Breaking the dichotomy between typical and anomalous globular clusters: the case of NGC 3201

We recently discovered that NGC 3201 has characteristics that set it outside the current twofold classification scheme for Galactic globular clusters (GCs). Most GCs are mono-metallic and show light-element abundance variations (e.g., Na-O and C-N anti-correlations); but a minority of clusters also...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2019-05, Vol.14 (S351), p.293-296
Main Authors: Dias, Bruno, Araya, Ignacio, Nogueira-Cavalcante, João Paulo, Saker, Leila, Shokry, Ahmed
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Astronomy
Celestial bodies
Dwarf galaxies
Galactic clusters
Galactic evolution
Globular clusters
Sequences
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Summary:We recently discovered that NGC 3201 has characteristics that set it outside the current twofold classification scheme for Galactic globular clusters (GCs). Most GCs are mono-metallic and show light-element abundance variations (e.g., Na-O and C-N anti-correlations); but a minority of clusters also present variations in Fe correlating with s-process element and C+N+O abundances, and they possess multiple C-N sequences. These anomalous GCs also have a broad sub-giant branch (SGB) and follow the same mass-size relation as dwarf galaxies possibly evolving into GCs. We now revealed that NGC 3201 belongs to neither group. It has multiple C-N sequences, but no broad SGB, no strong evidence of a Fe-spread, and it does not follow the mass-size relation.
ISSN:1743-9213
1743-9221
DOI:10.1017/S1743921319006951