Analysis of Red-Supergiants in VdBH 222

TL;DR

This study uses infrared spectroscopy to analyze Red Supergiants in the young massive cluster VdBH 222, providing chemical abundance measurements and insights into stellar populations in the inner Milky Way.

Contribution

First IR spectroscopic measurement of [Fe/H] for VdBH 222, revealing no evidence of multiple stellar populations in this young cluster.

Findings

[Fe/H] = -0.07±0.02 for VdBH 222

No evidence of multiple stellar populations in the cluster

Infrared spectroscopy effectively studies highly extincted young clusters

Abstract

Recent surveys uncovered new Young Massive Clusters (YMCs) that host dozens of Red Supergiants (RSGs) in the inner Milky Way. These clusters are ideal for studying the most recent and violent star formation events in the inner Galaxy. However, due to the high extinction that affects the Galactic plane, they need to be studied through infrared (IR) spectroscopy. IR spectra of RSGs have proven to be powerful tools for obtaining chemical abundances. We present the first [Fe$/$H] measurement ($-$0.07$\pm$0.02) for the YMC VdBH 222 through analysis of its RSGs using VLT/X-shooter spectra. We find no evidence for Multiple Stellar Populations (MSPs) in this YMC, contrary to what is routinely observed in older massive clusters.