Chemical Tagging in the Sdss-iii/apogee Survey: New Identifications of Halo Stars With Globular Cluster Origins
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT We present new identifications of five red giant stars in the Galactic halo with chemical abundance patterns that indicate they originally formed in globular clusters. Using data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) Survey available through Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 12, we first identify likely halo giants, and then search those for the well-known chemical tags associated with globular clusters, specifically enrichment in nitrogen and aluminum. We find that 2% of the halo giants in our sample have this chemical signature, in agreement with previous results. Following the interpretation in our previous work on this topic, this would imply that at least 13% of halo stars originally formed in globular clusters. Recent developments in the theoretical understanding of globular cluster formation raise questions about that interpretation, and we concede the possibility that these migrants represent a small fraction of the halo field. There are roughly as many stars with the chemical tags of globular clusters in the halo field as there are in globular clusters, whether or not they are accompanied by a much larger chemically untaggable population of former globular cluster stars.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Institutions: UNSW Sydney, McDonald Observatory, The University of Texas at Austin, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Liverpool John Moores University, Eötvös Loránd University, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, University of Notre Dame, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Corporation
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Yale University, Vanderbilt University, Princeton University, Ohio State University, Harvard University, University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Portsmouth, New Mexico State University, Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics - Center for the Evolution of the Elements, York University, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, Office of Science, College of Engineering, Michigan State University, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Australian Research Council, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Awards: JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements, G1822664628, G2339566017, G2363979065, G2695431083, G425872791, PFC: Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, JINA, Astrophysics Research at Liverpool John Moores University: Consolidated Grant Renewal, The GALAH survey: A million-star exploration of Galactic history, G96942682
OpenAlex ID: W2398732896