The Chemical Evolution of Helium in Globular Clusters: Implications for the Self‐Pollution Scenario Journal Articles uri icon

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abstract

  • We investigate the suggestion that there are stellar populations in some globular clusters with enhanced helium (Y from 0.28 to 0.40) compared to the primordial value. We assume that a previous generation of massive Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars have polluted the cluster. Two independent sets of AGB yields are used to follow the evolution of helium and CNO using a Salpeter initial mass function (IMF) and two top-heavy IMFs. In no case are we able to produce the postulated large Y ~ 0.35 without violating the observational constraint that the CNO content is nearly constant.

authors

publication date

  • December 2006