Neutron-Capture Element Signatures in Globular Clusters: Insights from the Gaia-ESO Survey

Abstract

Globular clusters (GCs) are key to understanding the formation and evolution of our Galaxy. While the abundances of light and Fe-peak elements in GCs have been widely studied, investigations into heavier, neutron-capture elements -- and their connection to multiple stellar populations and GC origins -- remain limited. In this work, we analysed the chemical abundances of neutron-capture elements in GCs to trace the Galactic halo and to explore possible links to the MP phenomenon. Our goal is to better constrain the nature of the polluters responsible for intracluster enrichment and to distinguish the origin of GCs through the chemical signature of neutron-capture elements. We examined 14 GCs from the Gaia-ESO Survey, spanning a wide metallicity range, [Fe/H] from -0.40 to -2.32, using a homogeneous methodology. We focused on the abundances of Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Pr, and Eu, derived from FLAMES-UVES spectra. These were compared with predictions from a stochastic Galactic chemical evolution model. With the exception of Zr, the model broadly reproduces the observed trends in neutron-capture elements. In some GCs, we found strong correlations between hot H-burning products (Na, Al) and s-process elements, pointing to a shared nucleosynthesis site, e.g., asymptotic giant branch stars of different masses and/or fast-rotating massive stars. We also detect a distinct difference in [Eu/Mg] ratio between in-situ ($⟨$[Eu/Mg]$⟩$ = 0.14 dex) and ex-situ ($⟨$[Eu/Mg]$⟨$ = 0.32 dex) GCs, highlighting their different enrichment histories. Finally, on average, Type II GCs (NGC 362, NGC 1261, and NGC 1851) showed a s-process element spread ratio between second- and first-generations about twice as large as those seen in Type I clusters.

arXiv comment17 pages (11 main body + 6 Apprendix), 15 figures. Article accepted for publication A&A

References in corpus (77)

