2001/10/30 by T. Bosler, Bosler, T., T. Smecker-Hane +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0110661
4 pages, 1 figure, to be published in "Observed HR diagrams and stellar evolution: the interplay between observational constraints and theory" (Coimbra, June, 2001) ASP Conf. Ser., 2001, T. Lejeune and J. Fernandes, eds
arxiv created 2001/10/30 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
How can we accurately determine the metallicity of faint red giant stars in nearby galaxies? The equivalent widths of the broad absorption lines from Ca II at 8498, 8542, and 8662 Angstrom (the calcium triplet) have shown a smooth relationship to metallicity, [Fe/H], in Galactic globular clusters, i.e., old, metal-poor stars. The exact relationship depends on the [Fe/H] scale assumed. The sensitivity of the sum of the equivalent widths, sumWCa II, to [Fe/H] has been well studied for metal-poor stars, but theory and observations show that sumWCa II will become less sensitive to [Fe/H] for young or metal-rich stars, but this needs to be calibrated. Built into the present calibration of sumWCa II to [Fe/H] is also a dependence on the Galactic [Ca/Fe] to [Fe/H] relationship, which is a function of the Galaxy's star formation history and chemical evolution. Our goal is to remove uncertainties in the [Fe/H] scale used in previous calibrations and remove the dependence on galactic evolution. We are obtaining high dispersion spectra to self-consistently calibrate the calcium triplet to give [Ca/H] abundances, and extend the current calibration to near-solar metallicities and to ages as young as 2 Gyr.