Population-Dependent r-process Scatter in the Globular Cluster M15

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Henderson, Lauren E., Gerasimov, Roman, Kirby, Evan N.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Henderson, Lauren E.
Gerasimov, Roman
Kirby, Evan N.
author_facet Henderson, Lauren E.
Gerasimov, Roman
Kirby, Evan N.
contents Multiple populations, defined by correlations between light element abundances, are an almost ubiquitous property of globular clusters. On the other hand, dispersions among the heavy elements are limited to a few rare clusters. In this letter, we present Mg, Y, Ba, La, and Eu measurements for 89 stars in M15 with errors < 0.4 dex from Keck/DEIMOS medium-resolution spectra. We find higher Ba, La, and Eu dispersions in the first generation of stars than in the second generation at a significance of $\ge$2 $σ$. This is evidence for inhomogeneous mixing of gas during the formation of the first generation of stars, which subsequently became well-mixed prior to the formation of the second generation of stars. If the r-process event that caused the abundance dispersions was born with the first population of stars, it must be an r-process site with a short delay time.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_16840
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Population-Dependent r-process Scatter in the Globular Cluster M15
Henderson, Lauren E.
Gerasimov, Roman
Kirby, Evan N.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Multiple populations, defined by correlations between light element abundances, are an almost ubiquitous property of globular clusters. On the other hand, dispersions among the heavy elements are limited to a few rare clusters. In this letter, we present Mg, Y, Ba, La, and Eu measurements for 89 stars in M15 with errors < 0.4 dex from Keck/DEIMOS medium-resolution spectra. We find higher Ba, La, and Eu dispersions in the first generation of stars than in the second generation at a significance of $\ge$2 $σ$. This is evidence for inhomogeneous mixing of gas during the formation of the first generation of stars, which subsequently became well-mixed prior to the formation of the second generation of stars. If the r-process event that caused the abundance dispersions was born with the first population of stars, it must be an r-process site with a short delay time.
title Population-Dependent r-process Scatter in the Globular Cluster M15
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.16840