STAR CLUSTERS IN M31. V. EVIDENCE FOR SELF-ENRICHMENT IN OLD M31 CLUSTERS FROM INTEGRATED SPECTROSCOPY
- Astrophysics Research Institute, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L3 5RF (United Kingdom)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States)
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States)
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7 (Canada)
- Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy, Queens University, Kingston, ON (Canada)
- Department of Astronomy, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-7215 (United States)
In the past decade, the notion that globular clusters (GCs) are composed of coeval stars with homogeneous initial chemical compositions has been challenged by growing evidence that they host an intricate stellar population mix, likely indicative of a complex history of star formation and chemical enrichment. Several models have been proposed to explain the existence of multiple stellar populations in GCs, but no single model provides a fully satisfactory match to existing data. Correlations between chemistry and global parameters such as cluster mass or luminosity are fundamental clues to the physics of GC formation. In this Letter, we present an analysis of the mean abundances of Fe, Mg, C, N, and Ca for 72 old GCs from the Andromeda galaxy. We show for the first time that there is a correlation between the masses of GCs and the mean stellar abundances of nitrogen, spanning almost two decades in mass. This result sheds new light on the formation of GCs, providing important constraints on their internal chemical evolution and mass loss history.
- OSTI ID:
- 22215407
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 776, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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