group I GCs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Tunable Second-Order Structural Transition in As-Deficient MnAs

We report measurements of magnetization, specific heat, and thermal expansion performed on As-deficient MnAs single crystals (MnAs$_{0.968}$). Ferromagnetic order is observed near $T_C \simeq$ 306 K on warming and $T_C \simeq$ 302 K on cooling, which is consistent with previously-reported values for stoichiometric MnAs samples. In contrast, the second-order structural phase transition is observed at $T_S \simeq$ 353 K, which is nearly 50 K lower than in the stoichiometric compound. We observe differences in the thermal expansion of our samples when compared to reports of stoichiometric MnAs including: (1) the $\sim$1.5% volume decrease at $T_C$ is smaller than the expected value of 1.9%, (2) the lattice parameters perpendicular to the basal plane exhibit a discontinuous jump of $\sim$1.1% at $T_C$ instead of being continuous across $T_C$, and (3) thermal expansion perpendicular to the basal plane for $T_C \le T \le$ 315 K is negative rather than positive. We also observe a correlation between the ratio of hexagonal lattice parameters, $c/a$, and $T_S$, strongly suggesting that the degree of structural anisotropy in MnAs could play an important role in tuning $T_S$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Exploring Simple-Population and Multiple-Population Globular Clusters in the Outer Galactic Halo using the Hubble Space Telescope

The pseudo two-color diagram, known as chromosome map (ChM), is a valuable tool for identifying globular clusters (GCs) that consist of single or multiple stellar populations (MPs). Recent surveys of Galactic GCs using the ChM have provided stringent observational constraints on the formation of GCs and their stellar populations. However, these surveys have primarily focused on GCs at moderate distances from the Galactic center and composed of MPs. In this paper, we present the first detailed study of the stellar composition of four GCs in the outer halo of the Milky Way: Arp 2, Ruprecht 106, Terzan 7, and Terzan 8. Our analysis is based on high-precision photometry obtained from images collected with the Hubble Space Telescope in the F275W, F336W, F438W, F606W, and F814W bands. We find that Ruprecht 106 and Terzan 7 are composed solely of a single stellar population, whereas Arp 2 and Terzan 8 host both first- and second-population stars. In these clusters, the second population comprises about half and one-third of the total number of GC stars, respectively. The results from this paper and the literature suggest that the threshold in the initial GC mass, if present, should be smaller than approximately 10^5 M$_{\odot}$. The first-population stars of Arp 2 and Terzan 8, along with the stars of the simple-population GCs Ruprecht 106 and Terzan 7, exhibit intrinsic F275W - F814W color spreads, likely indicative of [Fe/H] variations of approximately 0.05 -- 0.30 dex. This suggests that star-to-star metallicity variations are a common feature of star clusters, regardless of the presence of MPs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

A JWST project on 47 Tucanae. NIRSpec spectroscopy of multiple populations among M dwarfs

We present the first spectroscopic estimates of the chemical abundance of M dwarf stars in a globular cluster (GC), namely 47 Tucanae. By exploiting NIRSpec on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) we gathered low-resolution spectra for 28 stars with masses in the range ~0.4-0.5 solar masses. The spectra are strongly affected by the H2O water vapour bands which can be used as indicators of the oxygen abundance. The spectral analysis reveals that the target stars feature a different O abundance, with a difference of ~0.40 dex between first and the most-polluted second population. The observed range is similar to that observed among red giant stars. This result reinforces previous findings based on the analysis of photometric diagrams, including the ``chromosome maps'', providing a first, and more direct, evidence of light element variations in the M dwarfs' mass regime. The observation that the multiple populations, with their variations in light elements, exhibit the same patterns from the lower main sequence all the way to the red giant branch further strengthens the notion that multiple stellar populations in globular clusters formed in a series of bursts of star formation.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2024

Spectro-Photometry and Radial Distribution of Multiple Stellar Populations in Globular Clusters from Gaia XP Spectra

Understanding the formation of multiple populations in globular clusters (GCs) represents a challenge for stellar population studies. Nevertheless, the outermost cluster regions, likely to hold clues about the initial configuration of GC stars, remain underexplored. We use synthetic spectra reflecting the chemical compositions of first- and second-population (1P, 2P) stars in 47Tucanae to identify spectral regions sensitive to these populations. This led us to define new photometric bands that effectively distinguish 1P and 2P giant stars using Gaia XP spectra. Testing these filters, we constructed the pseudo two-color diagrams dubbed chromosome maps (ChMs) and, for the first time, identified 1P and 2P stars in the cluster's outermost regions and beyond its tidal radius. We constructed similar diagrams for NGC3201, NGC6121, NGC6752, and NGC6397, thus exploring GCs with different metallicities. The ChMs effectively distinguished multiple populations in the outer regions of all clusters, except for the metal-poor NGC6397. Our findings, together with literature results from more-internal regions, show that the 2P stars of 47Tucanae are more-centrally concentrated than the 1P. A similar pattern is seen for 2P stars with extreme chemical composition of NGC3201. The multiple populations of NGC6121, and NGC6752 share the same radial distributions. These radial behaviors are consistent with the GC formation scenarios where 2P stars originate in the central regions. Noticeably, results on NGC3201 are in tension with the conclusion from recent work that its 1P is more centrally concentrated than the 2P and might form with more central concentration.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2024

