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We have collected spectra of about 2000 red giant branch (RGB) stars in 19 Galactic globular clusters (GC) using FLAMES@VLT (about 100 stars with GIRAFFE and about 10 with UVES, respectively, in each GC). These observations provide an unprecedented, precise, and homogeneous data-set of Fe abundances in GCs. We use it to study the cosmic scatter of iron and find that, as far as Fe is concerned, most GCs can still be considered mono-metallic, since the upper limit to the scatter of iron is less than 0.05 dex, meaning that the degree of homogeneity is better than 12%. The scatter in Fe we find seems to have a dependence on luminosity, possibly due to the well-known inadequacies of stellar atmospheres for upper-RGB stars and/or to intrinsic variability. It also seems to be correlated with cluster properties, like the mass, indicating a larger scatter in more massive GCs which is likely a (small) true intrinsic scatter. The 19 GCs, covering the metallicity range of the bulk of Galactic GCs, define an accurate and updated metallicity scale. We provide transformation equations for a few existing scales. We also provide new values of [Fe/H], on our scale, for all GCs in the Harris catalogue.

We present abundances of Fe, Na, and O for 1409 red giant stars in 15 galactic globular clusters (GCs), derived from the homogeneous analysis of high-resolution FLAMES/GIRAFFE spectra. Combining the present data with results from our FLAMES/UVES spectra and from previous studies within the project, we obtained a total sample of 1958 stars in 19 clusters, the largest and most homogeneous database of this kind to date. The programme clusters cover a range in metallicity from [Fe/H] $= -2.4$dex to [Fe/H] $= -0.4$dex, with a wide variety of global parameters (morphology of the horizontal branch, mass, concentration, etc.). For all clusters we find the Na-O anticorrelation, the classical signature of the operation of proton-capture reactions in H-burning at high temperature in a previous generation of more massive stars that are now extinct. Using quantitative criteria (from the morphology and extension of the Na-O anticorrelation), we can define three different components of the stellar population in GCs. We separate a primordial component (P) of first-generation stars, and two components of second-generation stars, that we name intermediate (I) and extreme (E) populations from their different chemical composition. The P component is present in all clusters, and its fraction is almost constant at about one third. The I component represents the bulk of the cluster population. On the other hand, E component is not present in all clusters, and it is more conspicuous in some (but not in all) of the most massive clusters. We discuss the fractions and spatial distributions of these components in our sample and in two additional clusters (M 3 = NGC 5272 and M 13 = NGC6205) with large sets of stars analysed in the literature. We also find that the slope of the anti-correlation (defined by the minimum O and maximum Na abundances) changes from cluster-to-cluster, a change that is represented well by a bilinear relation on cluster metallicity and luminosity. This second dependence suggests a correlation between average mass of polluters and cluster mass.

We present abundances of Fe, Na, and O for 1409 red giant stars in 15?galactic globular clusters (GCs), derived from the homogeneous analysis of high-resolution FLAMES/GIRAFFE spectra. Combining the present data with results from our FLAMES/UVES spectra and from previous studies within the project, we obtained a total sample of 1958 stars in 19?clusters, the largest and most homogeneous database of this kind to date. The programme clusters cover a range in metallicity from [Fe/H] = -2.4?dex to [Fe/H] = -0.4?dex, with a wide variety of global parameters (morphology of the horizontal branch, mass, concentration, etc.). For all clusters we find the Na-O anticorrelation, the classical signature of the operation of proton-capture reactions in H-burning at high temperature in a previous generation of more massive stars that are now extinct. Using quantitative criteria (from the morphology and extension of the Na-O anticorrelation), we can define three different components of the stellar population in GCs. We separate a primordial component?(P) of first-generation stars, and two components of second-generation stars, that we name intermediate?(I) and extreme?(E) populations from their different chemical composition. The P component is present in all clusters, and its fraction is almost constant at about one third. The I?component represents the bulk of the cluster population. On the other hand, E?component is not present in all clusters, and it is more conspicuous in some (but not in all) of the most massive clusters. We discuss the fractions and spatial distributions of these components in our sample and in two additional clusters (M?3?=?NGC?5272 and M?13?=?NGC6205) with large sets of stars analysed in the literature. We also find that the slope of the anti-correlation (defined by the minimum?O and maximum Na?abundances) changes from cluster-to-cluster, a change that is represented well by a bilinear relation on cluster metallicity and luminosity. This second dependence suggests a correlation between average mass of polluters and cluster mass.

