Main-sequence Turnoff Region Research Articles

On the Roles of Stellar Rotation and Binarity in NGC 2423's Main-sequence Turnoff Region

Research has shown that many young and intermediate-age clusters (younger than ∼2 Gyr) have extended main sequences and extended main-sequence turnoffs (eMSTOs), which cannot be adequately described by a single isochrone. The reason for the extended main sequences is now known, with the most probable cause being the fast rotation of stars. However, a significant fraction of slowly rotating stars form a younger stellar population than their fast-rotating counterparts, leading to speculation that they have undergone rotational mixing processes internally. One speculation is that a considerable number of slowly rotating stars reside in close binary systems, where tidal forces from companion stars are the cause of their rotational deceleration. In this work, we report a relatively old open star cluster in the Milky Way, NGC 2423 (∼1 Gyr old), which exhibits an apparent eMSTO. As anticipated, many characteristics of NGC 2423 indicate that its eMSTO is driven by stellar rotations. Our calculations indicate that if slowly rotating stars commonly have a close companion star, they should exhibit significant differences in radial velocities observationally, and binary systems that can be tidally locked within the age of NGC 2423 should have a mass ratio close to 1. However, none of these predictions align with our observations. Interestingly, among the only two equal-mass binary systems in the observed region for which spectroscopic data could be obtained, we discovered that one of them is a tidally locked binary system. This further suggests the validity of our numerical simulation results.

M67 Blue Stragglers with High-resolution Infrared Spectroscopy

We report on the first detailed infrared chemical analysis of five binary members (S277, S997, S975, S1031, and S1195) in the open cluster M67 (NGC 2682). These stars are located outside (bluer and/or brighter than) the main-sequence turnoff region in M67. High-resolution (R ∼ 45,000) near-infrared spectra were obtained with the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) at the McDonald Observatory 2.7 m Harlan J. Smith Telescope, providing full spectral coverage of the H and K bands. The abundances of C, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Fe, and Ni are measured using neutral atomic absorption lines. We detect v sin i ≥ 25 km s−1 in three of our program stars: S1031, S975, and S1195. We find our derived abundances to be in good agreement with turnoff star abundances, similar to published analyses of blue straggler stars in M67 from optical spectra. Detection of a carbon enhancement or depletion resulting from mass transfer is difficult due to the uncertainties in the carbon abundance and the relatively modest changes that may occur through red giant and asymptotic giant branch evolution.

The Absolute Age of M92

The absolute age of a simple stellar population is of fundamental interest for a wide range of applications but is difficult to measure in practice, as it requires an understanding of the uncertainties in a variety of stellar evolution processes as well as the uncertainty in the distance, reddening, and composition. As a result, most studies focus only on the relative age by assuming that stellar evolution calculations are accurate and using age determinations techniques that are relatively independent of distance and reddening. Here, we construct 20,000 sets of theoretical isochrones through Monte Carlo simulation using the Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program to measure the absolute age of the globular cluster M92. For each model, we vary a range of input physics used in the stellar evolution models, including opacities, nuclear reaction rates, diffusion coefficients, atmospheric boundary conditions, helium abundance, and treatment of convection. We also explore variations in the distance and reddening as well as its overall metallicity and α enhancement. We generate simulated Hess diagrams around the main-sequence turn-off region from each set of isochrones and use a Voronoi binning method to fit the diagrams to Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys data. We find the age of M92 to be 13.80 ± 0.75 Gyr. The 5.4% error in the absolute age is dominated by the uncertainty in the distance to M92 (∼80% of the error budget); of the remaining parameters, only the total metallicity, α element abundance, and treatment of helium diffusion contribute significantly to the total error.

