Intermediate-age Massive Star Clusters Research Articles

Leveraging HST with MUSE: II. Na-abundance variations in intermediate age star clusters

ABSTRACT Ancient (>10 Gyr) globular clusters (GCs) show chemical abundance variations in the form of patterns among certain elements, e.g. N correlates with Na and anticorrelates with O. Recently, N abundance spreads have also been observed in massive star clusters that are significantly younger than old GCs, down to an age of ∼2 Gyr. However, so far N has been the only element found to vary in such young objects. We report here the presence of Na abundance variations in the intermediate age massive star clusters NGC 416 (∼6.5 Gyr old) and Lindsay 1 (∼7.5 Gyr old) in the Small Magellanic Cloud, by combining Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope MUSE observations. Using HST photometry, we were able to construct ‘chromosome maps’ and separate subpopulations with different N content, in the red giant branch of each cluster. MUSE spectra of individual stars belonging to each population were combined, resulting in high signal-to-noise spectra representative of each population, which were compared to search for mean differences in Na. We find a mean abundance variation of Δ[Na/Fe] = 0.18 ± 0.04 dex for NGC 416 and Δ[Na/Fe] = 0.24 ± 0.05 dex for Lindsay 1. In both clusters, we find that the population that is enhanced in N is also enhanced in Na, which is the same pattern to the one observed in ancient GCs. Furthermore, we detect a bimodal distribution of core-helium-burning red clump (RC) giants in the UV colour–magnitude diagram of NGC 416. A comparison of the stacked MUSE spectra of the two RCs shows the same mean Na abundance difference between the two populations. The results reported in this work are a crucial hint that star clusters of a large age range share the same origin: they are the same types of objects, but only separated in age.

THE EFFECTS OF ROTATION ON THE MAIN-SEQUENCE TURNOFF OF INTERMEDIATE-AGE MASSIVE STAR CLUSTERS

The double or extended main-sequence turnoffs (MSTOs) in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of intermediate-age massive star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud are generally interpreted as age spreads of a few hundred Myr. However, such age spreads do not exist in younger clusters (i.e., 40-300 Myr), which challenges this interpretation. The effects of rotation on the MSTOs of star clusters have been studied in previous works, but the results obtained are conflicting. Compared with previous works, we consider the effects of rotation on the MS lifetime of stars. Our calculations show that rotating models have a fainter and redder MSTO with respect to non-rotating counterparts with ages between about 0.8 and 2.2 Gyr, but have a brighter and bluer MSTO when age is larger than 2.4 Gyr. The spread of the MSTO caused by a typical rotation rate is equivalent to the effect of an age spread of about 200 Myr. Rotation could lead to the double or extended MSTOs in the CMD of the star clusters with ages between about 0.8 and 2.2 Gyr. However, the extension is not significant; and it does not even exist in younger clusters. If the efficiency of the mixing were high enough, the effects of the mixing would counteract the effect of the centrifugal support in the late stage of evolution; and the rotationally induced extension would disappear in the old intermediate-age star clusters; but younger clusters would have an extended MSTO. Moreover, the effects of rotation might aid in understanding the formation of some "multiple populations" in globular clusters.

Young and intermediate-age massive star clusters

An overview of our current understanding of the formation and evolution of star clusters is given, with the main emphasis on high-mass clusters. Clusters form deeply embedded within dense clouds of molecular gas. Left-over gas is cleared within a few million years and, depending on the efficiency of star formation, the clusters may disperse almost immediately or remain gravitationally bound. Current evidence suggests that a small percentage of star formation occurs in clusters that remain bound, although it is not yet clear whether this fraction is truly universal. Internal two-body relaxation and external shocks will lead to further, gradual dissolution on time scales of up to a few hundred million years for low-mass open clusters in the Milky Way, while the most massive clusters (>10(5) M(o)) have lifetimes comparable to or exceeding the age of the Universe. The low-mass end of the initial cluster mass function is well approximated by a power-law distribution, dN/dM proportional to M(-2), but there is mounting evidence that quiescent spiral discs form relatively few clusters with masses M > 2 x 10(5) M(o). In starburst galaxies and old globular cluster systems, this limit appears to be higher, at least several x10(6) M(o). The difference is likely related to the higher gas densities and pressures in starburst galaxies, which allow denser, more massive giant molecular clouds to form. Low-mass clusters may thus trace star formation quite universally, while the more long-lived, massive clusters appear to form preferentially in the context of violent star formation.

Open cluster stability and the effects of binary stars

The diagnostic age versus mass-to-light ratio diagram is often used in attempts to constrain the shape of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) and the potential longevity of extragalactic young to intermediate-age massive star clusters. Here, we explore its potential for Galactic open clusters. On the basis of a small, homogenised cluster sample, we provide useful constraints on the presence of significant binary fractions. Using the massive young Galactic cluster Westerlund 1 as a key example, we caution that stochasticity in the IMF introduces significant additional uncertainties. We conclude that, for an open cluster to survive for any significant length of time, and in the absence of substantial external perturbations, it is necessary but not sufficient to be located close to or (in the presence of a significant binary population) somewhat below the predicted photometric evolutionary sequences for “normal” simple stellar populations, although such a location may be dominated by a remaining “bound” cluster core and thus not adequately reflect the overall cluster dynamics.