Issue |
A&A
Volume 586, February 2016
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A51 | |
Number of page(s) | 9 | |
Section | Galactic structure, stellar clusters and populations | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201527686 | |
Published online | 26 January 2016 |
GeMS MCAO observations of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 2808: the absolute age⋆
1
INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1,
40127
Bologna,
Italy
e-mail:
davide.massari@oabo.inaf.it
2
University of Groningen, Kapteyn Astronomical
Institute, 9747
AD
Groningen, The
Netherlands
3
Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Research Council
Canada, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC
V9E 2E7,
Canada
4
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma Tor
Vergata, via della Ricerca
Scientifca 1, 00133
Roma,
Italy
5
INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via Frascati
33, 00040
Monteporzio Catone,
Italy
6
INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, via Moiariello
16, 80131
Napoli,
Italy
7
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of
Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road,
Victoria, BC
V8P 5C2,
Canada
Received: 3 November 2015
Accepted: 9 December 2015
Context. Globular clusters are the oldest stellar systems in the Milky Way, and they probe the early epoch of the Galaxy formation. However, the uncertainties on their absolute age are still too large to soundly constrain how the Galactic structures have assembled.
Aims. The aim of this work is to obtain an accurate estimate of the absolute age of the globular cluster NGC 2808 using deep IR data obtained with the multi-conjugate adaptive optics system operating at the Gemini South telescope (GeMS).
Methods. This exquisite photometry, combined with that obtained in V and I-bands with HST, allowed us to detect the faint Main Sequence Knee feature in NGC 2808 colour magnitude diagram. The difference between this point and the main sequence turn-off is a good age estimator that provides ages with unprecedented accuracy.
Results. We find that NGC 2808 has an age of t = 10.9 ± 0.7 (intrinsic) ±0.45 (metallicity term) Gyr. A possible contamination by He-enhanced population could make the cluster up to 0.25 Gyr older. Although this age estimate agrees with the age coming from the classical turn-off method (t = 11.0 Gyr), its uncertainty is a factor ~3 better, since it avoids systematics in reddening, distance assumptions, and photometric zero point determination. The final absolute age indicates that NGC 2808 is slightly younger than other Galactic globular clusters with similar metallicity.
Key words: globular clusters: individual: NGC 2808 / instrumentation: adaptive optics / techniques: photometric
Tables of the photometry are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/586/A51
© ESO, 2016
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