Optimal Stellar Photometry for Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics Systems Using Science-based Metrics

Abstract We present a detailed discussion of how to obtain precise stellar photometry in crowded fields using images from multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) systems, with the intent of informing the scientific development of this key technology for the Extremely Large Telescopes. We use deep J and K s exposures of NGC 1851 taken with the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) on Gemini South to quantify the performance of the instrument and to develop an optimal strategy for stellar photometry using point-spread function (PSF)-fitting techniques. We judge the success of the various methods we employ by using science-based metrics, particularly the width of the main sequence turnoff region. We also compare the GeMS photometry with the exquisite HST data in the visible of the same target. We show that the PSF produced by GeMS possesses significant spatial and temporal variability that must be accounted for during the analysis. We show that the majority of the variation of the PSF occurs within the “control radius” of the MCAO system and that the best photometry is obtained when the PSF radius is chosen to closely match this spatial scale. We identify photometric calibration as a critical issue for next-generation MCAO systems such as those on the Thirty Meter Telescope and European Extremely Large Telescope. Our final CMDs reach K s ∼ 22—below the main sequence knee—making it one of the deepest for a globular cluster available from the ground. Theoretical isochrones are in remarkable agreement with the stellar locus in our data from below the main sequence knee to the upper red giant branch.

Dissecting the Extended Main Sequence Turn-off of the Young Star Cluster NGC 1850

We use the Wide Field Camera 3 onboard the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain deep, high-resolution photometry of the young (~ 100 Myr) star cluster NGC1850 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We analyze the cluster colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) and find that it hosts an extended main sequence turn-off (MSTO) and a double MS. We demonstrate that these features cannot be due to photometric errors, field star contamination, or differential reddening. From a comparison with theoretical models and Monte Carlo simulations, we show that a coeval stellar population featuring a distribution of stellar rotation rates can reproduce the MS split quite well. However, it cannot reproduce the observed MSTO region, which is significantly wider than the simulated ones. Exploiting narrow-band Halpha imaging, we find that the MSTO hosts a population of Halpha-emitting stars which are interpreted as rapidly rotating Be-type stars. We explore the possibility that the discrepancy between the observed MSTO morphology and that of the simulated simple stellar population (SSP) is caused by the fraction of these objects that are highly reddened, but we rule out this hypothesis. We demonstrate that the global CMD morphology is well-reproduced by a combination of SSPs that cover an age range of ~ 35 Myr as well as a wide variety of rotation rates. We derive the cluster mass and escape velocity and use dynamical evolution models to predict their evolution starting at an age of 10 Myr. We discuss these results and their implications in the context of the extended MSTO phenomenon.

The Controversial Star-Formation History and Helium Enrichment of the Milky Way Bulge

AbstractThe stellar population of the Milky Way bulge is thoroughly studied, with a plethora of measurements from virtually the full suite of instruments available to astronomers. It is thus perhaps surprising that alongside well-established results lies some substantial uncertainty in its star-formation history. Cosmological models predict the bulge to host the Galaxy's oldest stars for [Fe/H] ≲ −1, and this is demonstrated by RR Lyrae stars and globular cluster observations. There is consensus that bulge stars with [Fe/H] ≲ 0 are older than t ≈ 10 Gyr. However, at super-solar metallicity, there is a substantial unresolved discrepancy. Data from spectroscopic measurements of the main-sequence turnoff and subgiant branch, the abundances of asymptotic giant branch stars, the period distribution of Mira variables, the chemistry and central-star masses of planetary nebulae, all suggest a substantial intermediate-age population (t ≈ 3 Gyr). This is in conflict with predictions from cosmologically motivated chemical evolution models and photometric studies of the main-sequence turnoff region, which both suggest virtually no stars younger than t ≈ 8 Gyr. A possible resolution to this conflict is enhanced helium-enrichment, as this would shift nearly all of the age estimates in the direction of decreasing discrepancy.

New constraints on the star formation history of the star cluster NGC 1856★

We use the Wide Field Camera 3 onboard the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain deep, high-resolution photometry of the young (age ~ 300 Myr) star cluster NGC1856 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We compare the observed colour-magnitude diagram (CMD), after having applied a correction for differential reddening, with Monte Carlo simulations of simple stellar populations (SSPs) of various ages. We find that the main sequence turn-off (MSTO) region is wider than that derived from the simulation of a single SSP. Using constraints based on the distribution of stars in the MSTO region and the red clump, we find that the CMD is best reproduced using a combination of two different SSPs with ages separated by 80 Myr (0.30 and 0.38 Gyr, respectively). However, we can not formally exclude that the width of the MSTO could be due to a range of stellar rotation velocities if the efficiency of rotational mixing is higher than typically assumed. Using a King-model fit to the surface number density profile in conjunction with dynamical evolution models, we determine the evolution of cluster mass and escape velocity from an age of 10 Myr to the present age, taking into account the possible effects of primordial mass segregation. We find that the cluster has an escape velocity Vesc ~ 17 km/s at an age of 10 Myr, and it remains high enough during a period of ~ 100 Myr to retain material ejected by slow winds of first-generation stars. Our results are consistent with the presence of an age spread in NGC1856, in contradiction to the results of Bastian & Silva-Villa (2013).

