Origin of Abundance Inhomogeneity in Globular Clusters

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

18 pages, 17 figures, accepted by MNRAS

Scientific paper

10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11606.x

We numerically investigate abundance properties of the Galactic globular clusters (GCs) by adopting a new ``external pollution'' scenario. In this framework, GCs are assumed to originate in forming low-mass dwarfs embedded in dark matter subhalos at very high redshifts (z) and thus be chemically influenced by field AGB stars of the dwarfs during early GC formation processes. In this external pollution scenario, the ratio of the total mass of infalling gas to that of AGB ejecta during GC formation in a dwarf (s) and the time scale of gas infall (sigma_I) are the most important key parameters that can determine abundance properties of GCs. We mainly investigate the abundance inhomogeneity among light elements (e.g., C, N, O, Na, and Al) of stars in GCs by using the latest stellar yield models of metal-poor AGB stars with and without third dredge-up. Our principal results for the models with no third dredge-up, which are more consistent with observations, are as follows. Both [N/Fe] and [C/Fe] can be diverse among stars within a GC owing to chemical pollution from field AGB stars. [N/Fe] distributions in some GCs can clearly show bimodality whereas [C/Fe] is monomodal in most models. [N/Fe] distributions depend on s such that models with smaller $s$ (i.e., larger mass fraction of AGB ejecta used for GC formation) show the [N/Fe] bimodality more clearly. N-rich, C-poor stars in GCs also have higher He abundances owing to pollution from massive AGB stars with He-rich ejecta. The number fraction of He-rich stars (Y >0.30) is higher for the models with smaller s and shorter sigma_I for 3 < s <24 and 10^5 < sigma_I < 10^7 yr.Our models are in strong disagreement with the observed O-Na anticorrelation.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Origin of Abundance Inhomogeneity in Globular Clusters does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Origin of Abundance Inhomogeneity in Globular Clusters, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Origin of Abundance Inhomogeneity in Globular Clusters will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-538420

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.