Open AccessThe multiple stellar population in ω Centauri: spatial distribution and structural properties
Author(s) -
Pancino E.,
Seleznev A.,
Ferraro F. R.,
Bellazzini M.,
Piotto G.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06981.x
Subject(s) - globular cluster , physics , astrophysics , metallicity , spatial distribution , population , stellar population , cluster (spacecraft) , astronomy , galaxy , geography , star formation , remote sensing , demography , sociology , computer science , programming language
We present a detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of the stellar populations in the Galactic globular cluster ω Centauri. Taking advantage of the large photometric catalogue published by Pancino et al., we confirm that metal‐rich populations have a spatial distribution which is significantly different from the metal‐poor dominant population. In particular (i) the different sub‐populations have different centroids and (ii) the metal‐poor population is elongated along the east–west direction, while the metal‐rich populations are oriented along the orthogonal direction, i.e. north–south. The evidence presented here can partially explain the weird spatial metallicity segregation found by Jurcsik, and further supports the hypothesis that different subpopulations in ω Centauri might have had different origins.