The exclusion of a significant range of ages in a massive star cluster.

Stars spend most of their lifetimes on the main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. The extended main-sequence turn-off regions--containing stars leaving the main sequence after having spent all of the hydrogen in their cores--found in massive (more than a few tens of thousands of solar masses), intermediate-age (about one to three billion years old) star clusters are usually interpreted as evidence of internal age spreads of more than 300 million years, although young clusters are thought to quickly lose any remaining star-forming fuel following a period of rapid gas expulsion on timescales of order 10(7) years. Here we report, on the basis of a combination of high-resolution imaging observations and theoretical modelling, that the stars beyond the main sequence in the two-billion-year-old cluster NGC 1651, characterized by a mass of about 1.7 × 10(5) solar masses, can be explained only by a single-age stellar population, even though the cluster has a clearly extended main-sequence turn-off region. The most plausible explanation for the existence of such extended regions invokes a population of rapidly rotating stars, although the secondary effects of the prolonged stellar lifetimes associated with such a stellar population mixture are as yet poorly understood. From preliminary analysis of previously obtained data, we find that similar morphologies are apparent in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams of at least five additional intermediate-age star clusters, suggesting that an extended main-sequence turn-off region does not necessarily imply the presence of a significant internal age dispersion.

THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENTIAL REDDENING AND STELLAR ROTATION ON THE APPEARANCE OF MULTIPLE POPULATIONS IN STAR CLUSTERS: THE CASE OF TRUMPLER 20

We present a detailed analysis of the upper main sequence of the 1.3 Gyr old open cluster Trumpler 20. High accuracy BV photometry combined with the Very Large Telescope/FLAMES medium-resolution spectroscopy of 954 stars is essential to understanding the unusual appearance of the color-magnitude diagram (CMD), initially suggesting multiple populations in Trumpler 20. We show that differential reddening is a dominant contributor to the apparent splitting/widening of the main-sequence turnoff region. At its extreme, the excess differential reddening reaches Delta(B-V)=0.1 while the adopted minimum reddening for the cluster is E(B-V)=0.36. A unique sample of measured projected rotational velocities indicates that stellar rotation is high near the main-sequence turnoff, reaching vsin i=180 km/s. By dividing the upper main-sequence stars into equal groups of slow and fast rotators, we find that fast rotators have a marginal blueshift of delta(V-I)=-0.01, corresponding to a difference in the median vsin i of 60 km/s between these subsamples. We conclude that stellar rotation has an insignificant effect on the morphology of the upper main sequence of this intermediate-age open cluster. Trumpler 20 appears to contain a single coeval population of stars but there is evidence that the red clump is extended.

POPULATION PARAMETERS OF INTERMEDIATE-AGE STAR CLUSTERS IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD. II. NEW INSIGHTS FROM EXTENDED MAIN-SEQUENCE TURNOFFS IN SEVEN STAR CLUSTERS

We discuss new photometry from high-resolution images of 7 intermediate-age (1-2 Gyr) star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We fit color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) with several different sets of theoretical isochrones, and determine systematic uncertainties for population parameters when derived using any one set of isochrones. The cluster CMDs show several interesting features, including extended main sequence turnoff (MSTO) regions, narrow red giant branches, and clear sequences of unresolved binary stars. We show that the extended MSTOs are not caused by photometric uncertainties, contamination by field stars, or the presence of binary stars. Enhanced helium abundances in a fraction of cluster stars are also ruled out as the reason for the extended MSTOs. Quantitative comparisons with simulations indicate that the MSTO regions are better described by a spread in ages than by a bimodal age distribution, although we can not formally rule out the latter for the three lowest-mass clusters in our sample (which have masses lower than about 3E4 solar masses). This conclusion differs from that of some previous works which suggested that the age distribution in massive clusters in our sample is bimodal. This suggests that any secondary star formation occurred in an extended fashion rather than through short bursts. We discuss these results in the context of the nature of multiple stellar populations in star clusters.

