NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2010B-0603
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2010B-0603 |
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PI: Katia Cunha, NOAO, kcunha@noao.edu
Address: NSSC, 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson 85719, US
CoI: Verne V. Smith, NOAO
Title: Chemical Evolution at the Edge of the Bar: Abundances at the base of the Scutum-Crux arm
Abstract:
Two massive clusters with an unprecedented red supergiant population
and located at the base of the Scutum-Crux arm have been identified by
Figer et al. (2006) and Davies et al. (2007). A third cluster was
recently discovered by Clark et al. (2009). These clusters contain the
largest numbers of red supergiants which formed in one star formation
event in the Milky Way similar to what would be seen in a starburst
galaxy. The combination of location and sample size makes these stars a
particularly useful tool with which to probe the chemistry at a key
position in the Galaxy -- namely the interface between the inner disk
and nuclear bar. We will obtain high-resolution infrared spectra of red
supergiants in order to determine quantitative abundances of a set of
elements that will allow us to characterize the chemical evolution that
has taken place in this poorly studied region of the Milky Way. The
chemical abundance distributions at the disk-bar interface can be
compared to the rest of the Galactic disk and provide important boundary
conditions on the behavior of metallicity gradients across the Galactic
disk and into the nuclear region.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2010B-0603 |
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