On the original composition of the gas forming first-generation stars in clusters: insights from HST and JWST

Globular cluster (GC) stars composed of pristine material (first-generation, 1G, stars) are not chemically homogeneous, as they exhibit extended sequences in the "Chromosome Map" (ChM). Recent studies characterized 1G stars within the center of 55 Galactic GCs, revealing metallicity variations. Despite this progress, several unanswered questions persist, particularly concerning the link between the 1G metallicity spread and factors such as the radial distance from the cluster center or the host GC parameters. Additionally, it remains unclear whether the extended 1G sequence phenomenon is exclusive to old Galactic GCs with multiple populations. This work addresses these open issues, examining 1G stars in different environments. First, we combine Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and James Webb Space Telescope photometry of the GC 47 Tucanae to study 1G stars at increasing distances from the cluster center. We find that metal-rich 1G stars are more centrally concentrated than metal-poor ones, suggesting a metallicity radial gradient. Additionally, the two groups of 1G stars share similar kinematics. Since our analysis focuses on giant stars in the cluster center and M dwarfs in external fields, we discuss the possibility that the metallicity distribution depends on stellar mass. Subsequently, we analyze HST multi-band photometry of two simple-population clusters, NGC 6791 and NGC 1783, revealing elongated sequences in the ChM associated with metallicity variations. Finally, we investigate the 1G color distribution in 51 GCs, finding no connections with the host cluster parameters. These results shed light on the complex nature of 1G stars, providing insights into the GC formation environment.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

A JWST project on 47 Tucanae. Overview, photometry and early spectroscopic results of M dwarfs, and observation of brown dwarfs

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations have been demonstrated to be efficient in detecting globular clusters' (GCs) multiple stellar populations in the low mass regime of M dwarfs. We present an overview, and first results, of different projects that can be explored by using the JWST observations gathered under the GO2560 for 47 Tucanae, a first program entirely devoted to the investigation of multiple populations in very low mass stars, which includes spectroscopic data for the faintest GC stars for which spectra are available. Our color-magnitude diagram (CMD) shows some substructures for ultracool stars, including gaps and breaks in slope. In particular, we observe both a gap and a minimum in the F322W2 luminosity function less than one magnitude apart, and discuss which one could be associated with the H-burning limit. We detect stars fainter than this minimum, very likely the brown dwarfs. We corroborate the ubiquity of the multiple populations across different masses, from ~0.1 solar masses up to red giants (~0.8 solar masses). The oxygen range inferred from the M dwarfs, both from the CMD and from the spectra of two M dwarfs associated with different populations, is similar to that observed in giants. We have not detected any difference between the fractions of stars in distinct populations across stellar masses >~0.1 solar masses. This work demonstrates the JWST's capability in uncovering multiple populations within M dwarfs and illustrates the possibility to analyse very low-mass stars in GCs approaching the H-burning limit and the brown-dwarf sequence.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2023

A deep dive into the Type II Globular Cluster NGC 1851

About one-fifth of the Galactic globular clusters (GCs), dubbed Type II GCs, host distinct stellar populations with different heavy elements abundances. NGC 1851 is one of the most studied Type II GCs, surrounded by several controversies regarding the spatial distribution of its populations and the presence of star-to-star [Fe/H], C+N+O, and age differences. This paper provides a detailed characterization of its stellar populations through Hubble Space Telescope (HST), ground-based, and Gaia photometry. We identified two distinct populations with different abundances of s-process elements along the red-giant branch (RGB) and the sub-giant branch (SGB) and detected two sub-populations among both s-poor (canonical) and s-rich (anomalous) stars. To constrain the chemical composition of these stellar populations, we compared observed and simulated colors of stars with different abundances of He, C, N, and O. It results that the anomalous population has a higher CNO overall abundance compared to the canonical population and that both host stars with different light-element abundances. No significant differences in radial segregation between canonical and anomalous stars are detected, while we find that among their sub-populations, the two most chemical extremes are more centrally concentrated. Anomalous and canonical stars show different 2D spatial distributions outside ~3 arcmin, with the latter developing an elliptical shape and a stellar overdensity in the northeast direction. We confirm the presence of a stellar halo up to ~80 arcmin with Gaia photometry, tagging 14 and five of its stars as canonical and anomalous, respectively, finding a lack of the latter in the south/southeast field.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Differential reddening in the direction of 56 Galactic globular clusters

