Bibcode
Piotto, G.; Milone, A. P.; Anderson, J.; Bedin, L. R.; Bellini, A.; Cassisi, S.; Marino, A. F.; Aparicio, A.; Nascimbeni, V.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 760, Issue 1, article id. 39, 23pp, (2012).
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11
2012
Journal
Citations
146
Refereed citations
125
Description
In the last few years many globular clusters (GCs) have revealed complex
color-magnitude diagrams, with the presence of multiple main sequences
(MSs), broad or multiple sub-giant branches (SGBs) and MS turnoffs, and
broad or split red giant branches (RGBs). After a careful correction for
differential reddening, high-accuracy photometry with the Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) presented in this paper reveals a broadened or even
split SGB in five additional Milky Way GCs: NGC 362, NGC 5286, NGC 6656,
NGC 6715, and NGC 7089. In addition, we confirm (with new and archival
HST data) the presence of a split SGB in 47 Tuc, NGC 1851, and NGC 6388.
The fraction of faint SGB stars with respect to the entire SGB
population varies from one cluster to another and ranges from ~0.03 for
NGC 362 to ~0.50 for NGC 6715. The average magnitude difference between
the bright SGB and the faint SGB is almost the same at different
wavelengths. This peculiarity is consistent with the presence of two
groups of stars with either an age difference of about 1-2 Gyr or a
significant difference in their overall C+N+O content.
Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained
at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA,
Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
Related projects
Milky Way and Nearby Galaxies
The general aim of the project is to research the structure, evolutionary history and formation of galaxies through the study of their resolved stellar populations, both from photometry and spectroscopy. The group research concentrates in the most nearby objects, namely the Local Group galaxies including the Milky Way and M33 under the hypothesis
Martín
López Corredoira