Date of Award
8-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Legacy Department
Physics
Committee Chair/Advisor
King, Jeremy
Committee Member
Hartmann , Dieter
Committee Member
Brittain , Sean
Abstract
Three red giants were investigated within the open cluster IC 4756 using observations taken from the McDonald Observatory's 2.1m Otto Struve Telescope and the Sandiford Cassegrain Echelle Spectrometer (SES). Iron abundances were calculated for each star based on the equivalent widths of Fe I and Fe II lines measured using the line lists of Bubar and King (2010) and Schuler et al. (2005). Also derived were the basic atmospheric parameters: effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, and microturbulence. Her 35, Her 85, and Her 249 were found to have corresponding [Fe I/H] of 0.06 ± 0.04, -0.16 ± 0.03, and -0.16 ± 0.06 as derived from the neutral lines. These values, when compared to the results of other studies, suggest that the cluster has an overall metallicity within the solar to subsolar value. This would indicate IC 4756 as a slightly metal-poor object. The star Her 85 is also examined to determine if derived atmospheric parameters support the classification of more recent studies as a nonmember of the cluster. The studies base their decisions on its deviation in radial velocity from the cluster mean. It is concluded that there is little solid evidence to support the dismissal of Her 85 from metallicity studies of IC 4756 and present-day membership and proper motion studies with modern equipment are required to confirm or reject this theory.
Recommended Citation
Djordjevic, Julie, "Iron Abundances and Atmospheric Parameters of Red Giants in the Open Cluster IC 4756" (2013). All Theses. 1757.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/1757