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Discovery of Carbon/Oxygen-depleted Blue Straggler...
Journal article

Discovery of Carbon/Oxygen-depleted Blue Straggler Stars in 47 Tucanae: The Chemical Signature of a Mass Transfer Formation Process**Based on observations collected at the ESO-VLT (Cerro Paranal, Chile) under program 072.D-0337.

Abstract

We use high-resolution spectra obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope to measure surface abundance patterns of 43 blue straggler stars (BSSs) in 47 Tuc. We discovered that a subpopulation of BSSs shows a significant depletion of carbon and oxygen with respect to the dominant population. This evidence would suggest the presence of CNO burning products on the BSS surface coming from a deeply peeled parent star, as expected in the case of a mass transfer process. This is the first detection of a chemical signature clearly pointing to a specific BSS formation process in a globular cluster.

Authors

Ferraro FR; Sabbi E; Gratton R; Piotto G; Lanzoni B; Carretta E; Rood RT; Sills A; Pecci FF; Moehler S

Journal

The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 647, No. 1, pp. l53–l56

Publisher

American Astronomical Society

Publication Date

November 1, 2006

DOI

10.1086/507327

ISSN

0004-637X

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