CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF ASYMPTOTIC GIANT BRANCH STARS IN M62
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, I-40127 Bologna (Italy)
- INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani, 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy)
We have collected UVES-FLAMES high-resolution spectra for a sample of 6 asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and 13 red giant branch (RGB) stars in the Galactic globular cluster (GC) M62 (NGC 6266). Here we present the detailed abundance analysis of iron, titanium, and light elements (O, Na, Mg, and Al). For the majority (five out of six) of the AGB targets, we find that the abundances of both iron and titanium determined from neutral lines are significantly underestimated with respect to those obtained from ionized features, the latter being, instead, in agreement with those measured for the RGB targets. This is similar to recent findings in other clusters and may suggest the presence of nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects. In the O–Na, Al–Mg, and Na–Al planes, the RGB stars show the typical correlations observed for GC stars. Instead, all the AGB targets are clumped in the regions where first-generation stars are expected to lie, similar to what was recently found for the AGB population of NGC 6752. While the sodium and aluminum abundances could be underestimated as a consequence of the NLTE bias affecting iron and titanium, the oxygen line used does not suffer from the same effects, and the lack of O-poor AGB stars therefore is a solid result. We can thus conclude that none of the investigated AGB stars belongs to the second stellar generation of M62. We also find an RGB star with extremely high sodium abundance ([Na/Fe] = +1.08 dex)
- OSTI ID:
- 22521944
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 813, 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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