Context. Determining the metal content of low-mass members of young associations provides a tool that addresses different issues, such as triggered star formation or the link between the metal-rich nature of planet-host stars and the early phases of planet formation. The Orion complex is a well known example of possible triggered star formation and is known to host a rich variety of proto-planetary disks around its low-mass stars. Available metallicity measurements yield discrepant results.Aims. We analyzed FLAMES/UVES and Giraffe spectra of low-mass members of three groups/clusters belonging to the Orion association. Our goal is the homogeneous determination of the metallicity of the sample stars, which allows us to look for [Fe/H] differences between the three regions and for the possible presence of metal-rich stars. Methods. Nine members of the ONC and one star each in the ??Ori cluster and OB1b subgroup were analyzed. After the veiling determination, we retrieved the metallicity by means of equivalent widths and/or spectral synthesis using MOOG.Results. We obtain an average metallicity for the ONC [Fe/H] =-0.01?0.04. No metal-rich stars were detected and the dispersion within our sample is consistent with measurement uncertainties. The metallicity of the ??Ori member is also solar, while the OB1b star has an [Fe/H] significantly below the ONC average. If confirmed by additional [Fe/H] determinations in the OB1b subgroup, this result would support the triggered star formation and the self-enrichment scenario for the Orion complex.

Context. Galactic open clusters have been long recognized as one of the best tools to investigate the chemical content of Galactic disk and its time evolution. In the last decade, many efforts have been directed to chemically characterize the old and intermediate age population; surprisingly, the chemical content of the younger and close counterpart remains largely undetermined.Aims. In this paper we present the abundance analysis of a sample of 15?G/K members of the young pre-main sequence clusters IC?2602 and IC?2391. Along with IC?4665, these are the first pre-main sequence clusters for which a detailed abundance determination has been carried out so far.Methods. We analyzed high-resolution, high S/N spectra acquired with different instruments (UVES and CASPEC at ESO, and the echelle spectrograph at CTIO), using MOOG and equivalent width measurements. Along with metallicity ([Fe/H]), we measured Na?i, Si?i, Ca?i, Ti?i and Ti?ii, and Ni?i abundances. Stars cooler than ~5500 show lower Ca?i, Ti?i, and Na?i than warmer stars. By determining Ti?ii abundances, we show that, at least for Ti, this effect is due to NLTE and over-ionization.Results. We find average metallicities [Fe/H] =?0 ? 0.01 and [Fe/H]?=?-0.01 ? 0.02 for IC?2602 and IC?2391, respectively. All the [X/Fe] ratios show a solar composition; the accurate measurements allow us to exclude the presence of star-to-star scatter among the members.

One previously trained observer assessed skeletal maturity in a representative sample of 388 and 387 healthy girls and boys respectively from La Plata city, a predominantly university and administrative urban centre in Argentina. The staging system used was TWII and the scores were calculated from three sources: British, Spanish and Italian standards. Our sample showed a marked advancement in bone age with regard to chronological age when using British standards and, to a lesser extent, when applying the Spanish standards. Local mean bone ages were very similar to chronological ages when the Italian scores were used. Second-degree polynomials were adjusted to log10 scores for boys and girls, in order to obtain local values for bone age (BA) transformations. The same staging system should be used in clinical work in Argentina, with the corresponding changes in BA trans-formations. A marked advancement of carpal BAs with regard to RUS BAs was found, from age 5 onwards, in both sexes. Mean differences and SD of RUS-minus-carpal BA were 1·28, SD 1·08 and 1·18, SD 1·09 years for girls and boys respectively. These differences have not been described before, and require further investigation.

