Chemical Abundances in NGC 5053: A Very Metal-Poor and Dynamically
  Complex Globular Cluster
  NGC 5053 provides a rich environment to test our understanding of the complex
evolution of globular clusters (GCs). Recent studies have found that this
cluster has interesting morphological features beyond the typical spherical
distribution of GCs, suggesting that external tidal effects have played an
important role in its evolution and current properties. Additionally,
simulations have shown that NGC 5053 could be a likely candidate to belong to
the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr dSph) stream. Using the
Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO-Hydra multi-object spectrograph, we have collected
high quality (signal-to-noise ratio $\sim$ 75-90), medium-resolution spectra
for red giant branch stars in NGC 5053. Using these spectra we have measured
the Fe, Ca, Ti, Ni, Ba, Na, and O abundances in the cluster. We measure an
average cluster [Fe/H] abundance of -2.45 with a standard deviation of 0.04
dex, making NGC 5053 one of the most metal-poor GCs in the Milky Way (MW). The
[Ca/Fe], [Ti/Fe], and [Ba/Fe] we measure are consistent with the abundances of
MW halo stars at a similar metallicity, with alpha-enhanced ratios and slightly
depleted [Ba/Fe]. The Na and O abundances show the Na-O anti-correlation found
in most GCs. From our abundance analysis it appears that NGC 5053 is at least
chemically similar to other GCs found in the MW. This does not, however, rule
out NGC 5053 being associated with the Sgr dSph stream.
