Radial Segregation Between Red Giant Populations In The Globular Cluster Ngc 3201: Tentative Role Of Varying Mass Among The Progenitors

In the globular cluster NGC 3201, we study subpopulations (SPs) of red giants (RGs) distinguished by their characteristics. In its central part, we make use of multicolor Hubble Space Telescope (HST) photometry coupled with spectroscopy of RGs spread out over a larger cluster face. In the color index CI= (m(F275W) - m(F336W)) (m(F336W) - m(F439W)), RGs commonly referred to as first generation, SPI, are separated from the counterparts of the second generation, SPII. The latter are more concentrated than the former at a confidence level of P.=.93%, within the field covered by the HST photometry. Their minor portion (similar to 28%, SPIIm) located in the middle of the dCI range spanned across the split RG branch relative to the splitting edge is more centrally concentrated at a higher confidence level of 96%. We found, from the [Na/Fe]-dCI plot for RGs in common between the photometry and spectroscopy, that SPI and SPII are mostly overlapped within 0.0 < [Na/Fe] < 0.3. RGs with [Na/Fe] < 0.0 (mostly SPI) keep their lower concentration to the cluster center over larger radial distance as compared to SPII RGs with [Na/Fe] > 0.3 at a confidence level of P.=.88%. It is increased up to 95% if a restriction on [O/Fe] is imposed. The obtained result, particularly in the central part, is a clue that SPIIm RGs are the descendants of more massive progenitors. Of these RGs approximately one-third probably originate from recent (within the past 1.5 Gyr) blue stragglers with M-BS.>.1.1M(circle dot), and the other two-thirds could be accounted for by older collision products of primordial MS stars.