We observed two main sequence stars in the globular cluster NGC 2808, using X‐shooter. We selected one of the targets on the blue main sequence (bMS) and one on the red main sequence (rMS) and measured abundances for several light elements that are expected to be different in stars of first and second generations in globular clusters. The differences between the bMS and the rMS stars amply exceed the errors and is in agreement with a difference in products of hydrogen burning at high temperature. More data are required to put the findings on more solid basis and to try to distinguish between the different models proposed to explain the formation of globular clusters (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

We discuss a variety of photometric indices assembled from the uvbyStrömgren system. Our aim is to examine the pros and cons of the various indices to find the most suitable one(s) for studying the properties of multiple populations in the globular clusters (GCs) discovered by spectroscopy. We explore in particular the capabilities of indices like m1and cyat different metallicities. We define a new index δ4= (u− v) − (b− y) to separate first and second stellar generations in GCs of any metal abundance, since it keeps the sensitivity to multiple stellar populations over the full metallicity range and at the same time minimizes the sensitivity to photometric errors. We detect clear differences in the red giant branches of the GCs examined, such as skewness or bi/multimodality in color distribution. We connect the photometric information with the spectroscopic results on the O and Na abundances we obtained in our survey of GCs. Finally, we compute the effects of different chemical composition on the Strömgren filters and indices using synthetic spectra.

ωCentauri, the largest globular cluster of the Milky Way, is composed of several stellar populations, which can be seen in both photometry and spectroscopy. The history of how these different populations assembled will allow us to reconstruct the evolution of this complex object. In particular, understanding the detailed chemical evolution will be particularly illuminating. However, this is not easy because of the errors intrinsic to abundance determinations. We performed a statistical cluster analysis on the large data set of accurate abundances recently provided for about 800 red giant branch stars. We find that stars in ωCen divide into three main groups. The metal-poor group includes about a third of the total. It shows a moderate O-Na anticorrelation, and similar to other clusters, the O-poor second generation stars are more centrally concentrated than the O-rich first generation ones. This whole population is La-poor, with a pattern of abundances for n-capture elements that is very close to a scaled r-process one. The metal-intermediate group includes the majority of the cluster stars. This is a much more complex population, with an internal spread in the abundances of most elements. It shows an extreme O-Na anticorrelation, with a very numerous population of extremely O-poor and He-rich second generation stars. This second generation is very centrally concentrated. This whole population is La-rich, with a pattern of the abundances of n-capture elements that shows a strong contribution by the s-process. The spread in metallicity within this metal-intermediate population is not very large, and we can attribute it either to non-uniformities of an originally very extended star-forming region, or to some ability to retain a fraction of the ejecta of the core-collapse SNe that exploded first, or both. As previously noticed, the metal-rich group has an Na-O correlation rather than anticorrelation. There is evidence for the contribution of both massive stars ending their life as core-collapse SNe, and intermediate/low mass stars, producing the s-capture elements. Kinematics of this population suggests that it formed within the cluster rather than being accreted.

Context.In the complex picture of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters (GCs), a special role is played by NGC 5139 (ωCentauri). At variance with the majority of GCs, ωCen exhibits significant star-to-star variations in metallicity and in relative neutron-capture element abundance ratios with respect to Fe, along with split evolutionary sequences as revealed from colour–magnitude diagrams. Combining information from photometry and spectroscopy, several studies suggested that an age spread of several Gyr has to be invoked to explain (at least partially) some of the observed features. However, a comprehensive understanding of the formation, evolution and chemical enrichment processes is still not at hand.

Globular clusters have been recognized to host multiple stellar populations. A spectacular example of this is the massive cluster NGC 2808, where multiple populations have been found along the horizontal branch (HB) and the main sequence (MS). Studies of red giants showed that this cluster appears homogeneous insofar Fe abundance is concerned, but it shows an extended anticorrelation between Na and O abundances. The Na-poor, O-rich population can be identified with the red MS, and the Na-rich, O-poor one with the blue one. This may be understood in terms of different He content, He being correlated with Na. A prediction of this scenario is that He-rich, Na-rich He-core burning stars, because they are less massive, will end up on the bluer part of the HB, while He-poor, Na-poor stars will reside on the red HB. The aim of this paper is to verify this prediction. To this purpose, we acquired high-resolution spectra of regions including strong O and Na lines in several tens of HB stars of NGC 2808, sampling both the red and blue parts of the HB. We limited our analysis to those blue HB stars cooler than the gap at 11 500 K, because diffusion and radiative pressure are known to strongly modify the atmospheric composition of warmer stars. We indeed found a strict correspondence between the colour of the HB stars and their Na and O abundances: all blue HB stars are very O-poor and Na-rich. In addition, we found that while all the red HB stars are more O-rich and Na-poor than the blue ones, there is a moderate Na-O anticorrelation among them as well. This anticorrelation is in turn related to the colour of the red HB stars. These results reinforce the connection between Na and O abundances and the second parameter phenomenon, and show that there are more than three stellar populations in NGC 2808 because only a fraction of the red HB stars belong to the primordial population of this cluster.

