English

Mixed Populations in Globular Clusters: Et Tu, 47 Tuc?

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2010-01-15 v1

Abstract

We exploit the large number of archival HST images of 47 Tuc to examine its subgiant branch (SGB) and main sequence (MS) for signs of multiple populations. In the cluster core, we find that the cluster's SGB exhibits a clear spread in luminosity, with at least two distinct components: a brighter one with a spread that is real but not bimodal, and a second one about 0.05 mag fainter, containing about 10% of the stars. In a less crowded field 6 arcminutes from the center, we find that the MS is broadened much more than can be accounted for by photometric errors, and that this broadening increases at fainter magnitudes.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0904.1626,
  title  = {Mixed Populations in Globular Clusters: Et Tu, 47 Tuc?},
  author = {J. Anderson and G. Piotto and I. R. King and L. R. Bedin and P. Guhathakurta},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0904.1626},
  year   = {2010}
}

Comments

11 pages, 3 figures