Bibcode
Meszaros, Sz.; Dupree, A. K.; Szentgyorgyi, A.
Referencia bibliográfica
The Astronomical Journal, Volume 135, Issue 4, pp. 1117-1135 (2008).
Fecha de publicación:
4
2008
Número de citas
25
Número de citas referidas
23
Descripción
High-resolution spectra of 110 selected red giant stars in the globular
cluster M15 (NGC 7078) were obtained with Hectochelle at the MMT
telescope in 2005 May, 2006 May, and 2006 October. Echelle orders
containing Hα and CaII H & K are used to identify emission and
line asymmetries characterizing motions in the extended atmospheres.
Emission in Hα is detected to a luminosity of log(L/L
sun) = 2.36, in this very metal-deficient cluster, comparable
to other studies, suggesting that the appearance of emission wings is
independent of stellar metallicity. The faintest stars showing Hα
emission appear to lie on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) in M15. A
line-bisector technique for Hα reveals outflowing velocities in
all stars brighter than log(L/L sun) = 2.5, and this outflow
velocity increases with stellar luminosity, indicating the mass outflow
increases smoothly with luminosity. Many stars lying low on the AGB show
exceptionally high outflow velocities (up to 10-15 km s-1)
and more velocity variability (up to 6-8 km s-1) than red
giant branch (RGB) stars of similar apparent magnitude. High velocities
in M15 may be related to the low cluster metallicity. Dusty stars
identified from Spitzer Space Telescope infrared photometry as AGB stars
are confirmed as cluster members by radial velocity measurements, yet
their Hα profiles are similar to those of RGB stars without dust.
If substantial mass loss creates the circumstellar shell responsible for
infrared emission, such mass loss must be episodic.