The VMC survey. XI. Radial stellar population gradients in the galactic globular cluster 47 Tucanae

Journal Article · Sun Jul 20 04:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/790/1/35· OSTI ID:22365608

Li, Chengyuan; De Grijs, Richard ^[1]; Deng, Licai ^[2]; Rubele, Stefano; Girardi, Leo; Gullieuszik, Marco ^[3]; Wang, Chuchu ^[4]; Bekki, Kenji; For, Bi-Qing ^[5]; Cioni, Maria-Rosa L. ^[6]; Clementini, Gisella ^[7]; Emerson, Jim ^[8]; Groenewegen, Martin A. T. ^[9]; Guandalini, Roald ^[10]; Marconi, Marcella; Ripepi, Vincenzo ^[11]; Piatti, Andrés E. ^[12]

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1. Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Yi He Yuan Lu 5, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100871 (China)
2. Key Laboratory for Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012 (China)
3. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, vicolo dell'Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova (Italy)
4. Department of Astronomy, Peking University, Yi He Yuan Lu 5, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100871 (China)
5. ICRAR M468, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009 (Australia)
6. Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB (United Kingdom)
7. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy)
8. Astronomy Unit, School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS (United Kingdom)
9. Royal Observatory of Belgium, Ringlaan 3, 1180 Ukkel (Belgium)
10. Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D 2401, 3001 Leuven (Belgium)
11. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, via Moiariello 16, I-80131 Naples (Italy)
12. Observatorio Astrońomico, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Laprida 854, 5000 Córdoba (Argentina)

We present a deep near-infrared color-magnitude diagram of the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tucanae, obtained with the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) as part of the VISTA near-infrared Y, J, K{sub s} survey of the Magellanic System (VMC). The cluster stars comprising both the subgiant and red giant branches exhibit apparent, continuous variations in color-magnitude space as a function of radius. Subgiant branch stars at larger radii are systematically brighter than their counterparts closer to the cluster core; similarly, red-giant-branch stars in the cluster's periphery are bluer than their more centrally located cousins. The observations can very well be described by adopting an age spread of ∼0.5 Gyr as well as radial gradients in both the cluster's helium abundance (Y) and metallicity (Z), which change gradually from (Y = 0.28, Z = 0.005) in the cluster core to (Y = 0.25, Z = 0.003) in its periphery. We conclude that the cluster's inner regions host a significant fraction of second-generation stars, which decreases with increasing radius; the stellar population in the 47 Tuc periphery is well approximated by a simple stellar population.

• OSTI ID: 22365608
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 790; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ABUNDANCE
APPROXIMATIONS
ASTRONOMY
COLOR
GALAXY CLUSTERS
HELIUM
INFRARED SURVEYS
METALLICITY
NEAR INFRARED RADIATION
SPACE
STAR CLUSTERS
STARS
TELESCOPES