We present a detailed chemical tagging of individual stellar populations in the Galactic globular cluster (GC) NGC 1851. Abundances are derived from FLAMES spectra for the largest sample of giants (124) and the most extensive number of elements ever analysed in this peculiar GC. The chemistry is characterised using homogeneous abundances of proton-capture (O, Na, Mg, Al, Si), α-capture (Ca, Ti), Fe-peak (Sc, V, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu), and neutron-capture elements (Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Eu, Dy). We confirm the presence of an [Fe/H] spread larger than the observational errors in this cluster, but too small to clearly separate different sub-populations. We instead propose a classification scheme using a combination of Fe and Ba (which is much more abundant in the more metal-rich group) by means of a cluster analysis. With this approach, we separated stars into two components of a metal-rich (MR) and a metal-poor (MP) population. Each component displays a Na-O anticorrelation, which is a signature of a genuine GC, but has different ratios of primordial (FG) to polluted (SG) stars. Moreover, clear (anti)correlations of Mg and Si with Na and O are found for each component. The level of [α/H] tracks iron and is higher in the MR population, which might therefore have received an additional contribution from core-collapse supernovae. When considering all s-process elements, the MR population shows a larger enrichment than the MP one. This is probably due to the contribution of intermediate-low mass stars, because we find that the level of heavy s-process elements is higher than that of light s-process nuclei in the MR stars; however, a large contribution from low mass stars is unlikely, because it would likely cancel the O-Na anticorrelation. Finally, we confirm the presence of correlations between the amount of proton-capture elements and the level of s-process elements previously found by other investigations, at least for the MR population. This finding apparently requires a quite long delay for the second generation of the MR component. Scenarios for the formation of NGC 1851 appear complex, and are not yet well understood. A merger of two distinct GCs in a parent dwarf galaxy, each cluster with a different Ba level and an age difference of  ~1 Gyr, might explain (i) the double subgiant branch; (ii) a possible difference in C content between the two original GCs; and (iii) the Strömgren photometry of this peculiar cluster. However, the correlation existing between p-capture and n-capture elements within the MR population requires the additional assumption of a long delay for its second generation. More observations are required to fully understand the formation of this GC.

Context.HD 61005 is a nearby young solar type star that shows a large infrared excess due to a debris disk. The disk has been recently imaged from ground and space, with indications of several components. Some characteristics of the disk suggest the presence of planetary companions around the star, that remain undetected in deep adaptive optics imaging.

Context.The Taurus-Auriga association is perhaps the most famous prototype of a low-mass star forming region, surveyed at almost all wavelengths. Unfortunately, like several other young clusters/associations, this T association lacks an extensive abundance analysis determination.

Recent surveys confirm early results about a deficiency or even absence of CN-strong stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) of globular clusters (GCs), although with quite large cluster-to-cluster variations. In general, this is at odds with the distribution of CN band strengths among first ascent red giant branch (RGB) stars. Norris et al. proposed that the lack of CN-strong stars in some clusters is a consequence of a smaller mass of these stars that cannot evolve through the full AGB phase. In this short paper we found that the relative frequency of AGB stars can change by a factor of two between different clusters. We also find a very good correlation between the minimum mass of stars along the horizontal branch (Gratton et al. 2010, A&A, 517, A81) and the relative frequency of AGB stars, with a further dependence on metallicity. We conclude that indeed the stars with the smallest mass on the HB cannot evolve through the full AGB phase, being AGB-manqué. These stars likely had large He and N content, and large O-depletion. We then argue that there should not be AGB stars with extreme O depletion, and few of them with a moderate one.

