Jason P. Smolinski

THE SEGUE STELLAR PARAMETER PIPELINE. IV. VALIDATION WITH AN EXTENDED SAMPLE OF GALACTIC GLOBULAR AND OPEN CLUSTERS

Spectroscopic and photometric data for likely member stars of five Galactic globular clusters (M3, M53, M71, M92, and NGC?5053) and three open clusters (M35, NGC?2158, and NGC?6791) are processed by the current version of the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline (SSPP), in order to determine estimates of metallicities and radial velocities (RVs) for the clusters. These results are then compared to values from the literature. We find that the mean metallicity ([Fe/H]) and mean radial velocity (RV) estimates for each cluster are almost all within 2? of the adopted literature values; most are within 1?. We also demonstrate that the new version of the SSPP achieves small, but noteworthy, improvements in [Fe/H] estimates at the extrema of the cluster metallicity range, as compared to a previous version of the pipeline software. These results provide additional confidence in the application of the SSPP for studies of the abundances and kinematics of stellar populations in the Galaxy.

Building the Galactic halo from globular clusters: evidence from chemically unusual red giants

We present a spectroscopic search for halo field stars that originally formed in globular clusters. Using moderate-resolution SDSSIII/SEGUE-2 spectra of 561 red giants with typical halo metallicities (−1.8 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤− 1.0), we identify 16 stars, 3% of the sample, with CN and CH bandstrength behavior indicating depleted carbon and enhanced nitrogen abundances relative to the rest of the data set. Since globular clusters are the only environment known in which stars form with this pattern of atypical light-element abundances, we claim that these stars are second-generation globular cluster stars that have been lost to the halo field via normal cluster massloss processes. Extrapolating from theoretical models of two-generation globular cluster formation, this result suggests that globular clusters contributed significant numbers of stars to the construction of the Galactic halo: we calculate that a minimum of 17% of the present-day mass of the stellar halo was originally formed in globular clusters. The ratio of CN-strong to CN-normal stars drops with Galactocentric distance, suggesting that the inner-halo population may be the primary repository of these stars.

A SURVEY OF CN AND CH VARIATIONS IN GALACTIC GLOBULAR CLUSTERS FROM SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY SPECTROSCOPY

We present a homogeneous survey of the CN and CH band strengths in eight Galactic globular clusters observed during the course of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration sub-survey of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We confirm the existence of a bimodal CN distribution among red giant branch (RGB) stars in all of the clusters with metallicity greater than [Fe/H] = -1.7; the lowest metallicity cluster with an observed CN bimodality is M53, with [Fe/H] {approx_equal} -2.1. There is also some evidence for individual CN groups on the subgiant branches of M92, M2, and M13, and on the RGBs of M92 and NGC 5053. Finally, we quantify the correlation between overall cluster metallicity and the slope of the CN band strength-luminosity plot as a means of further demonstrating the level of CN enrichment in cluster giants. Our results agree well with previous studies reported in the literature.

The Absolute Dimensions of the Overcontact Binary FI Bootis

UBVRCIC photometry of the W UMa eclipsing binary FI Bootis has been obtained and analyzed simultaneously with previously published photometry and radial velocities. The analysis of the light and radial velocity curves shows that the system is an A-type W UMa system consisting of stars with masses 0.82 and 0.31 M⊙.

Light Curves and Period Changes of Type II Cepheids in the Globular Clusters M3 and M5

Light curves in the B, V, and Ic passbands have been obtained for the type II Cepheids V154 in M3 and V42 and V84 in M5. Alternating cycle behavior, similar to that seen among RV Tauri variables, is confirmed for V84. Old and new observations, spanning more than a century, show that V154 has increased in period while V42 has decreased in period. V84, on the other hand, has shown large, erratic changes in period that do not appear to reflect the long-term evolution of V84 through the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram.