Chemical tagging with APOGEE, MUSE, and HST: constraints on the formation of $\omega$ Centauri

Abstract

A plethora of evidence suggests that $\omega$ Centauri ($\omega$ Cen) is the nuclear star cluster of a galaxy that merged with the Milky Way in early times. We use APOGEE, Gaia, MUSE, and HST data supplemented by galaxy chemical evolution models to place constraints on the assembly and chemical enrichment history of $\omega$ Cen. The APOGEE data reveal three stellar populations occupying separate loci on canonical chemical planes. One population resembles metal-poor halo field stars (P1), a second shows light-element abundance anti-correlations typical of metal-poor globular clusters (IM), and a third population (P2) is characterised by an extreme "second-generation" abundance pattern. Both P1 and P2 populations cover a broad range of metallicity, consistent with extended histories of bursty star formation (SF), which is also evident from their light- and $\alpha$-element abundance patterns. Conversely, the IM stars exhibit a narrow metallicity spread, combined with the Al-Mg, Na-O, and C-N anti-correlations common to metal-poor Galactic globular clusters. Moreover, these three populations alone seem to account for the distribution of $\omega$ Cen stars in the chromosome map. We discuss these findings in context of a scenario according to which $\omega$ Cen formed by a combination of in situ SF within the host galaxy (P1), followed by the spiralling in of gas-rich globular clusters (IM), leading to another burst of SF (P2). We perform a robust comparison of the chemical composition of $\omega$ Cen with those of halo substructures well represented in APOGEE DR17, finding no chemical associations to a high confidence level.

arXiv commentSubmitted to MNRAS. 21 pages, containing 12 figures and 4 tables

References in corpus (111)