We study the radial distribution of stars from different stellar generations in the globular cluster NGC 3201. From recently published multicolour photometry, a radial dependence of the location of stars on the giant branch was found. We coupled the photometric information to our sample of 100 red giants with Na, O abundances and with known classification as first or second-generation stars. We find that giants stars of the second generation in NGC 3201 show a tendency to be more centrally concentrated than stars of the first generation, supporting less robust results from our spectroscopic analysis.

The stars in a globular cluster (GC) have always been considered coeval and of the same metallicity. Recently, this assumption has been challenged on the basis of spectroscopic and photometric observations, which show various generations of stars in GCs, differing in the abundances of products of H-burning at high temperatures. The main final product of this burning is He. It is then important to study the connections between stars properties and He content. We consider here the nearly 1400 stars on the red giant branch (RGB) observed with FLAMES@VLT in 19 Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs) in the course of our project on the Na-O anticorrelation. Stars with different He are expected to have different temperatures (i.e., different colours), slightly different metallicities [Fe/H], and different luminosity levels of the RGB bump. All these differences are small, but our study has the necessary precision, good statistics, and homogeneity to detect them. Besides considering the observed colours and the temperatures and metallicities determined in our survey, we computed suitable sets of stellar models – fully consistent with those present in the BaSTI archive – for various assumptions about the initial He content. We find that differences in observable quantities that can be attributed to variations in He content are generally detectable between stars of the primordial (P, first-generation) and extreme (E, second-generation) populations, but not between the primordial and intermediate ones (I). The only exception, where differences are also significant between P and I populations, is the cluster NGC 2808, where three populations are clearly separated also on the main sequence and possibly on the horizontal branch. The average enhancement in the He mass fraction Ybetween P and E stars is about 0.05–0.11, depending on the assumptions. The differences in Y, for NGC 2808 alone, are about 0.11–0.14 between P and I stars, and about 0.15–0.19 between P and E stars, again depending on the assumptions. When we consider the RGB bump luminosity of first and second-generation stars we find different levels; the implied Ydifference is more difficult to quantify, but agrees with the other determinations.

We study the radial distribution of stars from different stellar generations in the globular cluster NGC 3201. From recently published multicolour photometry, a radial dependence of the location of stars on the giant branch was found. We coupled the photometric information to our sample of 100 red giants with Na, O abundances and with known classification as first or second-generation stars. We find that giants stars of the second generation in NGC 3201 show a tendency to be more centrally concentrated than stars of the first generation, supporting less robust results from our spectroscopic analysis.

The stars in a globular cluster (GC) have always been considered coeval and of the same metallicity. Recently, this assumption has been challenged on the basis of spectroscopic and photometric observations, which show various generations of stars in GCs, differing in the abundances of products of H-burning at high temperatures. The main final product of this burning is He. It is then important to study the connections between stars properties and He content. We consider here the nearly 1400 stars on the red giant branch (RGB) observed with FLAMES@VLT in 19 Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs) in the course of our project on the Na-O anticorrelation. Stars with different He are expected to have different temperatures (i.e., different colours), slightly different metallicities [Fe/H], and different luminosity levels of the RGB bump. All these differences are small, but our study has the necessary precision, good statistics, and homogeneity to detect them. Besides considering the observed colours and the temperatures and metallicities determined in our survey, we computed suitable sets of stellar models – fully consistent with those present in the BaSTI archive – for various assumptions about the initial He content. We find that differences in observable quantities that can be attributed to variations in He content are generally detectable between stars of the primordial (P, first-generation) and extreme (E, second-generation) populations, but not between the primordial and intermediate ones (I). The only exception, where differences are also significant between P and I populations, is the cluster NGC 2808, where three populations are clearly separated also on the main sequence and possibly on the horizontal branch. The average enhancement in the He mass fraction Ybetween P and E stars is about 0.05–0.11, depending on the assumptions. The differences in Y, for NGC 2808 alone, are about 0.11–0.14 between P and I stars, and about 0.15–0.19 between P and E stars, again depending on the assumptions. When we consider the RGB bump luminosity of first and second-generation stars we find different levels; the implied Ydifference is more difficult to quantify, but agrees with the other determinations.

