Journal
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Volume 661, Issue 1, Pages L49-L52Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1086/518653
Keywords
Galaxy : formation; globular clusters : general; stars : horizontal-branch
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Funding
- National Research Foundation of Korea [과06A1403, R17-2006-081-01001-0] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
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About 25% of the Milky Way globular clusters ( GCs) exhibit unusually extended color distribution of stars in the core helium-burning horizontal-branch ( HB) phase. This phenomenon is now best understood as due to the presence of helium-enhanced second-generation subpopulations, which has raised the possibility that these peculiar GCs might have a unique origin. Here we show that these GCs with extended HB are clearly distinct from other normal GCs in kinematics and mass. The GCs with extended HB are more massive than normal GCs and are dominated by random motion with no correlation between kinematics and metallicity. Surprisingly, however, when they are excluded, most normal GCs in the inner halo show clear signs of dissipational collapse that apparently led to the formation of the disk. Normal GCs in the outer halo share their kinematic properties with the extended HB GCs, which is consistent with the accretion origin. Our result further suggests heterogeneous origins of GCs, and we anticipate this to be a starting point for more detailed investigations of Milky Way formation, including early mergers, collapse, and later accretion.
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