The presence of differential reddening in the direction of Galactic globular clusters (GCs) has proven to be a serious limitation in the traditional colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) analysis. Here, we estimate local reddening variations in the direction of 56 Galactic GCs. To do that, we use the public catalogs derived as part of the Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters, which include photometry in the F275W, F336W, F438W, F606W, and F814W filters. We correct photometry for differential reddening finding that for 21 out of 56 GCs the adopted correction procedure significantly improves the CMDs. Moreover, we measure the reddening law in the direction of these clusters finding that $R_{V}$ exhibits a high level of variability within the Galaxy, ranging from $\sim2.0$ to $\sim4.0$. The updated values of $R_{V}$ have been used to improve the determination of local reddening variations and derive high-resolution reddening maps in the direction of the 21 highly-reddened targets within our sample. To compare the results of the different clusters, we compute the 68$^{\rm th}$ percentile of the differential-reddening distribution, $\sigma_{\Delta A_{\rm F814W}}$. This quantity ranges from 0.003 mag to 0.030 mag and exhibits a significant anti-correlation with the absolute module of the Galactic latitude and a strong correlation with the average reddening in the direction of each cluster. Therefore, highly-reddened GCs located in the proximity of the Galactic plane typically show higher differential-reddening variations across their field of view.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Multiple Stellar Populations in Globular Clusters with JWST: a NIRCam view of 47 Tucanae

We use images collected with the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) on board the James Webb Space Telescope and with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to investigate multiple populations at the bottom of the main sequence (MS) of 47 Tucanae. The F115W vs. F115W-F322W2 CMD from NIRCam shows that, below the knee, the MS stars span a wide color range, where the majority of M-dwarfs exhibit blue colors, and a tail of stars are distributed toward the red. A similar pattern is observed from the F160W vs. F110W-F160W CMD from HST, and multiple populations of M-dwarfs are also visible in the optical F606W vs. F606W-F814W CMD. The NIRCam CMD shows a narrow sequence of faint MS stars with masses smaller than 0.1 solar masses. We introduce a chromosome map of M-dwarfs that reveals an extended first population and three main groups of second-population stars. By combining isochrones and synthetic spectra with appropriate chemical composition, we simulate colors and magnitudes of different stellar populations in the NIRCam filters (at metallicities [Fe/H]=-1.5 and [Fe/H]=-0.75) and identify the photometric bands that provide the most efficient diagrams to investigate the multiple populations in globular clusters. Models are compared with the observed CMDs of 47 Tucanae to constrain M-dwarfs' chemical composition. Our analysis suggests that the oxygen range needed to reproduce the colors of first- and second-population M-dwarfs is similar to that inferred from spectroscopy of red giants, constraining the proposal that the chemical variations are due to mass transfer phenomena in proto-clusters.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2022

Hubble Space Telescope survey of Magellanic Cloud star clusters. Photometry and astrometry of 113 clusters and early results

In the past years, we have undertaken an extensive investigation of LMC and SMC star clusters based on HST data. We present photometry and astrometry of stars in 101 fields observed with the WFC/ACS, UVIS/WFC3 and NIR/WFC3 cameras. These fields comprise 113 star clusters. We provide differential-reddening maps and illustrate various scientific outcomes that arise from the early inspection of the photometric catalogs. In particular, we provide new insights on the extended main-sequence turn-off (eMSTO) phenomenon: i) We detected eMSTOs in two clusters, KMHK361 and NGC265, which had no previous evidence of multiple populations. This finding corroborates the conclusion that the eMSTO is a widespread phenomenon among clusters younger than ~2 Gyr. ii) The homogeneous color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of 19 LMC clusters reveal that the distribution of stars along the eMSTO depends on cluster age. iii) We discovered a new feature along the eMSTO of NGC1783, which consists of a distinct group of stars going on the red side of the eMSTO in CMDs composed of ultraviolet filters. Furthermore, we derived the proper motions of stars in the fields of view of clusters with multi-epoch images. Proper motions allowed us to separate the bulk of bright field stars from cluster members and investigate the internal kinematics of stellar populations in various LMC and SMC fields. As an example, we analyze the field around NGC346 to disentangle the motions of its stellar populations, including NGC364 and BS90, young and pre-MS stars in the star-forming region associated with NGC346, and young and old field stellar populations of the SMC. Based on these results and the fields around five additional clusters, we find that young SMC stars exhibit elongated proper-motion distributions that point toward the LMC, thus bringing new evidence for a kinematic connection between the LMC and SMC.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2022

