Related papers: A Triple Main Sequence in the Globular Cluster NGC…
We present the abundance analysis for a sample of 17 red giant branch stars in the metal-poor globular cluster M28 based on high resolution spectra. This is the first extensive spectroscopic study of this cluster. We derive abundances of O,…
Globular clusters represent stellar laboratories where observations can be used to validate models of stellar evolution. In this study, we put forth new ultraviolet (UV) photometric results of stars in the Galactic globular cluster NGC…
The relics of building blocks that made stellar halo and bulge are yet to be discovered unless they were completely disrupted throughout the history of the Galaxy. Here we suggest that about 25% of the Milky Way globular clusters have…
It has become clear in recent years that globular clusters are not simple stellar populations, but may host chemically distinct sub-populations, typically with an enhanced helium abundance. These helium-rich populations can make up a…
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…
Although globular clusters are generally chemically homogeneous, substantial abundance variations are sometimes seen even among unevolved main sequence stars, especially for the CNO group of elements. Multi-object intermediate-dispersion…
Globular cluster systems (GCS) frequently show a bi-modal distribution of the cluster integrated colours. This work explores the arguments to support the idea that the same feature is shared by the diffuse stellar population of the galaxy…
We revisit the problem of the split main sequence (MS) of the globular cluster omega Centauri, and report the results of two-epoch Hubble Space Telescope observations of an outer field, for which proper motions give us a pure sample of…
In the massive globular cluster NGC 2808, RGB stars form at least five distinct groups in the so-called chromosome map photometric plane, arguably corresponding to different stellar populations. While a human expert can separate the groups…
In the last few years many globular clusters (GCs) have revealed complex color-magnitude diagrams, with the presence of multiple main sequences (MSs), broaden or multiple sub-giant branches (SGBs) and MS turn offs, and broad or split red…
[Abridged] A new scenario --early disc accretion-- has been proposed very recently to explain the origin of the multiple population phenomenon in Galactic globular clusters. It envisages the possibility that a fraction of low- and very…
We present a multiple population search in two old Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) Globular Clusters, Hodge 11 and NGC 2210. This work uses data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope from…
The presence of multiple populations in globular clusters has been well established thanks to high-resolution spectroscopy. It is widely accepted that distinct populations are a consequence of different stellar generations: intra-cluster…
The possible association of Galactic globular clusters with the Sgr Stream is shortly reviewed at the light of the most recent observations of the Stream. >= 20 % of the Galactic globular clusters with R_{GC}>= 10 Kpc are found to lie…
If NGC 6397 contains a large fraction of "second generation" stars (>70% according to recent analysis), the helium abundance of its stars might also be affected, show some star-to-star variation, and be larger than the standard Big Bang…
We exploit multi-band Hubble Space Telescope photometry to investigate multiple populations (MPs) along the red horizontal branches (HBs) and red clumps of fourteen metal-rich Globular Clusters (GCs), including twelve Milky Way GCs and the…
We report on HST/WFPC2 U,V and far-ultraviolet observations of two Galactic Globular Clusters (GGCs), NGC 6205 = M13 and NGC 6093 = M80. Both of these clusters have horizontal-branch (HB) tails that extend to the helium-burning main…
The various scenarios proposed for the origin of the multiple, helium-enriched populations in massive globular clusters are critically compared to the relevant constraining observations. Among accretion of helium-rich material by…
Shells in Elliptical Galaxies are faint, sharp-edged features, believed to provide evidence of a recent ($\sim 0.5 - 2 \times 10^9$ years ago) merger event. We analyse the Globular Cluster (GC) systems of six shell elliptical galaxies, to…
Globular cluster systems exhibit a bewildering variety of characteristics. No single scenario appears to be able to account for the wide range of specific globular cluster frequencies that are observed in galaxies of various types. The…