The metallicity spread and the age-metallicity relation of Omega Centauri

TL;DR

This study reveals multiple sub-populations within Omega Centauri with distinct metallicities and age spreads, suggesting a complex formation history involving mergers of primordial objects.

Contribution

It provides the most detailed age-metallicity relation for Omega Centauri, identifying at least six metallicity sub-populations and their age dispersions.

Findings

Metallicity distribution exceeds observational errors with multiple peaks.

At least half of the sub-populations have an age spread of over 2 Gyrs.

The age-metallicity relation suggests a merger origin involving separate primordial populations.

Abstract

Omega Centauri is a peculiar Globular Cluster formed by a complex stellar population. To shed light on this, we studied 172 stars belonging to the 5 SGBs that we can identify in our photometry, in order to measure their [Fe/H] content as well as estimate their age dispersion and the age-metallicity relation. The first important result is that all of these SGBs has a distribution in metallicity with a spread that exceeds the observational errors and typically displays several peaks that indicate the presence of several sub-populations. We were able to identified at least 6 of them based on their mean [Fe/H] content. These metallicity-based sub-populations are seen to varying extents in each of the 5 SGBs. Taking advantage of the age-sensitivity of the SGB we showed that, first of all, at least half of the sub-populations have an age spread of at least 2 Gyrs. Then we obtained an age-metallicity relation that is the most complete up to date for this cluster. The interpretation of the age-metallicity relation is not straightforward, but it is possible that the cluster (or what we can call its progenitor) was initially composed of two populations having different metallicities. Because of their age, it is very unlikely that the most metal-rich derives from the most metal-poor by some kind of chemical evolution process, so they must be assumed as two independent primordial objects or perhaps two separate parts of a single larger object, that merged in the past to form the present-day cluster.