The origin of the star-to-star abundance variations found for the light elements in Galactic globular clusters (GGCs) is not well understood, which is a significant problem for stellar astrophysics. While the light element abundance variations are very common in globular clusters, they are comparatively rare in the Galactic halo field population. However, little is known regarding the occurrence of the abundance anomalies in other environments such as that of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. Consequently, we have investigated the anti-correlation and bimodality of CH and CN band strengths, which are markers of the abundance variations in GGCs, in the spectra of red giants in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Using spectra at the Na D lines, informed by similar spectra for five GGCs (NGC 288, 1851, 6752, 6809 and 7099), we have also searched for any correlation between CN and Na in the Sculptor red giant sample. Our results indicate that variations analogous to those seen in GGCs are not present in our Sculptor sample. Instead, we find a weak positive correlation between CH and CN, and no correlation between Na and CN. We also reveal a deficiency in [Na/Fe] for the Sculptor stars relative to the values in GGCs, a result which is consistent with previous work for dSph galaxies. The outcomes reinforce the apparent need for a high stellar density environment to produce the light element abundance variations.

Context. Recent investigations revealed very peculiar properties of blue horizontal branch (HB) stars in ω Centauri, which show anomalously low surface gravity and mass compared to other clusters and to theoretical models. ω Centauri, however, is a very unusual object, hosting a complex mix of multiple stellar populations with different metallicity and chemical abundances. Aims. We measured the fundamental parameters (temperature, gravity, and surface helium abundance) of a sample of 71 blue HB stars in M 22, with the aim of clarifying if the peculiar results found in ω Cen are unique to this cluster. M 22 also hosts multiple subpopulations of stars with a spread in metallicity, analogous to ω Cen. Methods. The stellar parameters were measured on low-resolution spectra fitting the Balmer and helium lines with a grid of synthetic spectra. From these parameters, the mass and reddening were estimated. Results. Our results on the gravities and masses agree well with theoretical expectations, matching the previous measurements in three "normal" clusters. The anomalies found in ω Cen are not observed among our stars. A mild mass underestimate is found for stars hotter than 14 000 K, but an exact analogy with ω Cen cannot be drawn. We measured the reddening in the direction of M 22 with two independent methods, finding E(B − V) = 0.35 ± 0.02 mag, with semi-amplitude of the maximum variation Δ(E(B − V)) = 0.06 mag, and an rms intrinsic dispersion of σ(E(B − V)) = 0.03 mag.

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Recent studies of the Milky Way and its satellites have paid special attention to the importance of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars due to their involvement in Galactic formation history and their possible connection with the chemical elements originating in the first stellar generation. In an ongoing study of red giants in the Sculptor dwarf galaxy we have discovered a star with extremely strong CN and CH molecular bands. This star, Scl-1013644, has previously been identified by Geisler et al. (2005) as a star with an enrichment in the heavy elements. Spectrum synthesis has been used to derive the carbon, nitrogen and barium abundances for Scl-1013644. Our findings are [C/Fe] = +0.8, [N/Fe] = -0.3 and [Ba/Fe] = +2.1 with the latter result consistent with the value found by Geisler et al. (2005). These results reveal Scl-1013644 as a CEMP-s star, the third such star discovered in this dwarf galaxy.

Using spectra obtained with the VLT/FORS2 and Gemini-S/GMOS-S instruments, we have investigated carbon, nitrogen and sodium abundances in a sample of red giant members of the Small Magellanic Cloud star cluster Kron 3. The metallicity and luminosity of the cluster are comparable to those of Galactic globular clusters but it is notably younger (age ≈ 6.5 Gyr). We have measured the strengths of the CN and CH molecular bands, finding a bimodal CN band-strength distribution and a CH/CN anti-correlation. Application of spectrum synthesis techniques reveals that the difference in the mean [N/Fe] and [C/Fe] values for the CN-strong and CN-weak stars are Δ <[N/Fe]> = 0.63 ± 0.16 dex and Δ <[C/Fe]> = −0.01 ± 0.07 dex after applying corrections for evolutionary mixing. We have also measured sodium abundances from the Na D lines finding an observed range in [Na/Fe] of ∼0.6 dex that correlates positively with the [N/Fe] values and a Δ <[Na/Fe]> = 0.12 ± 0.12 dex. While the statistical significance of the sodium abundance difference is not high, the observed correlation between the Na and N abundances supports its existence. The outcome represents the first star-by-star demonstration of correlated abundance variations involving sodium in an intermediate-age star cluster. The results add to existing photometric and spectroscopic indications of the presence of multiple populations in intermediate-age clusters with masses in excess of ∼105 M⊙. It confirms that the mechanism(s) responsible for the multiple populations in ancient globular clusters cannot solely be an early cosmological effect applying only in old clusters.