Recent observations for the color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of the massive globular cluster ω Centauri have shown that it has a striking double main sequence (MS), with a minority population of bluer and fainter MS well separated from a majority population of MS stars. Here we confirm, with the most up-to-date Y 2 isochrones, that this special feature can only be reproduced by assuming a large variation (∆Y = 0.15) of primordial helium abundance among several distinct populations in this cluster. We further show that the same helium enhancement required for this special feature on the MS can by itself reproduce the extreme horizontal-branch (HB) stars observed in ω Cen, which are hotter than normal HB stars. Similarly, the complex features on the HBs of other globular clusters, such as NGC 2808, are explained by large internal variations of helium abundance. Supporting evidence for the helium-rich population is also provided by the far-UV (FUV) observations of extreme HB stars in these clusters, where the enhancement of helium can naturally explain the observed fainter FUV luminosity for these stars. The presence of super helium-rich populations in some globular clusters suggests that the third parameter, other than metallicity and age, also influences CMD morphology of these clusters.

There is a growing body of evidence for the presence of multiple stellar populations in some globular clusters, including NGC 1851. For most of these peculiar globular clusters, however, the evidence for the multiple red giant-branches (RGBs) having different heavy elemental abundances as observed in ω Centauri is hitherto lacking, although spreads in some lighter elements are reported. It is therefore not clear whether they also share the suggested dwarf galaxy origin of ω Cen or not. Here we show from the CTIO 4m U V I photometry of the globular cluster NGC 1851 that its RGB is clearly split into two in the U − I color. The two distinct RGB populations are also clearly separated in the abundance of heavy elements as traced by Calcium, suggesting that the type II supernovae enrichment is also responsible, in addition to the pollutions of lighter elements by intermediate mass asymptotic giant branch stars or fast-rotating massive stars. The RGB split, however, is not shown in the V − I color, as indicated by previous observations. Our stellar population models show that this and the presence of bimodal horizontal-branch distribution in NGC 1851 can be naturally reproduced if the metal-rich second generation stars are also enhanced in helium.

Despite the efforts of the past decade, the origin of the bimodal horizontalbranch (HB) found in some globular clusters (GCs) remains a conundrum. Inspired by the discovery of multiple stellar populations in the most massive Galactic GC, ω Centauri, we investigate the possibility that two distinct populations may coexist and are responsible for the bimodal HBs in the third and fifth brightest GCs, NGC 6388 and NGC 6441. Using the population synthesis technique, we examine two different chemical "self-enrichment" hypotheses in which a primordial GC was sufficiently massive to contain two or more distinct populations as suggested by the populations found in ω Cen: (1) the age-metallicity relation scenario in which two populations with different metallicity and age coexist, following an internal age-metallicity relation, and (2) the super-helium-rich scenario in which GCs contain a certain fraction of helium-enhanced stars, for instance, the second generation stars formed from the helium-enriched ejecta of the first. The comparative study indicates that the detailed color-magnitude diagram morphologies and the properties of the RR Lyrae variables in NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 support the latter scenario; i.e., the model which assumes a minor fraction (∼ 15 %) of helium-excess (Y ≃ 0.3) stars. The results suggest that helium content is the main driver behind the HB bimodality found most often in massive GCs. If confirmed, the GC-to-GC variation of helium abundance should be considered a local effect, further supporting the argument that age is the global second parameter of HB morphology.Recent studies suggest that the long-standing puzzle of the HB bimodality may no longer be a complete mystery. It has been discovered that at least four discrete populations coexist in the most massive Galactic GC, ω Cen (Lee et al. 1999b; Standford et al. 2006, and references therein). This finding obviously opposes the conventional "single-population" picture of GCs, and also provides an instructive precedent for the bimodal-HB feature in other GCs. The multiple populations in ω Cen imply an internal age-metallicity relation (AMR), in that stars having a higher metallicity are younger. Furthermore, subsequent

High quality J, H and K images are used to investigate the morphological properties of the near-infrared color-magnitude diagrams for five metal-poor bulge globular clusters and three halo clusters. Photometric parameters to describe the RGB shape, i.e., the colors at fixed magnitudes of M K = M H = (−5.5, −5, −4 and −3), the magnitudes at fixed colors of (J − K) o = (J − H) o = 0.70, and the RGB slope, have been measured from the fiducial normal points of the CMDs. We also measured the near-infrared magnitudes of the RGB bump and tip on the luminosity function of the RGB stars for each cluster. The RGB parameters of the observed metal-poor bulge and halo clusters are consistent with the previous empirical relationships between the RGB parameters and the cluster metallicity for metal-rich bulge clusters and halo clusters. The near-infrared magnitudes of the RGB bump and tip are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction of the Yonsei-Yale isochrone.

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We report the detection of RR Lyrae variable stars in Crater II, a recently discovered large and diffuse satellite dwarf galaxy of the Milky Way (MW). Based on B, V time-series photometry obtained with the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) 1.6 -m telescope at CTIO, we identified 83 ab -type and 13 c -type pulsators by fitting template light curves. The detected RR Lyrae stars are centrally concentrated, which ensures that most of them are members of Crater II. In terms of the distribution of RRab stars in the period-amplitude diagram, Crater II is clearly different from ultrafaint dwarf (UFD) galaxies, but very similar to the two classical MW dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies Draco and Carina with Oosterhoff-intermediate (Oo-int) properties. Combined with the mean period of ab -type variables ( P ab = 0.631±0.004 d) and the c -type fraction (∼0.14) in Crater II, this suggests an Oo-int classification for Crater II and implies that its nature is more like a dSph rather than a UFD. We also estimated the mean metallicity, reddening, and distance of Crater II, from the photometric and pulsation properties of the RR Lyrae stars. The stellar population model we have constructed indicates that Crater II is dominated by an old population, but is relatively younger than the oldest globular clusters in the MW. With a lack of high-amplitude short-period RRab stars, Crater II, like most of the other less massive dSphs, is probably not a surviving counterpart of the major building blocks of the MW halo.

ISBN du colloque : 978-1-59593-627-1System-level design methodologies have been introduced as a solution to handle the design complexity of embedded multiprocessor SoC (MPSoC) systems. In this paper we describe a system-level design flow starting from Simulink specification, focusing on concurrent hardware and software design and verification at four different abstraction levels: Simulink Combined Algorithm and Architecture Model (CAAM), Virtual Architecture, Transaction-accurate Model and Virtual Prototype. We used two multimedia applications, Motion-JPEG and H.264, to evaluate this design flow. Experimental results show that our design flow can generate various MPSoC architectures from Simulink CAAM correctly and efficiently, allowing processor and task design space exploration at different abstraction levels