• The chemical composition of the Sun
• PARSEC: stellar tracks and isochrones with the PAdova and TRieste Stellar Evolution Code
• The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE)
• Origin of the Heaviest Elements: the Rapid Neutron-Capture Process
• Multiple Stellar Populations in Globular Clusters
• The Dawes Review 2: Nucleosynthesis and stellar yields of low and intermediate-mass single stars
• Na-O Anticorrelation and HB. VIII. Proton-capture elements and metallicities in 17 globular clusters from UVES spectra
• Presupernova evolution and explosive nucleosynthesis of rotating massive stars in the metallicity range -3 <=[Fe/H]<= 0
• Properties of stellar generations in Globular Clusters and relations with global parameters
• The Ages of 55 Globular Clusters as Determined Using an Improved delta V_TO^HB Method Along with Color-Magnitude Diagram Constraints, and Their Implications for Broader Issues
• Gaia EDR3 view on Galactic globular clusters
• The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. IX. The Atlas of Multiple Stellar Populations
• Predictions for self-pollution in globular cluster stars
• Origin of the system of globular clusters in the Milky Way
• Massive binaries as the source of abundance anomalies in globular clusters
• Evolution, nucleosynthesis and yields of low mass AGB stars at different metallicities (II): the FRUITY database
• The early star generations: the dominant effect of rotation on the CNO yields
• Collapsars as a major source of r-process elements
• The r-process nucleosynthesis in the various jet-like explosions of magnetorotational core-collapse supernovae
• What is a globular cluster? An observational perspective
• Galactic Globular Cluster Relative Ages. II
• Gaia-ESO Survey: The analysis of high-resolution UVES spectra of FGK-type stars
• Non-standard s process in low metallicity massive rotating stars
• The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey: Implementation, data products, open cluster survey, science, and legacy
• Europium production: neutron star mergers versus core-collapse supernovae
• Multiple stellar populations in the globular cluster NGC 1851
• An abundance analysis of bright giants in the globular cluster NGC 1851
• The Gaia-ESO Survey. Mg-Al anti-correlation in iDR4 globular clusters
• The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey: Motivation, implementation, GIRAFFE data processing, analysis, and final data products
• The role of neutron star mergers in the chemical evolution of the Galactic halo
• The GALAH survey: An abundance, age, and kinematic inventory of the solar neighbourhood made with TGAS
• The s-process in the Galactic halo: the fifth signature of spinstars in the early Universe?
• The Relative Ages of Galactic Globular Clusters
• An inhomogeneous model for the Galactic halo: a possible explanation for the spread observed in s- and r-process elements
• Explaining the Ba, Y, Sr, and Eu abundance scatter in metal-poor halo stars: constraints to the r-process
• The Gaia-ESO Survey: processing of the FLAMES-UVES spectra
• Ba stars and other binaries in first and second generation stars in globular clusters
• Absolute Ages of Globular Clusters and the Age of the Universe
• NGC 362: another globular cluster with a split red giant branch
• The extreme chemistry of multiple stellar populations in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 4833
• $R$-process enhancements of Gaia-Enceladus in GALAH DR3
• Ba & Eu Abundances in M15 giant stars
• The Gaia-ESO Survey: Kinematics of seven Galactic globular clusters
• The primordial and evolutionary abundance variations in globular-cluster stars: a problem with two unknowns
• The Gaia-ESO Survey: calibration strategy
• The Gaia-ESO Survey: Membership probabilities for stars in 63 open and 7 globular clusters from 3D kinematics
• The Gaia-ESO Survey: the origin and evolution of s-process elements
• Origin of neutron capture elements with the Gaia-ESO survey: the evolution of s- and r-process elements across the Milky Way
• The Gaia-ESO Survey: homogenisation of stellar parameters and elemental abundances
• Lithium abundances in red giants of M4: evidence for asymptotic giant branch star pollution in globular clusters?
• No Heavy Element Dispersion in the Globular Cluster M92
• The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters - XIV. Multiple stellar populations within M 15 and their radial distribution
• Cluster Ages to Reconstruct the Milky Way Assembly (CARMA) I. The final word on the origin of NGC6388 and NGC6441
• Constraints on stellar rotation from the evolution of Sr and Ba in the Galactic halo
• No evidence for multiple stellar populations in the low-mass Galactic globular cluster E 3
• Spectroscopy and photometry of the least-massive Type-II globular clusters: NGC1261 AND NGC6934
• Lithium abundances in globular cluster giants: NGC 6218 (M12) and NGC 5904 (M5)
• Chemical Evolution of R-process Elements in Stars (CERES). I. Stellar parameters and chemical abundances from Na to Zr
• On the serendipitous discovery of a Li-rich giant in the globular cluster NGC 362
• MINCE I. Presentation of the project and of the first year sample
• r-process Abundance Patterns in the Globular Cluster M92
• Young giants of intermediate mass Evidence of rotation and mixing
• CAPOS: The bulge Cluster APOgee Survey III. Spectroscopic Tomography of Tonantzintla 2
• APOGEE-2S Discovery of Light- and Heavy-Element Abundance Correlations in the Bulge Globular Cluster NGC 6380
• Chemical abundance analysis of red giant branch stars in the globular cluster E3
• NGC 1261: an $r$-process enhanced globular cluster from the Gaia-Enceladus event
• Peeking beneath the precision floor I: metallicity spreads and multiple elemental dispersions in the globular clusters NGC 288 and NGC 362
• The Gaia-ESO survey: placing constraints on the origin of r-process elements
• Gaia-ESO Survey: Detailed elemental abundances in red giants of the peculiar globular cluster NGC 1851
• Explaining the ${}^{12}\text{C}{/}^{13}\text{C}$ ratio in the Galactic halo: the contribution from shell mergers in primordial massive stars
• Modelling chemical clocks -- Theoretical evidences of the space and time evolution of [s/alpha] in the Galactic disc with Gaia-ESO survey
• The in situ origin of the globular cluster NGC 6388 from abundances of Sc, V, and Zn of a large sample of stars
• Lithium abundances as a tracer of AGB stars pollution in the globular cluster NGC 6752
• Globular cluster chemistry in fast rotating dwarf stars belonging to intermediate age open clusters
• The $Hubble$ Missing Globular Cluster Survey. I. Survey overview and the first precise age estimate for ESO452-11 and 2MASS-GC01
• MINCE III. Detailed chemical analysis of the UVES sample
• Neutron-capture elements in NGC 6752 multiple populations