Galactic globular clusters: Ideal laboratories to test stellar nucleosynthesis?

E-ISSN： 1638-1963|32|issue|369-393

ISSN： 1633-4760

Source： EAS Publications Series, Vol.32, Iss.issue, 2008-11, pp. : 369-393

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Abstract

Galactic globular cluster (GC) stars exhibit abundance patternswhich are not shared by their field counterparts, namely the well-documentedC-N, O-Na and Mg-Al anticorrelations. Recent observations provided compellingevidence that these abundance anomalies were already present in the intraclustergas from which the presently observed stars formed. A widely held hypothesisis that the gas was polluted early in the history of the GC by material processedthrough H-burning at high temperature and then lost by stars more massive than the observed long-lived stars.However the “polluters" have not been unambiguously identified yet.Most studies have focused on AGB stars, but rotating massive starspresent an interesting alternative.Here we critically analyse the pros and cons of both potential stellarpolluters. We discuss the constraints that the observational data bring onstellar nucleosynthesis and hydrodynamics as well as on nuclear reaction ratesand we try to answer to the following question:“Are GC ideal laboratories to test stellar nucleosynthesis and hydrodynamics?"