Two distinct sequences of blue straggler stars in the globular cluster M30

Abstract

Stars in globular clusters are generally believed to have all formed at the same time, early in the Galaxy's history. 'Blue stragglers' are stars massive enough that they should have evolved into white dwarfs long ago. Two possible mechanisms have been proposed for their formation: mass transfer between binary companions and stellar mergers resulting from direct collisions between two stars. Recently, the binary explanation was claimed to be dominant. Here we report that there are two distinct parallel sequences of blue stragglers in M30. This globular cluster is thought to have undergone 'core collapse', during which both the collision rate and the mass transfer activity in binary systems would have been enhanced. We suggest that the two observed sequences arise from the cluster core collapse, with the bluer population arising from direct stellar collisions and the redder one arising from the evolution of close binaries that are probably still experiencing an active phase of mass transfer.

Published on the 24th December 2009 issue of Nature

References in corpus (9)

• A Binary Origin for Blue Stragglers in Globular Clusters
• Surface Brightness Profiles of Galactic Globular Clusters from Hubble Space Telescope Images
• Discovery of Carbon/Oxygen depleted Blue Straggler Stars in 47 Tucanae: the chemical signature of a mass-transfer formation process
• The radial distribution of blue straggler stars and the nature of their progenitors
• The blue stragglers formed via mass transfer in old open clusters
• Chandra X-ray Sources in the Collapsed-Core Globular Cluster M30 (NGC 7099)
• Deep ACS Imaging in the Globular Cluster NGC6397: Dynamical Models
• Surface Brightness Profiles for a sample of LMC, SMC and Fornax galaxy Globular Clusters
• Variable Stars in the Archival HST Data of Globular Clusters M13, M30 and NGC 6712

Cited by in corpus (133)

