THE HELIUM ABUNDANCES OF GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

The two methods for the derivation of helium abundance are presented. The magnitude of the largest bump along the red giant branch is fainter as helium abundance decreases and metal abundance increases. Using this relation and observed bump magnitude, the He-abundances of globular clusters are estimated. The another method is to use the relation that the ratio of asymptotic giant branch and horizontal branch stars increases with decreasing He-abundance. The comparison of the He-abundances derived from the two methods with those derived from the other two methods shows that they are consistent within the dispersion less than ${\Delta}Y=0.1$.