Homogeneous abundances of light elements, α-elements, and Fe-group elements from high-resolution FLAMES spectra are presented for 76 red giant stars in NGC 6715 (M 54), a massive globular cluster (GC) lying in the nucleus of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. We also derived detailed abundances for 27 red giants belonging to the Sgr nucleus. Our abundances measure the intrinsic metallicity dispersion (~0.19 dex, rms scatter) of M 54, with the bulk of stars peaking at [Fe/H] ~ -1.6 and a long tail extending to higher metallicities, similar to ωCen. The spread in these probable nuclear star clusters exceeds those of most GCs: these massive clusters are located in a region intermediate between normal GCs and dwarf galaxies. The GC M 54 exibits a Na-O anticorrelation, a typical signature of GCs, which is instead absent for the Sgr nucleus. The light elements (Mg, Al, Si) participating in the high temperature Mg-Al cycle show that the entire pattern of (anti)correlations produced by proton-capture reactions in H-burning is clearly different between the most metal-rich and most metal-poor components in the two most massive GCs in the Galaxy, confirming early results based on the Na-O anticorrelation. As in ωCen, stars affected by most extreme processing, i.e. showing the signature of more massive polluters, are those of the metal-rich component. These observations can be understood if the burst of star formation giving birth to the metal-rich component was delayed by as much as 10–30 Myr with respect to the metal-poor one. The evolution of these massive GCs can be easily reconciled in the general scenario for the formation of GCs sketched previously by ourselves, taking into account that ωCen may have already incorporated the surrounding nucleus of its progenitor and lost the remainder of the hosting galaxy while the two are still observable as distinct components in M 54 and the surrounding field.

Context. The second parameter (the first being metallicity) defining the distribution of stars on the horizontal branch (HB) of globular clusters (GCs) has long been one of the major open issues in our understanding of the evolution of normal stars. Large photometric and spectroscopic databases are now available: they include large and homogeneous sets of colour-magnitude diagrams, cluster ages, and homogeneous data about chemical compositions from our FLAMES survey.Aims. We use these databases to re-examine this issue.Methods. We use the photometric data to derive median and extreme (i.e., the values including 90% of the distribution) colours and magnitudes of stars along the HB for about a hundred GCs. We transform these into median and extreme masses of stars on the HB, using the models developed by the Pisa group, and taking into account evolutionary effects. We compare these masses with those expected at the tip of the red giant branch (RGB) to derive the total mass lost by the stars.Results. We find that a simple linear dependence on metallicity of this total mass lost describes quite well the median colours of HB stars. Assuming this mass loss law to be universal, we find that age is the main second parameter, determining many of the most relevant features related to HBs. In particular, it allows us to explain the Oosterhoff dichotomy as a consequence of the peculiar age-metallicity distribution of GCs in our Galaxy, although both Oosterhoff groups have GCs spanning a rather wide range of ages. However, at least an additional – third – parameter is clearly required. The most likely candidate is the He abundance, which might be different in GC stars belonging to the different stellar generations whose presence was previously derived from the Na-O and Mg-Al anticorrelations. Variations in the median He abundance allow us to explain the extremely blue HB of GCs like NGC 6254 (=M 10) and NGC 1904 (=M 79); such variations are found to be (weakly) correlated with the values of the R-parameter (that is the ratio of the number of stars on the HB and on the RGB). We also show that suitable He abundances allow deriving ages from the HB which are consistent with those obtained from the Main Sequence. Small corrections to these latter ages are then proposed. We find that a very tight age-metallicity relation (with a scatter below 4%) can be obtained for GCs kinematically related to the disk and bulge, once these corrections are applied. Furthermore, star-to-star variations in the He content, combined with a small random term, explain very well the extension of the HB. There is a strong correlation between this extension and the interquartile of the Na-O anticorrelation, strongly supporting the hypothesis that the third parameter for GC HBs is He. Finally, there are strong indications that the main driver for these variations in the He-content within GCs is the total cluster mass. There are a few GCs exhibiting exceptional behaviours (including NGC 104=47 Tuc and in less measure NGC 5272=M 3); however, they can be perhaps accommodated in a scenario for the formation of GCs that relates their origin to cooling flows generated after very large episodes of star formation, as proposed by Carretta et al. (2009d).

