Kron 3 : a fourth intermediate age cluster in the SMC with evidence of multiple populations

• We present the results of a spectroscopic study of the intermediate age (approximate to 6.5 Gyr) massive cluster Kron 3 in the Small Magellanic Cloud. We measure CN and CH band strengths (at similar or equal to 3839 and 4300 angstrom, respectively) using VLT FORS2 spectra of 16 cluster members and find a sub-population of five stars enriched in nitrogen. We conclude that this is evidence for multiple populations in Kron 3, the fourth intermediate age cluster, after Lindsay 1, NGC 416 and NGC 339 (ages 6-8 Gyr), to display this phenomenon originally thought to be a unique characteristic of old globular clusters. At approximate to 6.5 Gyr this is one of the youngest clusters with multiple populations, indicating that the mechanism responsible for their onset must operate until a redshift of at least 0.75, much later than the peak of globular cluster formation at redshift similar to 3.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Magellanic Clouds

galaxies: star clusters: individual: Kron 3

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)