POPULATION PARAMETERS OF INTERMEDIATE-AGE STAR CLUSTERS IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD. III. DYNAMICAL EVIDENCE FOR A RANGE OF AGES BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR EXTENDED MAIN-SEQUENCE TURNOFFS

We present new analysis of 11 intermediate-age (1-2 Gyr) star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud based on Hubble Space Telescope imaging data. Seven of the clusters feature main sequence turnoff (MSTO) regions that are wider than can be accounted for by a simple stellar population, whereas their red giant branches indicate a single value of [Fe/H]. The star clusters cover a range in present-day mass from about 1E4 to 2E5 solar masses. We compare radial distributions of stars in the upper and lower parts of the MSTO region, and calculate cluster masses and escape velocities from the present time back to a cluster age of 10 Myr. Our main result is that for all clusters in our sample with estimated escape velocities > 15 km/s at an age of 10 Myr, the stars in the brightest half of the MSTO region are significantly more centrally concentrated than the stars in the faintest half AND more massive red giant branch and asymptotic giant branch stars. This is not the case for clusters with escape velocities < 10 km/s at an age of 10 Myr. We argue that the wide MSTO region of such clusters is mainly caused by to a 200 - 500 Myr range in the ages of cluster stars due to extended star formation within the cluster from material shed by first-generation stars featuring slow stellar winds. Dilution of this enriched material by accretion of ambient interstellar matter is deemed plausible if the spread of [Fe/H] in this ambient gas was very small when the second-generation stars were formed in the cluster.

A PUZZLE INVOLVING GALACTIC BULGE MICROLENSING EVENTS

We study a sample of 16 microlensed Galactic bulge main sequence turnoff region stars for which high dispersion spectra have been obtained with detailed abundance analyses. We demonstrate that there is a very strong and highly statistically significant correlation between the maximum magnification of the microlensed bulge star and the value of the [Fe/H] deduced from the high resolution spectrum of each object. Physics demands that this correlation, assuming it to be real, be the result of some sample bias. We suggest several possible explanations, but are forced to reject them all,and are left puzzled. To obtain a reliable metallicity distribution in the Galactic bulge based on microlensed dwarf stars it will be necessary to resolve this issue through the course of additional observations.

POPULATION PARAMETERS OF INTERMEDIATE-AGE STAR CLUSTERS IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD. I. NGC 1846 AND ITS WIDE MAIN-SEQUENCE TURNOFF

The Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the Hubble Space Telescope has been used to obtain deep, high-resolution images of the intermediate-age star cluster NGC 1846 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We present new color–magnitude diagrams (CMDs) based on F435W, F555W, and F814W imaging. We test the previously observed broad main-sequence turnoff (MSTO) region for "contamination" by field stars and (evolved) binary star systems. We find that while these impact the number of objects in this region, none can fully account for the large color spread. Our results therefore solidify the recent finding that stars in the MSTO region of this cluster have a large spread in color which is unrelated to measurement errors or contamination by field stars, and likely due to a ∼ 300 Myr range in the ages of cluster stars. An unbiased estimate of the stellar density distribution across the MSTO region shows that the spread is fairly continuous rather than strongly bimodal, as suggested previously. We fit the CMDs with several different sets of theoretical isochrones, and determine systematic uncertainties for population parameters when derived using any one set of isochrones. We note a degeneracy between age and [α/Fe], which can be lifted by matching the shape (curvature) of the full red giant branch (RGB) in the CMD. We find that stars in the upper part of the MSTO region are more centrally concentrated than those in any other region, including more massive RGB and asymptotic giant branch stars. We consider several possible formation scenarios which account for the unusual features observed in the CMD of NGC 1846.

