The structural properties of multiple populations in the dynamically young globular cluster NGC 2419

Abstract

NGC 2419 is likely the globular cluster (GC) with the lowest dynamical age in the Galaxy. This makes it an extremely interesting target for studying the properties of its multiple populations (MPs), as they are likely to have been affected only modestly by long-term dynamical evolution effects. Here we present for the first time a detailed analysis of the structural and morphological properties of the MPs along the whole extension of this remote and massive GC by combining high-resolution HST and wide-field ground-based data. In agreement with formation models predicting that second population (SP) stars form in the inner regions of the first population (FP) system, we find that the SP is more centrally concentrated than the FP. This may provide constraints on the relative concentrations of MPs in GCs in the early stages of the evolutionary phase driven by two-body relaxation. In addition, we find that the fraction of FP stars is larger than expected from the general trend drawn by Galactic GCs. If NGC 2419 formed in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy and was later accreted by the Milky Way, as suggested by a number of studies, we show that the observed FP fraction may be due to the transition of NGC 2419 to a weaker tidal field (its current Galactocentric distance is dgc ∼ 95 kpc) and consequently to a reduced rate of FP star loss.