• The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. I. Overview of the Project and Detection of Multiple Stellar Populations
• Dynamical age differences among coeval star clusters as revealed by blue stragglers
• Sodium-oxygen anticorrelation and neutron capture elements in Omega Centauri stellar populations
• MOCCA code for star cluster simulations - I. Blue Stragglers, first results
• Star count density profiles and structural parameters of 26 Galactic globular clusters
• The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. X. New Determinations of Centers for 65 Clusters
• Double Blue Straggler sequences in GCs: the case of NGC 362
• Hubble Space Telescope Proper motion (HSTPROMO) Catalogs of Galactic Globular Clusters. VI. Improved data reduction and internal-kinematic analysis of NGC 362
• Implications for the Formation of Blue Straggler Stars from HST Ultraviolet Observations of NGC 188
• The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters - XV. The dynamical clock: reading cluster dynamical evolution from the segregation level of blue straggler stars
• MIKiS: the Multi-Instrument Kinematic Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. I. Velocity dispersion profiles and rotation signals of 11 globular clusters
• Stellar triples on the edge; Comprehensive overview of the evolution of destabilised triples leading to stellar and binary exotica
• Blue Straggler masses from pulsation properties. I. The case of NGC6541
• HST absolute Proper Motions of NGC 6681 (M70) and the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
• The intriguing stellar populations in the globular clusters NGC 6388 and NGC 6441
• Stars caught in the braking stage in young Magellanic Clouds clusters
• Chemical and kinematical properties of BSSs and HB stars in NGC 6397
• Blue Straggler Stars in Open Clusters using Gaia: Dependence on Cluster Parameters and Possible Formation Pathways
• The 3D structure of the Galactic bulge
• Very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from the direction of the Galactic globular cluster Terzan 5
• A new class of fossil fragments from the hierarchical assembly of the Galactic bulge
• The strong rotation of M5 (NGC 5904) as seen from the MIKiS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters
• The Origin and Evolution of the Halo PN BoBn 1: From a Viewpoint of Chemical Abundances Based on Multiwavelength Spectra
• The optical counterpart to the X-ray transient IGR J18245-2452 in the globular cluster M28
• No evidence of mass segregation in the low mass Galactic globular cluster NGC 6101
• The optical companion to the binary millisecond pulsar J1824-2452H in the globular cluster M28
• The ACS LCID project VII: the blue stragglers population in the isolated dSph galaxies Cetus and Tucana
• The binary fraction in the globular cluster M10 (NGC 6254): comparing core and outer regions
• The non-segregated population of blue straggler stars in the remote globular cluster Palomar 14
• The "UV-route" to search for Blue Straggler Stars in Globular Clusters: first results from the HST UV Legacy Survey
• A panchromatic view of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6569
• Radio timing and optical photometry of the black widow system PSR J1518+0204C in the globular cluster M5
• Structural parameters and blue stragglers in Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy globular clusters
• Ultra-deep GEMINI near-infrared observations of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6624
• Fast rotating Blue Stragglers in the globular cluster M4
• A kinematic view of NGC 1261: structural parameters, internal dispersion, absolute proper motion and Blue Straggler Stars
• Hubble Space Telescope proper motion (HSTPROMO) catalogs of Galactic globular clusters. IV. Kinematic profiles and average masses of blue straggler stars
• The "dynamical clock": dating the internal dynamical evolution of star clusters with Blue Straggler Stars
• The Blue Straggler Star Population in NGC 1261: Evidence for a Post-Core-Collapse Bounce State
• PSR J1641+3627F: a low-mass He white dwarf orbiting a possible high-mass neutron star in the globular cluster M13
• Fast rotating Blue Stragglers prefer loose clusters
• FLAMES and XSHOOTER spectroscopy along the two BSS sequences of M30
• Star density profiles of six old star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• The binary mass transfer origin of the red blue straggler sequence in M30
• The helium abundance in the metal-poor globular clusters M30 and NGC6397
• Detection of a White Dwarf companion to a Blue Straggler Star in the outskirts of globular cluster NGC 5466 with the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT)
• A Megacam Survey of Outer Halo Satellites. II. Blue Stragglers in the Lowest Stellar Density Systems
• Discovery of a double sequence of blue straggler stars in the core-collapsed globular cluster NGC 6256
• The Unimodal Distribution Of Blue Straggler Stars in M75 (NGC 6864)
• Radial variation of the stellar mass functions in the globular clusters M15 and M30: clues of a non-standard IMF?
• Proper motions and structural parameters of the Galactic globular cluster M71
• New clues on the nature of the companion to PSR~J1740-5340 in NGC6397 from XSHOOTER spectroscopy
• Discovery of a double Blue Straggler sequence in M15: new insight into the core-collapse process
• A new identity card for the bulge globular cluster NGC 6440 from resolved star counts
• Constraints on the Formation of the Globular Cluster IC 4499 from Multi-Wavelength Photometry
• Dynamical friction in multi-component evolving globular clusters
• Chemical Abundances and Dust in the Halo Planetary Nebula K648 in M15: Its Origin and Evolution based on an Analysis of Multiwavelength Data
• Deep multi-telescope photometry of NGC 5466. I. Blue Stragglers and binary systems
• Spectral Energy Distribution of Blue Stragglers in the core of 47 Tucanae
• Mass segregation in the outer halo globular cluster Palomar 14
• Weighing stars: the identification of an Evolved Blue Straggler Star in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae
• Multi-wavelength environment of the Galactic globular cluster Terzan 5
• Blue Straggler Star Populations in Globular Clusters: II. Proper-Motion Cleaned HST Catalogs of BSSs in 38 Galactic GCs
• The double Blue Straggler sequence in NGC2173: a field contamination artefact
• The origin of the two populations of blue stragglers in M30
