RADIAL ABUNDANCE GRADIENT IN GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

The observed radial UBV colour variations (both B-V and U-B) of some globular clusters are examined for correlations with radial variations in the integrated spectra. The results show that the presence of a radial colour gradient is correlated with the presence of a gradient of the CN (and possibly the G-band) line strength, in the sense that the CN (and possibly the G-band) is stronger in the centre (where the cluster is redder) and becomes weaker in the outer region of the cluster (where the cluster is bluer). This may suggest that a primordial abundance, possibly nitrogen and carbon gradient was set up in the early stage of cluster formation.