The Extended Main-Sequence Turn-off Clusters of the Large Magellanic Cloud - Missing links in Globular Cluster Evolution
arXiv:1102.1723 · doi:10.1088/0004-637X/731/1/22
Abstract
Recent observations of intermediate age (1 - 3 Gyr) massive star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have revealed that the majority possess bifurcated or extended main-sequence turn-off (EMSTO) morphologies. This effect can be understood to arise from subsequent star formation amongst the stellar population with age differences between constituent stars amounting to 50 - 300 Myr. Age spreads of this order are similarly invoked to explain the light element abundance variations witnessed in ancient globular clusters. In this paper we explore the proposition that the clusters exhibiting the EMSTO phenomenon are a general phase in the evolution of massive clusters, one that naturally leads to the particular chemical properties of the ancient globular cluster population. We show that the isolation of EMSTO clusters to intermediate ages is the consequence of observational selection effects. In our proposed scenario, the EMSTO phenomenon is identical to that which establishes the light element abundance variations that are ubiquitous in the ancient globular cluster population. Our scenario makes a strong prediction: EMSTO clusters will exhibit abundance variations in the light elements characteristic of the ancient GC population.
ApJ accepted. 33 pages, 5 figures
References in corpus (24)
- Formation and Dynamical Evolution of Multiple Stellar Generations in Globular Clusters
- Star formation through gravitational collapse and competitive accretion
- Gas expulsion and the destruction of massive young clusters
- Stellar Models and Yields of Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars
- Dynamical mass segregation on a very short timescale
- Age Determination of Six Intermediate-age SMC Star Clusters with HST/ACS
- A double main sequence turn-off in the rich star cluster NGC 1846 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- Black holes and core expansion in massive star clusters
- Multiple stellar populations in three rich Large Magellanic Cloud star clusters
- Multiple stellar populations in Magellanic Clouds clusters. I. An ordinary feature for intermediate age globulars in the LMC?
- The fraction of second generation stars in Globular Clusters from the analysis of the Horizontal Branch
- Looking outside the Galaxy: the discovery of chemical anomalies in 3 old Large Magellanic Cloud clusters
- Star Cluster Demographics. I. A General Framework and Application to the Antennae Galaxies
- The chemical composition of red giant stars in four intermediate-age clusters of the Large Magellanic Cloud
- VLT/UVES Spectroscopy of Individual Stars in Three Globular Clusters in the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
- An alternative method to study star cluster disruption
- NGC 2419 -- Another Remnant of Accretion by the Milky Way
- Rotation and multiple stellar population in globular clusters
- Direct Evidence for an Enhancement of Helium in Giant Stars in Omega Centauri
- Fe and Al Abundances for 180 Red Giants in the Globular Cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139)
- The self-enrichment scenario in intermediate metallicity globular clusters
- On the origin of double main-sequence turn-offs in star clusters of the Magellanic Clouds
- A Comparison of Methods for Determining the Age Distribution of Star Clusters: Application to the Large Magellanic Cloud
- Diluting the material forming the second generation stars in Globular Clusters: the contribution by unevolved stars
Cited by in corpus (44)
- Multiple populations in globular clusters. Lessons learned from the Milky Way globular clusters
- Early Disc Accretion as the Origin of Abundance Anomalies in Globular Clusters
- Extended Main Sequence Turnoffs in Intermediate-Age Star Clusters: A Correlation Between Turnoff Width and Early Escape Velocity
- Multiple stellar populations in Magellanic Cloud clusters. VI. A survey of multiple sequences and Be stars in young clusters
- Constraining Globular Cluster Formation Through Studies of Young Massive Clusters: I. A lack of ongoing star formation within young clusters
