CN ANOMALIES IN THE HALO SYSTEM AND THE ORIGIN OF GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN THE MILKY WAY

Daniela Carollo, Sarah L. Martell, Timothy C. Beers, Ken C. Freeman
2013 Astrophysical Journal  
We explore the kinematics and orbital properties of a sample of red giants in the halo system of the Milky Way that are thought to have formed in globular clusters, based on their anomalously strong UV/blue CN bands. The orbital parameters of the CN-strong halo stars are compared to those of the inner- and outer-halo populations as described by Carollo et al., and to the orbital parameters of globular clusters with well-studied Galactic orbits. The CN-strong field stars and the globular
more » ... both exhibit kinematics and orbital properties similar to the inner-halo population, indicating that stripped or destroyed globular clusters could be a significant source of inner-halo field stars, and suggesting that both the CN-strong stars and the majority of globular clusters are primarily associated with this population.
doi:10.1088/0004-637x/769/2/87 fatcat:jhcf7dn3p5bpbhhbfq2s5hfwfe