paper

WIYN Open Cluster Study LXXXI. Caught in the Act? The Peculiar Red Giant NGC 2243-W2135

arXiv:2006.10862 · doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab9ca2

Abstract

High-dispersion spectra for giants through turnoff stars in the Li 6708 Angstrom region have been obtained and analyzed in the old, metal-deficient open cluster, NGC 2243. When combined with high dispersion data from other surveys, the cluster is found to contain a uniquely peculiar star at the luminosity level of the red clump. The giant is the reddest star at its luminosity, exhibits variability at a minimum 0.1 mag level on a timescale of days, is a single-lined, radial-velocity variable, and has V_sin(i) between 35 and 40 km/sec. In sharp contrast with the majority of the red giant cluster members, the star has a detectable Li abundance, potentially as high or higher than other giants observed to date while at or just below the boundary normally adopted for Li-rich giants. The observed anomalies may be indicators of the underlying process by which the giant has achieved its unusual Li abundance, with a recent mass transfer episode being the most probable within the currently limited constraints.

9 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for the Astronomical Journal

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