- Extended main sequence turnoff as a common feature of Milky Way open clusters
- Population Parameters of Intermediate-Age Star Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud. II. New Insights from Extended Main Sequence Turnoffs in 7 Star Clusters
- Multiple stellar populations in Magellanic Cloud clusters. IV. The double main sequence of the young cluster NGC1755
- Multiple stellar populations in Magellanic Cloud clusters. III. The first evidence of an extended main sequence turn-off in a young cluster: NGC1856
- NGC 1866: First Spectroscopic Detection of Fast Rotating Stars in a Young LMC Cluster
- Discovery of extended main sequence turn offs in Galactic open clusters
- Different stellar rotation in the two main sequences of the young globular cluster NGC1818: first direct spectroscopic evidence
- No Evidence for Significant Age Spreads in Young Massive LMC Clusters
- Multiple stellar populations in Magellanic Cloud clusters. V. The split main sequence of the young cluster NGC1866
- The effects of rotation on the main-sequence turnoff of intermediate-age massive star clusters
- Population Parameters of Intermediate-Age Star Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud. III. Dynamical Evidence for a Range of Ages Being Responsible for Extended Main Sequence Turnoffs
- No evidence of chemical anomalies in the bimodal turnoff cluster NGC 1806 in the LMC
- Extended Main Sequence Turnoffs in Intermediate-Age Star Clusters: Stellar Rotation diminishes, but does not eliminate, Age Spreads
- A VLT/FLAMES study of the peculiar intermediate-age Large Magellanic Cloud star cluster NGC 1846 - I. Kinematics
- Combined Effects of Rotation and Age Spreads on Extended Main Sequence Turn Offs
- Constraints on possible age spreads within young massive clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- Discrepancies in the ages of young star clusters; evidence for mergers?
- Combined Effects of Binaries and Stellar Rotation on the Color-Magnitude Diagrams of Intermediate-Age Star Clusters
- An extended main sequence turn-off in the Small Magellanic Cloud star cluster NGC411
- New Clues to the Cause of Extended Main Sequence Turn-Offs in Intermediate-Age Star Clusters in the Magellanic Clouds
- Is the Escape Velocity in Star Clusters Linked to Extended Star Formation Histories? Using NGC 7252: W3 as a Test Case
- The Morphology of the Sub-Giant Branch and Red Clump Reveal No Sign of Age Spreads in Intermediate Age Clusters
- Multiple stellar populations in Magellanic Cloud clusters. II. Evidence also in the young NGC1844?
- The star formation history of the Large Magellanic Cloud star clusters NGC1846 and NGC1783
- On the Interpretation of Sub-Giant Branch Morphologies of Intermediate-Age Star Clusters with Extended Main Sequence Turnoffs
- A systematic study of effects of stellar rotation, age spread and binaries on color-magnitude diagrams with extended main-sequence turn-offs
- Not-So-Simple Stellar Populations in the Intermediate-age Large Magellanic Cloud Star Clusters NGC 1831 and NGC 1868
- Explanation of a special color-magnitude diagram of star cluster NGC 1651 from different models
- Extended Main Sequence Turn-Offs in Low Mass Intermediate Age Clusters
- Gemini/GMOS photometry of intermediate-age star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- WIYN Open Cluster Study LXXIX. M48 (NGC 2548) I. Radial Velocities, Rotational Velocities, and Metallicities of Stars in the Open Cluster M48 (NGC 2548)
- A new Extended Main Sequence Turnoff star cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- NGC1818 unveils the origin of the extended main-sequence turn-off in young Magellanic Clouds clusters
- Stellar variability at the main-sequence turnoff of the intermediate-age LMC cluster NGC 1846
- An Analysis of the Population of Extended Main Sequence Turn-off Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- Star cluster formation from giant molecular clouds in the Small Magellanic Cloud about 2 Gyr ago: their origin, structures, and kinematics
- Structure and evolution of a tidally heated star
- Multipopulation aftereffects on the color-magnitude diagram and Cepheid variables of young stellar systems
- The He abundance in NGC 1850 A and B: are we observing the early stage of formation of multiple populations in a stellar cluster?