The structural properties of multiple populations in the dynamically young globular cluster NGC 2419

TL;DR

This study analyzes the structural properties of multiple stellar populations in the young, massive globular cluster NGC 2419, revealing a centrally concentrated second population and a higher-than-expected fraction of first population stars, influenced by its dynamical history.

Contribution

First detailed analysis of multiple populations in NGC 2419 using combined HST and ground data, highlighting their spatial distribution and implications for cluster formation and evolution.

Findings

Second population stars are more centrally concentrated.

First population star fraction is higher than in typical Galactic GCs.

The cluster's properties suggest a history of weak tidal interactions and accretion from a dwarf galaxy.

Abstract

NGC 2419 is likely the globular cluster (GC) with the lowest dynamical age in the Galaxy. This makes it an extremely interesting target for studying the properties of its multiple populations (MPs), as they have been likely affected only modestly by long-term dynamical evolution effects. Here we present for the first time a detailed analysis of the structural and morphological properties of the MPs along the whole extension of this remote and massive GC by combining high-resolution HST and wide-field ground-based data. In agreement with formation models predicting that second population (SP) stars form in the inner regions of the first population (FP) system, we find that the SP is more centrally concentrated than the FP. This may provide constraints on the relative concentrations of MPs in the cluster early stages of the evolutionary phase driven by two-body relaxation. In addition, we find that the fraction of FP stars is larger than expected from the general trend drawn by Galactic GCs. If, as suggested by a number of studies, NGC 2419 formed in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy and was later accreted by the Milky Way, we show that the observed FP fraction may be explained as due to the transition of NGC 2419 to a weaker tidal field (its current Galactocentric distance is d_gc~95 kpc) and consequently to a reduced loss rate of FP stars.