Terzan 5: An alternative interpretation for the split horizontal branch

Abstract

We consider the horizontal branch (HB) of the globular cluster Terzan 5, recently shown to be split into two parts, the fainter one (δMK ∼ 0.3 mag) having a lower metallicity than the more luminous. Both features show that it contains at least two stellar populations. The separation in magnitude has been ascribed to an age difference of ∼ 6 Gyr and interpreted as the result of an atypical evolutionary history for this cluster. We show that the observed HB morphology is also consistent with a model in which the bright HB is composed of second generation stars that are metal enriched and with a helium mass fraction larger (by δY ∼ 0.07) than that of first generation stars populating the fainter part of the HB. Terzan 5 would therefore be anomalous, compared to most "normal" clusters hosting multiple populations, only because its second generation is strongly contaminated by supernova ejecta; the previously proposed prolonged period of star formation, however, is not required. The iron enrichment of the bright HB can be ascribed either to contamination from Type Ia supernova ejecta of the low-iron, helium-rich, ejecta of the massive asymptotic giant branch stars of the cluster, or to its mixing with gas, accreting on the cluster from the environment, that has been subject to fast metal enrichment due to its proximity with the galactic bulge. The model proposed here requires only a small age difference of ∼ 100 Myr. © 2010 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.