Spectroscopic study of red giants in M15

Echelle orders containing H{alpha} and CaII H&K are used to identify emission and line asymmetries characterizing motions in the extended atmospheres. Emission in H{alpha} is detected to a luminosity of log(L/L_{sun}_)=2.36, in this very metal-deficient cluster, comparable to other studies, suggesting that the appearance of emission wings is independent of stellar metallicity.

The faintest stars showing H{alpha} emission appear to lie on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) in M15. A line-bisector technique for H{alpha} reveals outflowing velocities in all stars brighter than log(L/L_{sun}_)=2.5, and this outflow velocity increases with stellar luminosity, indicating the mass outflow increases smoothly with luminosity. Many stars lying low on the AGB show exceptionally high outflow velocities (up to 10-15km/s) and more velocity variability (up to 6-8km/s) than red giant branch (RGB) stars of similar apparent magnitude.