A Wide View of the Galactic Globular Cluster NGC 2808
- Author(s)
- Christian I. Johnson, Annalisa Calamida, Justin A. Kader, Ivan Ferraro, Catherine A. Pilachowski, Giuseppe Bono, Alessandra Mastrobuono-Battisti, Armin Rest, Alfredo Zenteno, Alice Zocchi
- Abstract
Wide-field and deep DECam multiband photometry, combined with HST data for the core of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 2808, allowed us to study the distribution of various stellar subpopulations and stars in different evolutionary phases out to the cluster tidal radius. We used the C ugi = (u − g) − (g − i) index to identify three chemically distinct subpopulations along the red giant branch and compared their spatial distributions. The most light-element-enriched subpopulation (P3) is more centrally concentrated; however, it shows a more extended distribution in the external regions of the cluster compared to the primordial (P1) and intermediate (P2) composition populations. Furthermore, the P3 subpopulation centroid is off-center relative to those of the P1 and P2 groups. We also analyzed the spatial distribution of horizontal branch stars and found that the relative fraction of red horizontal branch stars increases for radial distances larger than ≈1.′5, while that of the blue and hotter stars decreases. These new observations, combined with literature spectroscopic measurements, suggest that the red horizontal branch stars are the progeny of all the stellar subpopulations in NGC 2808, i.e., primordial and light-element enhanced, while the blue stars are possibly the result of a combination of the “hot-flasher” and the “helium-enhanced” scenarios. A similar distribution of different red giant branch subpopulations and horizontal branch stars was also found for the most massive Galactic globular cluster, ω Cen, based on combined DECam and HST data, which suggests that the two may share a similar origin.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- External organisation(s)
- Space Telescope Science Institute, University of California, Irvine, INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Indiana University Bloomington, Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata", Paris Observatory, Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory (CTIO)
- Journal
- Astronomical Journal
- Volume
- 166
- No. of pages
- 18
- ISSN
- 0004-6256
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acd3eb
- Publication date
- 07-2023
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/230938de-95c1-4ab7-9e7f-e13e4d45687d