LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Omega Centauri: weak MgH band in red giants directly traces the helium content

Photo from wikipedia

High spectral resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectra of red giants in the globular cluster Omega Centauri are analysed for stellar parameters and chemical abundances of 15 elements including… Click to show full abstract

High spectral resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectra of red giants in the globular cluster Omega Centauri are analysed for stellar parameters and chemical abundances of 15 elements including helium by either line equivalent widths or synthetic spectrum analyses. The simultaneous abundance analysis of MgH and Mg lines adopting theoretical photospheres and a combination of He/H$-$ratios proved to be the only powerful probe to evaluate helium abundances of red giants cooler than 4400 K, wherein otherwise helium line transitions (He {\scs I} 10830 and 5876 A) present for a direct spectral line analysis. The impact of helium-enhanced model photospheres on the resulting abundance ratios are smaller than 0.15 dex, in agreement with past studies. The first indirect spectroscopic helium abundances measured in this paper for the most metal-rich cluster members reveal the discovery of seven He-enhanced giants ($\Delta$$Y=+$0.15$\pm$0.04), the largest such sample found spectroscopically to date. The average metallicity of $-$0.79$\pm$0.06 dex and abundances for O, Na, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Ni, Ba, and La are consistent with values found for the red giant branch (RGB-a) and subgiant branch (SGB-a) populations of Omega Centauri, suggesting an evolutionary connection among samples. The He-enhancement in giants is associated with larger $s$-process elemental abundances, which correlate with Al and anticorrelate with O. These results support the formation of He-enhanced, metal-rich population of Omega Centauri out of the interstellar medium enriched with the ejecta of fast rotating massive stars, binaries exploding as supernovae and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars.

Keywords: mgh; centauri weak; red giants; omega centauri; helium

Journal Title: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Year Published: 2020

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.