The Double Subgiant Branch of NGC 1851: The Role of the CNO Abundance

Cassisi, S.; Salaris, M.; Pietrinferni, A.; Piotto, G.; Milone, A. P.; Bedin, L. R.; Anderson, J.
Referencia bibliográfica

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 672, Issue 2, pp. L115-L118.

Fecha de publicación:
1
2008
Número de autores
7
Número de autores del IAC
0
Número de citas
150
Número de citas referidas
122
Descripción
We explore the possibility that the anomalous split in the subgiant branch (SGB) of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 1851 is due to the presence of two distinct stellar populations with very different initial metal mixtures: a normal α-enhanced component, and one characterized by strong anticorrelations among the CNONa abundances, with a total CNO abundance increased by a factor of 2. We test this hypothesis taking into account various empirical constraints, and conclude that the two populations should be approximately coeval, with the same initial He content. More high-resolution spectroscopic measurements of heavy elements-and in particular of the CNO sum-for this cluster are necessary to prove (or disprove) this scenario.