A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
G2C2-IV.A novel approach to study the radial distributions of multiple populations in Galactic globular clusters
Authors: Vanderbeke J, De Propris R, De Rijcke S, Baes M, West M, Alonso-Garcia J, Kunder A
Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
Publication year: 2015
Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Journal name in source: MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Journal acronym: MON NOT R ASTRON SOC
Volume: 451
Issue: 1
First page : 275
Last page: 281
Number of pages: 7
ISSN: 0035-8711
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv928
We use the horizontal branch (HB) morphology of 48 Galactic globular clusters (GCs) to study the radial distributions of the different stellar populations known to exist in GCs. Assuming that the (extremely) blue HB stars correspond to stars enriched in helium and light elements, we compare the radial distributions of stars selected according to colour on the HB to trace the distribution of the secondary stellar populations in GCs. Unlike other cases, our data show that the populations are well mixed in 80 per cent of the cases studied. This provides some constraints on the mechanisms proposed to pollute the interstellar medium in young GCs.