• SciPy 1.0--Fundamental Algorithms for Scientific Computing in Python
• The NumPy array: a structure for efficient numerical computation
• The Gaia mission
• The 2.5 m Telescope of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• SDSS-III: Massive Spectroscopic Surveys of the Distant Universe, the Milky Way Galaxy, and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems
• The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE)
• Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe
• The merger that led to the formation of the Milky Way's inner stellar halo and thick disk
• Star Formation Histories, Abundances and Kinematics of Dwarf Galaxies in the Local Group
• Co-formation of the Galactic disc and the stellar halo
• Galactic chemical evolution: Carbon through Zinc
• The MUSE second-generation VLT instrument
• The GALAH Survey: Scientific Motivation
• Multiple populations in globular clusters. Lessons learned from the Milky Way globular clusters
• ASPCAP: The Apogee Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundances Pipeline
• Intrinsic iron spread and a new metallicity scale for Globular Clusters
• Multiple Stellar Populations in Globular Clusters
• Na-O Anticorrelation and HB. VIII. Proton-capture elements and metallicities in 17 globular clusters from UVES spectra
• Debris streams in the solar neighbourhood as relicts from the formation of the Milky Way
• A catalogue of masses, structural parameters and velocity dispersion profiles of 112 Milky Way globular clusters
• LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) The survey science plan
• Evidence for Two Early Accretion Events That Built the Milky Way Stellar Halo
• APOGEE Data and Spectral Analysis from SDSS Data Release 16: Seven Years of Observations Including First Results from APOGEE-South
• The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. IX. The Atlas of Multiple Stellar Populations
• The Data Reduction Pipeline for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment
• Origin of the system of globular clusters in the Milky Way
• Abundances, Stellar Parameters, and Spectra From the SDSS-III/APOGEE Survey
• Explosive yields of massive stars from Z=0 to Z=Zsun
• Nuclear Star Clusters
• The formation and assembly history of the Milky Way revealed by its globular cluster population
• Multiple Stellar Populations in the Globular Cluster omega Centauri as Tracers of a Merger Event
• Formation of omega Centauri from an ancient nucleated dwarf galaxy in the young Galactic disc
• In disguise or out of reach: first clues about in-situ and accreted stars in the stellar halo of the Milky Way from Gaia DR2
• Chemical Abundances for 855 Giants in the Globular Cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139)
• The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. V. Constraints on Formation Scenarios
• The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) Spectrographs
• The origin of accreted stellar halo populations in the Milky Way using APOGEE, $\text{Gaia}$, and the EAGLE simulations
• APOGEE Data Releases 13 and 14: Data and Analysis
• The nucleus of the Sagittarius dSph galaxy and M54: a window on the process of galaxy nucleation
• Evidence from APOGEE for the presence of a major building block of the halo buried in the inner Galaxy
• Using chemical tagging to redefine the interface of the Galactic disk and halo
• From dawn till disk: Milky Way's turbulent youth revealed by the APOGEE+Gaia data
• New evidence for the complex struscture of the RGB of Omega Cen
• Chemical tagging with APOGEE: Discovery of a large population of N-rich stars in the inner Galaxy
• The age-metallicity structure of the Milky Way disk
• Reverse engineering the Milky Way
• Homogeneous Analysis of Globular Clusters from the APOGEE Survey with the BACCHUS Code. II. The Southern Clusters and Overview
• Abundances in giant stars of the globular cluster NGC 6752
• Sodium-oxygen anticorrelation and neutron capture elements in Omega Centauri stellar populations
• APOGEE Chemical Abundance Patterns of the Massive Milky Way Satellites
• Exploring Anticorrelations and Light Element Variations in Northern Globular Clusters Observed by the APOGEE Survey
• The Gaia-ESO Survey. Mg-Al anti-correlation in iDR4 globular clusters
• Ages and kinematics of chemically selected, accreted Milky Way halo stars
• Disentangling the Galactic Halo with APOGEE: I. Chemical and Kinematical Investigation of Distinct Metal-Poor Populations
• The chemical characterisation of halo substructure in the Milky Way based on APOGEE
• Chemical Cartography with APOGEE: Multi-element abundance ratios
• Abundances for metal-poor stars with accurate parallaxes II. alpha-elements in the halo
• The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. II. The seven stellar populations of NGC7089 (M2)
• Ultra compact dwarf galaxy formation by tidal stripping of nucleated dwarf galaxies
• Effect of galaxy mergers on star formation rates
• The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. XIX. A Chemical Tagging of the Multiple Stellar Populations Over the Chromosome Maps
• The Lazy Giants: APOGEE Abundances Reveal Low Star Formation Efficiencies in the Magellanic Clouds
• Equilibrium and Sudden Events in Chemical Evolution
• Weighing the stellar constituents of the Galactic halo with APOGEE red giant stars
• Contribution of stripped nuclear clusters to globular cluster and ultra-compact dwarf galaxy populations
• The origin of diverse $\alpha$-element abundances in galaxy discs
• The Chemical Compositions of Accreted and {\it in situ} Galactic Globular Clusters According to SDSS/APOGEE
• A Sequoia in the Garden: FSR 1758 - Dwarf Galaxy or Giant Globular Cluster?
• APOGEE Chemical Abundances of Globular Cluster Giants in the Inner Galaxy
• A homogeneous analysis of globular clusters from the APOGEE survey with the BACCHUS code. I. The Northern clusters
• APOGEE Chemical Abundances of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy
• Reconstructing the Disrupted Dwarf Galaxy $Gaia$-Sausage/Enceladus Using its Stars and Globular Clusters
• The metallicity spread and the age-metallicity relation of Omega Centauri
• Chemical tagging of three distinct populations of red giants in the globular cluster NGC 6752
• The Accreted Nuclear Clusters of the Milky Way
• Metallicity and $\alpha$-element Abundance Gradients along the Sagittarius Stream as Seen by APOGEE
• A deep view into the nucleus of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy with MUSE. I. Data and stellar population characterization
• Nitrogen enrichment and clustered star formation at the dawn of the Galaxy
• The Evolution of Oxygen and Magnesium in the Bulge and Disk of the Milky Way
• Diversity of nuclear star cluster formation mechanisms revealed by their star formation histories
• The HST Large Program on Omega Centauri. I. Multiple stellar populations at the bottom of the main sequence probed in NIR-Optical
• The Relationship Between Globular Cluster Mass, Metallicity, and Light Element Abundance Variations
• Chemodynamics of newly identified giants with globular cluster like abundance patterns in the bulge, disk, and halo of the Milky Way
• BACCHUS Analysis of Weak Lines in APOGEE Spectra (BAWLAS)
• Chemical abundances of hydrostatic and explosive alpha-elements in Sagittarius stream stars
• The contribution of N-rich stars to the Galactic stellar halo using APOGEE red giants
• Chemical Cartography with APOGEE: Mapping Disk Populations with a Two-Process Model and Residual Abundances
• Galactic chemical enrichment with new metallicity dependent yields
• Birth of the Galactic Disk Revealed by the H3 Survey
• A Comparative Analysis of the Chemical Compositions of Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage and Milky Way Satellites using APOGEE
• A deep view into the nucleus of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy with MUSE. II. Kinematic characterization of the stellar populations
• A spectroscopic study of the Globular Cluster NGC 4147
• Chemical characterization of the globular cluster NGC 5634 associated to the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy
• Homogeneous Analysis of Globular Clusters from the APOGEE Survey with the BACCHUS Code $-$ III. $\omega$ Cen
• Formation of central massive objects via tidal compression
• Exploring the s-process history in the Galactic disk: Cerium abundances and gradients in Open Clusters from the OCCAM/APOGEE sample
• oMEGACat I: MUSE spectroscopy of 300,000 stars within the half-light radius of $\omega$ Centauri
• The GALAH Survey: Chemically tagging the Fimbulthul stream to the globular cluster $\omega$ Centauri
• Aluminum abundances of multiple stellar generations in the globular cluster NGC 1851
• MgAl burning chain in Omega Centauri
• Non-explosive hydrogen and helium burnings: Abundance predictions from the NACRE reaction rate compilation
• Confirming the intrinsic abundance spread in the globular cluster NGC 6273 (M 19) with calcium triplet spectroscopy
• An enquiry on the origins of N-rich stars in the inner Galaxy basedon APOGEE chemical compositions
• A Deep View into the Nucleus of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy with MUSE. III. Discrete multi-component population-dynamical models based on the Jeans equations
• Abundance ties: Nephele and the globular cluster population accreted with $\omega$ Cen. Based on APOGEE DR17 and Gaia EDR3
• APOGEE Detection of N-rich stars in the tidal tails of Palomar 5
• Studying stellar populations in Omega Centauri with phylogenetics
• Realistic simulated galaxies form [$\alpha$/Fe]-[Fe/H] knees due to a sustained decline in their star formation rates
• The Metallicity Distribution Function of Omega Centauri
• Modelling the density and mass of the Milky Way's proto-galaxy components with $APOGEE$-$Gaia$
• oMEGACat. VIII. A Subpopulation Census of ω Centauri