The Carina project. VII. Toward the breaking of the age-metallicity degeneracy of red giant branch stars using the C {sub U,} {sub B,} {sub I} index
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Via Lactea s/n, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica-Osservatorio Astronomico Collurania, Via M. Maggini, I-64100 Teramo (Italy)
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Rome (Italy)
- Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, NRC-Herzberg, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC, V9E 2E7 (Canada)
- Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile)
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, I-40131 Trieste (Italy)
- INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Salita Moiariello 16, I-80131 Napoli (Italy)
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, Monte Porzio Catone, I-00044 Rome (Italy)
We present an analysis of photometric and spectroscopic data of the Carina dSph galaxy, testing a new approach similar to that used to disentangle multiple populations in Galactic globular clusters (GCs). We show that a proper color combination is able to separate a significant fraction of the red giant branch (RGB) of the two main Carina populations (the old one, ∼12 Gyr, and the intermediate-age one, 4-8 Gyr). In particular, the c {sub U,} {sub B,} {sub I} = (U – B) – (B – I) pseudo-color allows us to follow the RGB of both populations along a relevant portion of the RGB. We find that the oldest stars have a more negative c {sub U,} {sub B,} {sub I} pseudo-color than intermediate-age ones. We correlate the pseudo-color of RGB stars with their chemical properties, finding a significant trend between the iron content and the c {sub U,} {sub B,} {sub I}. Stars belonging to the old population are systematically more metal-poor ([Fe/H] =–2.32 ± 0.08 dex) than the intermediate-age ones ([Fe/H] =–1.82 ± 0.03 dex). This gives solid evidence of the chemical evolution history of this galaxy, and we have a new diagnostic that can allow us to break the age-metallicity degeneracy of H-burning advanced evolutionary phases. We compared the distribution of stars in the c {sub U,} {sub B,} {sub I} plane with theoretical isochrones, finding that no satisfactory agreement can be reached with models developed in a theoretical framework based on standard heavy element distributions. Finally, we discuss possible systematic differences when compared with multiple populations in GCs.
- OSTI ID:
- 22370157
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 796, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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