The chemical compositions of multiple stellar populations in the globular cluster NGC 2808

Pseudo two-colour diagrams or Chromosome maps (ChM) indicate that NGC 2808 host five different stellar populations. The existing ChMs have been derived by the Hubble Space Telescope photometry, and comprise of stars in a small field of view around the cluster centre. To overcome these limitations, we built a ChM with U,B,I photometry from ground-based facilities that disentangle the multiple stellar populations of NGC 2808 over a wider field of view. We used spectra collected by GIRAFFE@VLT in a sample of 70 red giant branch (RGB) and seven asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars to infer the abundances of C, N, O, Al, Fe, and Ni, which combined with literature data for other elements (Li, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Cr and Mn), and together with both the classical and the new ground-based ChMs, provide the most complete chemical characterisation of the stellar populations in NGC 2808 available to date. As typical of the multiple population phenomenon in globular clusters, the light elements vary from one stellar population to another; whereas the iron peak elements show negligible variation between the different populations (at a level of $\lesssim0.10$~dex). Our AGB stars are also characterised by the chemical variations associated with the presence of multiple populations, confirming that this phase of stellar evolution is affected by the phenomenon as well. Intriguingly, we detected one extreme O-poor AGB star (consistent with a high He abundance), challenging stellar evolution models which suggest that highly He-enriched stars should avoid the AGB phase and evolve as AGB-manqu\'e star.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Chromosome maps of Globular Clusters from wide-field ground-based photometry

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) photometry is providing an extensive analysis of globular clusters (GCs). In particular, the pseudo two-colour diagram dubbed 'chromosome map (ChM)' allowed to detect and characterize their multiple populations with unprecedented detail. The main limitation of these studies is the small field of view of HST, which makes it challenging to investigate some important aspects of the multiple populations, such as their spatial distributions and the internal kinematics in the outermost cluster regions. To overcome this limitation, we analyse state-of-art wide-field photometry of 43 GCs obtained from ground-based facilities. We derived high-resolution reddening maps and corrected the photometry for differential reddening when needed. We use photometry in the U, B, and I bands to introduce the $\Delta c_{\rm U,B,I}$ vs. $\Delta_{\rm B,I}$ ChM of red-giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic-giant branch (AGB) stars. We demonstrate that this ChM, which is built with wide-band ground-based photometry, is an efficient tool to identify first- and second-generation stars (1G and 2G) over a wide field of view. To illustrate its potential, we derive the radial distribution of multiple populations in NGC 288 and infer their chemical composition. We present the ChMs of RGB stars in 29 GCs and detect a significant degree of variety. The fraction of 1G and 2G stars, the number of subpopulations, and the extension of the ChMs significantly change from one cluster to another. Moreover, the metal-poor and metal-rich stars of Type II GCs define distinct sequences in the ChM. We confirm the presence of extended 1G sequences.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Constraining the original composition of the gas forming first-generation stars in globular clusters

Disentangling distinct stellar populations along the red-giant branches (RGBs) of Globular Clusters (GCs) is possible by using the pseudo two-color diagram dubbed chromosome map (ChM). One of the most intriguing findings is that the so-called first-generation (1G) stars, characterized by the same chemical composition of their natal cloud, exhibit extended sequences in the ChM. Unresolved binaries and internal variations in helium or metallicity have been suggested to explain this phenomenon. Here, we derive high-precision Hubble Space Telescope photometry of the GCs NGC6362 and NGC6838 and build their ChMs. We find that both 1G RGB and main-sequence (MS) stars exhibit wider ChM sequences than those of second-generation (2G). The evidence of this feature even among unevolved 1G MS stars indicates that chemical inhomogeneities are imprinted in the original gas. We introduce a pseudo two-magnitude diagram to distinguish between helium and metallicity, and demonstrate that star-to-star metallicity variations are responsible for the extended 1G sequence. Conversely, binaries provide a minor contribution to the phenomenon. We estimate that the metallicity variations within 1G stars of 55 GCs range from less than [Fe/H]~0.05 to ~0.30 and mildly correlate with cluster mass. We exploit these findings to constrain the formation scenarios of multiple populations showing that they are qualitatively consistent with the occurrence of multiple generations. In contrast, the fact that 2G stars have more homogeneous iron content than the 1G challenges the scenarios based on accretion of material processed in massive 1G stars onto existing protostars.

astro-ph.GA↗