The Age and Metallicity Relation of ω Centauri

We present a metallicity distribution based on photometry and spectra for 442 omega Cen cluster members that lie at the main sequence turnoff region of the color-magnitude diagram. This distribution is similar to that found for the red giant branch. The distribution shows a sharp rise to a mean of [Fe/H] = -1.7 with a long tail to higher metallicities. Ages have then been determined for the stars using theoretical isochrones enabling the construction of an age-metallicity diagram. Interpretation of this diagram is complicated by the correlation of the errors in the metallicities and ages. Nevertheless, after extensive Monte-Carlo simulations, we conclude that our data show that the formation of the cluster took place over an extended period of time: the most metal-rich stars in our sample ([Fe/H] ~ -0.6) are younger by 2-4 Gyrs than the most metal-poor population.

A New Culprit in the Second-Parameter Problem in the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy?

Color-magnitude diagrams from deep, wide-field CCD photometry of the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy reveal that the red horizontal branch (RHB) stars are strongly concentrated toward the center of the galaxy relative to the dominant old population in Sculptor, confirming an earlier claim of such a gradient. Since we find no radial gradients of the age or metallicity distribution within Sculptor, neither age nor metallicity can individually account for the internal second-parameter problem observed within the galaxy. We have also identified an unusual of stars that extends from the main-sequence turnoff region and is located between the canonical blue straggler region and the subgiant branch. These stars are also more centrally concentrated than the oldest stars in Sculptor, although not as extremely as the RHB stars. Unable to convincingly interpret the spur either as an unusual young population or as a foreground population of stars, we conclude that binary stars offer the most reasonable explanation for the origin of the spur that is also consistent with other features in the CMD of Sculptor. We infer that 30%-60% of all apparently single stars in the inner region of Sculptor may be binaries. We speculate that the possible radial gradient in the binary-star population may be related to the variation of the HB morphology in Sculptor.

GLOBULAR CLUSTER PHOTOMETRY NEAR THE TURNOFF: BLUE STRAGGLERS, RELATIVE AGES, AND THE HORIZONTAL BRANCH

ABSTRACT Using CCD color-magnitude diagrams of Galactic globular clusters in the B and V filter bands, we focus on the main sequence turnoff region and its usefulness in studying blue straggler stars, relative cluster ages, and the luminosity of the horizontal branch. In addition, we have measured several basic photometric parameters for the clusters in our program; these include NGC 288, NGC 3201, NGC 4372, NGC 4590 (M68), IC 4499, NGC 5897, NGC 6101, NGC 6171 (M107), NGC 6496, NGC 6584, NGC 6723, NGC 6809 (M55), NGC 6934, and NGC 6981 (M72). Of the 14 globular clusters in our sample, 11 appear to have definite blue straggler sequences. In the majority of cases, the blue stragglers are found to be more centrally concentrated and therefore more massive than the subgiant branch stars. Furthermore, the characteristics of the clusters which contain blue stragglers span practically the entire observed range for Galactic globular clusters. It therefore seems that all such systems must contain blue stragglers. The HR Diagram of the blue stragglers reveals that all of these stars occupy the same general region of this diagram, but the mean location of the individual cluster sequences do scale with metal abundance in the expected fashion. Finally, the luminosity function indicates the possible identification of blue stragglers which have evolved away from their initial positions. There exists a range in age among the Galactic globular clusters of 3 to 5 gigayears. Such a range suggests a relatively slow formation timescale for the Galactic halo. In addition, from the variation of age as a function of horizontal branch type, we conclude that age is the 'second parameter' which, along with metallicity, governs the behavior of the horizontal branch. Finally, we derive a simple algebraic expression that describes the slope of the horizontal branch luminosity - metallicity relation in terms of three relative cluster parameters. Using available values of these quantities in 8 globular clusters, we compute a slope of 0.15 ± 0.05 (mag/dex) for the variation of horizontal branch luminosity with metallicity.

The luminosity function for the globular cluster M15

We obtained the luminosity function from the Main-Sequence turnoff region to the subgiants for M15 (V=17.0–19.6), using plates taken by the Kitt Peak 4 m reflector. The measured region isr=2′.5–8′.0 zone. We extrapolated the star counts to the cluster center and to the tidal limit, using King's (1966) photometry, Kinget al.'s (1968) counts, Peterson and King's (1975) result, and Simoda and Iben's (1970) theoretical results.