AGB subpopulations in the nearby globular cluster NGC 6397
  It has been well established that Galactic Globular clusters (GCs) harbour
more than one stellar population, distinguishable by the anti-correlations of
light element abundances (C-N, Na-O, and Mg-Al). These studies have been
extended recently to the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). Here we investigate the
AGB of NGC 6397 for the first time. We have performed an abundance analysis of
high-resolution spectra of 47 RGB and 8 AGB stars, deriving Fe, Na, O, Mg and
Al abundances. We find that NGC 6397 shows no evidence of a deficit in Na-rich
AGB stars, as reported for some other GCs - the subpopulation ratios of the AGB
and RGB in NGC 6397 are identical, within uncertainties. This agrees with
expectations from stellar theory. This GC acts as a control for our earlier
work on the AGB of M 4 (with contrasting results), since the same tools and
methods were used.
