Light and Heavy Element Abundance Variations in the Outer Halo Globular Cluster NGC 6229
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MS-15, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, 430 Portola Plaza, Box 951547, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States)
NGC 6229 is a relatively massive outer halo globular cluster that is primarily known for exhibiting a peculiar bimodal horizontal branch morphology. Given the paucity of spectroscopic data on this cluster, we present a detailed chemical composition analysis of 11 red giant branch members based on high resolution (R ≈ 38,000), high S/N (>100) spectra obtained with the MMT-Hectochelle instrument. We find the cluster to have a mean heliocentric radial velocity of −138.1{sub −1.0}{sup +1.0} km s{sup −1}, a small dispersion of 3.8{sub −0.7}{sup +1.0} km s{sup −1}, and a relatively low (M/L{sub V}){sub ⊙}=0.82{sub −0.28}{sup +0.49}. The cluster is moderately metal-poor with 〈[Fe/H]〉=−1.13 dex and a modest dispersion of 0.06 dex. However, 18% (2/11) of the stars in our sample have strongly enhanced [La, Nd/Fe] ratios that are correlated with a small (∼0.05 dex) increase in [Fe/H]. NGC 6229 shares several chemical signatures with M75, NGC 1851, and the intermediate metallicity populations of ω Cen, which lead us to conclude that NGC 6229 is a lower mass iron-complex cluster. The light elements exhibit the classical (anti-)correlations that extend up to Si, but the cluster possesses a large gap in the O–Na plane that separates first and second generation stars. NGC 6229 also has unusually low [Na, Al/Fe] abundances that are consistent with an accretion origin. A comparison with M54 and other Sagittarius clusters suggests that NGC 6229 could also be the remnant core of a former dwarf spheroidal galaxy.
- OSTI ID:
- 22863021
- Journal Information:
- The Astronomical Journal (Online), Journal Name: The Astronomical Journal (Online) Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 154; ISSN 1538-3881
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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