• Blue straggler evolution caught in the act in the Large Magellanic Cloud globular cluster Hodge 11
• Blue straggler masses from pulsation properties. II. Topology of the Instability Strip
• Spinning like a Blue Straggler: the population of fast rotating Blue Straggler stars in Omega Centauri
• UV observations of the globular cluster M10 from HST and GALEX. The BSS population
• Probing the role of dynamical friction in shaping the BSS radial distribution. I - Semi-analytical models and preliminary N-body simulations
• High-resolution extinction map in the direction of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6440
• Formation and Evolution of Blue Stragglers in 47 Tucanae
• Empirical measurement of the dynamical ages of three globular clusters and some considerations on the use of the dynamical clock
• The blue straggler population of the old open cluster Berkeley 17
• GlobULeS-IV. UVIT/AstroSat detection of extremely low mass white dwarf companions to blue straggler stars in NGC 362
• Contribution of primordial binary evolution to the two blue-straggler sequences in globular cluster M30
• An unexpected detection of bifurcated blue straggler sequences in the young globular cluster NGC 2173
• Case AD, AR, and AS binary evolution and their possible connections with W UMa binaries
• Model computations of blue stragglers and W UMa-type stars in globular clusters
• Finding short GRB remnants in globular clusters: the VHE gamma-ray source in Terzan 5
• Radial velocities from VLT-KMOS spectra of giant stars in the globular cluster NGC 6388
• Constraining the true nature of an exotic binary in the core of NGC 6624
• MOCCA code for star cluster simulations - V. Initial globular cluster conditions influence on blue stragglers
• A deep Chandra survey for faint X-ray sources in the Galactic globular cluster M30, and searches for optical and radio counterparts
• A Carbon-rich Mira variable in a globular cluster: A stellar merger
• A Deep Search for Faint Chandra X-ray Sources, Radio Sources, and Optical Counterparts in NGC 6752
• Another brick in understanding chemical and kinematical properties of BSSs: NGC 6752
• A complete census of $H\alpha$ emitters in NGC 6397
• The central Blue Straggler population in four outer-halo globular clusters
• The field high-amplitude SX Phe variable BL Cam: results from a multisite photometric campaign. II. Evidence of a binary - possibly triple - system
• Blue Stragglers and Friends: Initial Evolutionary Pathways in Close Low-Mass Binaries: Literature Review
• Globular Clusters UVIT Legacy Survey (GlobULeS) I. FUV-optical Color-Magnitude Diagrams for Eight Globular Clusters
• Blue Straggler Star Populations in Globular Clusters: I. Dynamical Properties of Blue Straggler Stars in NGC 3201, NGC 6218 and $\omega$ Centauri
• Discovery of double BSS sequences in the old Galactic open cluster Berkeley 17
• The ESO-VLT MIKiS survey reloaded: exploring the internal kinematics of NGC 6440
• The mean free path approximation and stellar collisions in star clusters: Numerical exploration of the analytic rates and the role of perturbations on binary star mergers
• UVIT Open Cluster Study. X. Rich Collection of Post Mass Transfer Systems in NGC 6791
• A young white dwarf orbiting PSR J1835-3259B in the bulge globular cluster NGC 6652
• A halo blue straggler on a highly eccentric retrograde orbit
• Stellar collisions in globular clusters: the origin of multiple stellar populations
• Zwicky Transient Facility and Globular Clusters: the Period-Luminosity and Period-Luminosity-Color Relations for Late-Type Contact Binaries
• A binary-related origin mediated by environmental conditions for blue straggler stars
• Blue Straggler Stars in Globular Clusters: a powerful tool to probe the internal dynamical evolution of stellar systems
• Investigating the Blue Straggler Stars radial distribution in globular clusters with Monte Carlo simulations
• Effects of Rotationally-Induced Mixing in Compact Binary Systems with Low-Mass Secondaries and in Single Solar-Type Stars
• A fast-rotating blue straggler star in the tidal tail of the open cluster NGC 752
• Simple stellar population models including blue stragglers
• Searching for new observational signatures of the dynamical evolution of star clusters
• Blue Straggler Bimodality: a Brownian Motion Model
• Blue straggler stars beyond the Milky Way. II. A binary origin for blue straggler stars in Magellanic Cloud clusters
• The temperature distribution of horizontal branch stars: methods and first results
• Formation Channels for Blue Straggler Stars
• Blue straggler stars beyond the Milky Way. III. Detection of evolved blue straggler candidates in Large Magellanic Cloud clusters
• Rotational velocities of Blue Straggler Stars in the Globular Cluster M55
• Time-Series BVI Photometry for the Globular Cluster NGC 6981 (M72)
• Constraints on blue straggler formation mechanisms in Galactic globular clusters from proper motion velocity distributions
• New parameters for star cluster dynamics: the effect of primordial binaries and dark remnants
• The dynamical state of the globular clusters Rup 106 and IC 4499
• Relativistic dynamical friction in stellar systems
• On the relationship between metallicity distributions of globular clusters and of circumgalactic gas
• Far-ultraviolet investigation into the galactic globular cluster M30 (NGC 7099): I. Photometry and radial distributions
• Blue Stragglers in Globular Clusters: Observations, Statistics and Physics
• Searching for exotic object companions in the dense core of NGC 362: a multi-wavelength and multi-epoch photometric analysis
• Distances of Galactic Radio Pulsars; First Quadrant: $-2^{\circ }<\ell <90^{\circ }$ and $-2^{\circ }<b<2^{\circ }$
• Unveiling Bifurcated Blue Straggler Sequences in NGC 2173: Insights from Binary Evolution
• Stellar Evolution in Close Binaries: Processes and Outcomes
• Modeling blue stragglers in young clusters
• Fast Rotating Blue Straggler Stars in the globular cluster NGC 1851
• Blue Stragglers in Clusters and Integrated Spectral Properties of Stellar Populations
• Exotic populations in Globular Clusters: Blue Stragglers as tracers of the internal dynamical evolution of stellar systems
• Quantifying Systematic Age Discrepancies in Very Young Star Clusters
• Searching for IMBHs in Galactic globular clusters through radial velocities of individual stars
• The ESO-VLT MIKiS survey reloaded: velocity dispersion profile and rotation curve of NGC 1904