A stellar census in globular clusters with MUSE. A new perspective on the multiple main sequences of $\omega$ Centauri

TL;DR

This study uses MUSE spectroscopy to analyze the metallicity distribution of main-sequence stars in $$ Cen, revealing that blue MS stars are slightly more metal-rich than red MS stars, providing new insights into the cluster's stellar populations.

Contribution

First spectroscopic metallicity measurements of main-sequence stars in $$ Cen, clarifying the metallicity difference between its multiple main sequences.

Findings

Blue MS stars are approximately 0.1 dex more metal-rich than red MS stars.

The two sequences can be modeled with the same age and metallicity but different helium content.

Metallicity estimates of five main populations align with previous photometric results.

Abstract

$\omega$ Cen is a rare example of a globular cluster where the iron abundance of the stars spans more than one order of magnitude. Many spectroscopic investigations of its red-giant- and sub-giant- branches have revealed multiple peaks in the iron abundance distribution. The metallicity distribution of main-sequence (MS) stars is not well characterized yet, due to the faintness of the stars and lack of data. So far, almost all studies of MS stars are based on photometric measurements. Our goal is to investigate the metallicity distribution of a statistically significant sample of MS stars in $\omega$ Cen. In particular, we aim at revisiting the metallicity difference between the red and blue MS of the cluster. We used MUSE spectra obtained for the central region of $\omega$ Cen to derive metallicities for $\approx$4200 MS stars. We find that blue MS stars are on average $\approx$0.1 dex more metal-rich than their red counterparts. On the basis of this new estimate, we find that the two sequences can be fit on the Hubble Space Telescope color-magnitude diagram with two isochrones having the same global metallicity and age but a higher helium abundance for the blue MS, that is $\Delta Y \lesssim$ 0.1. Furthermore, we determine the average metallicity of the five main populations along $\omega$ Cen MS and these estimates are consistent with expectations from previous photometric studies.