Related papers: The hot horizontal-branch stars in omega Centauri
We present abundances of several light, alpha, Fe-peak, and neutron-capture elements for 66 red giant branch (RGB) stars in the Galactic globular cluster Omega Centauri. Our observations lie in the range 12.0<V<13.5 and focus on the…
Globular clusters (GCs) are spheroidal concentrations typically containing of the order of 10^5 to 10^6, predominantly old, stars. Historically, they have been considered as the closest counterparts of the idealized concept of "simple…
The hydrogen-deficiency in extremely hot post-AGB stars of spectral class PG1159 is probably caused by a (very) late helium-shell flash or a AGB final thermal pulse that consumes the hydrogen envelope, exposing the usually-hidden intershell…
Most globular clusters in the local group show multiple stellar populations, a pattern defined by variations of several light elements, with some also displaying dispersions in heavy elements. Since helium is the most immediate product of…
Globular cluster progenitors may have been detected by \textit{HST}, and are predicted to be observable with \textit{JWST} and ground-based extremely-large telescopes with adaptive optics. This has the potential to elucidate the issue of…
Most Globular Clusters (GC) show chemical inhomogeneities in the composition of their stars, apparently due to a second stellar generation (SG) in which the forming gas is enriched by hot-CNO cycled material processed in stars belonging to…
Context: The metal-rich bulge globular cluster NGC6388 shows a blue horizontal branch (HB). Helium (He) enrichment, which is correlated with changes in other light elements, might explain this feature. The hot HB stars in the metal-poor…
Blue horizontal branch and UV bright stars in several globular clusters are analysed spectroscopically and the results are compared with predictions of stellar evolutionary theory. We find that the distribution of temperatures and surface…
We summarize results of a search for X-ray-emitting binary stars in the massive globular cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) using Chandra and HST. ACIS-I imaging reveals 180 X-ray sources, of which we estimate that 45-70 are associated with…
Chemical evolution models are presented for the anomalous globular cluster Omega Centauri. After demonstrating that the chemical features of Omega Cen can not be reproduced in the framework of the closed-box self-enrichment scenario, we…
Recent observations and theories suggest that extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars and their progeny should be the cause of the UV excess seen in the spectra of many elliptical galaxies. Since the Galactic Bulge is the closest…
We present elemental abundances for 855 red giant branch (RGB) stars in the globular cluster Omega Centauri (w Cen) from spectra obtained with the Blanco 4m telescope and Hydra multifiber spectrograph. The sample includes nearly all RGB…
We present an analysis of 40 cool helium-rich white dwarfs found in the Hamburg/ESO survey. They were selected for follow-up spectroscopy because of their U-B colour below -0.18, the absence of strong absorption lines, and a continuum shape…
We present Li, Na, Al and Fe abundances of 199 lower red giant branch stars members of the stellar system Omega Centauri, using high-resolution spectra acquired with FLAMES at the Very Large Telescope. The A(Li) distribution is peaked at…
The helium-peculiar star a Cen exhibits line profile variations of elements such as iron, nitrogen and oxygen in addition to its well-known extreme helium variability. New high S/N, high-resolution spectra are used to perform a quantitative…
We have obtained medium-resolution spectra of seven UV-bright stars discovered on images of four southern globular clusters obtained with the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT). Effective temperatures, surface gravities and helium…
A new mechanism for enhancing the helium abundance in the blue main sequence stars of omega Centauri and NGC 2808 is investigated. We suggest that helium enhancement was caused by the inhomogeneous big bang nucleosynthesis. Regions with…
The spreads in chemical abundances inferred by recent precision observations suggest that some or possibly all globular clusters can no longer be considered as simple stellar populations. The most striking case is omega Cen in the sense…
We present photometry for all bright red giant branch (RGB), horizontal branch (HB), and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars within 10' of the center of M13. We find support for the idea that the population of HB stars redder than the…
We present wide-field and high-precision BV and Ca & Stromgren by photometry of omega Centauri, which represents one of the most extensive photometric surveys to date for this cluster. The member stars of omega Cen are well discriminated…