We present adaptive optics (AO) near-infrared observations of the core of the Tr 14 cluster in the Carina region obtained with the ESO multi-conjugate AO demonstrator, MAD. Our campaign yields AO-corrected observations with an image quality of about 0.2 across the 2 field of view, which is the widest AO mosaic ever obtained. We detected almost 2000 sources spanning a dynamic range of 10 mag. The pre-main sequence (PMS) locus in the colour−magnitude diagram is well reproduced by Palla & Stahler isochrones with an age of 3 to 5 × 10 5 yr, confirming the very young age of the cluster. We derive a very high (deprojected) central density n 0 ∼ 4.5(±0.5) × 10 4 pc −3 and estimate the total mass of the cluster to be about ∼4.3 +3.3 −1.5 × 10 3 M , although contamination of the field of view might have a significant impact on the derived mass. We show that the pairing process is largely dominated by chance alignment so that physical pairs are difficult to disentangle from spurious ones based on our single epoch observation. Yet, we identify 150 likely bound pairs, 30% of these with a separation smaller than 0.5 (∼1300 AU). We further show that at the 2σ level massive stars have more companions than lower-mass stars and that those companions are respectively brighter on average, thus more massive. Finally, we find some hints of mass segregation for stars heavier than about 10 M . If confirmed, the observed degree of mass segregation could be explained by dynamical evolution, despite the young age of the cluster.

Aims. Large abundance anomalies have been previously detected in Horizontal Branch B-type stars. It has been suggested that at T eff > 11 000 K the stellar atmospheres become susceptible to diffusion effects and thus develop surface abundances similar to those that appear in the main-sequence, chemically peculiar group of A and B-type stars. We present the first high-resolution study of isotopic anomalies and chemical abundances in six Horizontal Branch B-type stars in globular clusters NGC 6397 and NGC 6752 and compare them to those observed in HgMn stars. Methods. We obtained high-resolution (up to R ∼ 115 000) UVES spectra of a representative sample of six B-type stars (T183, T191, T193, B652, B2151, B2206) with sharp spectral lines (v sin i ≤ 10 km s −1 ). The stars T183 and B2151 were observed on two consecutive nights to examine potential spectrum variability. A detailed spectrum analysis was done relying on Kurucz ATLAS9 and ATLAS12 models. The spectra were analysed using the SYNTHE code to generate synthetic spectra. Results. It is the first time an abundance analysis is performed for all elements for which spectral lines were detected in UVES spectra of Horizontal Branch B-type stars. Our study of these stars revealed no signs of He isotopic anomalies, which would produce a 3 He/ 4 He ratio different from the solar one. The isotopic anomaly of Ca is detected in all six studied stars. The chemical abundance analysis reveals an overabundance over the solar values of P, Ti, Mn, Fe, and Y and an overabundance over the cluster metallicity of Mg, Ca, and Cr. This behaviour is very similar in all six stars of both clusters with a few exceptions: the Na abundance is larger by more than 1.4 dex than the cluster metallicity in B652, and by more than 0.8 dex greater than the cluster metallicity in B2206; the Co abundance is 1.0 dex over the solar abundance for T191, while Zr is overabundant over the solar abundance by 0.4 dex in B2206. No lines of Hg or other heavy elements were observed in the spectra. Weak emission lines of Ti ii, similar to those frequently observed in HgMn stars have been discovered in one Horizontal Branch B-type star T191. Furthermore, we detected a radial velocity change of 0.9 km s −1 from one night to the next for T183 and 0.4 km s −1 for B2151. Further high-resolution observations are needed to examine whether both stars are spectroscopic binaries.

Abstract. Large abundance anomalies have previously been detected in horizontal-branch Btype stars. We present the first high-resolution study of isotopic anomalies and chemical abundances in six horizontal-branch B-type stars in the globular clusters NGC 6397 and NGC 6752, carried out with UVES on the VLT and compare them to those observed in chemically peculiar main-sequence stars.