Bibcode
Milone, A. P.; Marino, A. F.; Piotto, G.; Bedin, L. R.; Anderson, J.; Renzini, A.; King, I. R.; Bellini, A.; Brown, T. M.; Cassisi, S.; D'Antona, F.; Jerjen, H.; Nardiello, D.; Salaris, M.; Marel, R. P. van der; Vesperini, E.; Yong, D.; Aparicio, A.; Sarajedini, A.; Zoccali, M.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 447, Issue 1, p.927-938
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2
2015
Citations
124
Refereed citations
110
Description
We present high-precision multiband photometry for the globular cluster
(GC) M2. We combine the analysis of the photometric data obtained from
the Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic GCs GO-13297,
with chemical abundances by Yong et al., and compare the photometry with
models in order to analyse the multiple stellar sequences we identified
in the colour-magnitude diagram. We find three main stellar components,
composed of metal-poor, metal-intermediate, and metal-rich stars
(hereafter referred to as population A, B, and C, respectively). The
components A and B include stars with different s-process element
abundances. They host six sub-populations with different light-element
abundances, and exhibit an internal variation in helium up to ΔY
˜ 0.07 dex. In contrast with M22, another cluster characterized by
the presence of populations with different metallicities, M2 contains a
third stellar component, C, which shows neither evidence for
sub-populations nor an internal spread in light-elements. Population C
does not exhibit the typical photometric signatures that are associated
with abundance variations of light elements produced by hydrogen burning
at hot temperatures. We compare M2 with other GCs with intrinsic
heavy-element variations and conclude that M2 resembles M22, but it
includes an additional stellar component that makes it more similar to
the central region of the Sagittarius galaxy, which hosts a GC (M54) and
the nucleus of the Sagittarius galaxy itself.
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