Context. The second parameter (the first being metallicity) defining the distribution of stars on the horizontal branch (HB) of globular clusters (GCs) has long been one of the major open issues in our understanding of the evolution of normal stars. Large photometric and spectroscopic databases are now available: they include large and homogeneous sets of colour-magnitude diagrams, cluster ages, and homogeneous data about chemical compositions from our FLAMES survey.

We revise the scenario of the formation of Galactic globular clusters (GCs) by adding the observed detailed chemical composition of their different stellar generations to the set of their global parameters. We exploit the unprecedented set of homogeneous abundances of more than 1200 red giants in 19 clusters, as well as additional data from literature, to give a new definition of bona fideGCs, as the stellar aggregates showing the Na-O anticorrelation. We propose a classification of GCs according to their kinematics and location in the Galaxy in three populations: disk/bulge, inner halo, and outer halo. We find that the luminosity function of GCs is fairly independent of their population, suggesting that it is imprinted by the formation mechanism only marginally affected by the ensuing evolution. We show that a large fraction of the primordial population should have been lost by the proto-GCs. The extremely low Al abundances found for the primordial population of massive GCs indicate a very fast enrichment process before the formation of the primordial population. We suggest a scenario for the formation of GCs that includes at least three main phases: i) the formation of a precursor population (likely due to the interaction of cosmological structures similar to those that led to the formation of dwarf spheroidals, but residing at smaller Galactocentric distances, with the early Galaxy or with other structures); ii) the triggering of a long episode of star formation (the primordial population) from the precursor population; and iii) the formation of the current GC, mainly within a cooling flow formed by the slow winds of a fraction of the primordial population. The precursor population is very effective in raising the metal content in massive and/or metal-poor (mainly halo) clusters, while its rôle is minor in small and/or metal-rich (mainly disk) ones. Finally, we use principal component analysis and multivariate relations to study the phase of metal enrichment from first to second generation. We conclude that most of the chemical signatures of GCs may be ascribed to a few parameters, the most important being metallicity, mass, and cluster age. Location within the Galaxy (as described by the kinematics) also plays some rôle, while additional parameters are required to describe their dynamical status.

We revise the scenario of the formation of Galactic globular clusters (GCs) by adding the observed detailed chemical composition of their different stellar generations to the set of their global parameters. We exploit the unprecedented set of homogeneous abundances of more than 1200 red giants in 19 clusters, as well as additional data from literature, to give a new definition of bona fideGCs, as the stellar aggregates showing the Na-O anticorrelation. We propose a classification of GCs according to their kinematics and location in the Galaxy in three populations: disk/bulge, inner halo, and outer halo. We find that the luminosity function of GCs is fairly independent of their population, suggesting that it is imprinted by the formation mechanism only marginally affected by the ensuing evolution. We show that a large fraction of the primordial population should have been lost by the proto-GCs. The extremely low Al abundances found for the primordial population of massive GCs indicate a very fast enrichment process before the formation of the primordial population. We suggest a scenario for the formation of GCs that includes at least three main phases: i) the formation of a precursor population (likely due to the interaction of cosmological structures similar to those that led to the formation of dwarf spheroidals, but residing at smaller Galactocentric distances, with the early Galaxy or with other structures); ii) the triggering of a long episode of star formation (the primordial population) from the precursor population; and iii) the formation of the current GC, mainly within a cooling flow formed by the slow winds of a fraction of the primordial population. The precursor population is very effective in raising the metal content in massive and/or metal-poor (mainly halo) clusters, while its rôle is minor in small and/or metal-rich (mainly disk) ones. Finally, we use principal component analysis and multivariate relations to study the phase of metal enrichment from first to second generation. We conclude that most of the chemical signatures of GCs may be ascribed to a few parameters, the most important being metallicity, mass, and cluster age. Location within the Galaxy (as described by the kinematics) also plays some rôle, while additional parameters are required to describe their dynamical status.