Abstract
The Phoenix stellar stream has a low intrinsic dispersion in velocity and metallicity that implies the progenitor was probably a low mass globular cluster. In this work we use Magellan/MIKE high-dispersion spectroscopy of eight Phoenix stream red giants to confirm this scenario. In particular, we find negligible intrinsic scatter in metallicity (σ([Fe II/H]) = 0.04 +0.11 −0.03) and a large peak-to-peak range in [Na/Fe] and [Al/Fe] abundance ratios, consistent with the light element abundance patterns seen in the most metal-poor globular clusters. However, unlike any other globular cluster, we also find an intrinsic spread in [Sr II/Fe] spanning ∼1 dex, while [Ba II/Fe] shows nearly no intrinsic spread (σ([Ba II/H]) = 0.03 +0.10 −0.02). This abundance signature is best interpreted as slow neutron capture element production from a massive fast-rotating metal-poor star (15−20 M , v ini /v crit = 0.4, [Fe/H] = −3.8). The low inferred cluster mass suggests the system would have been unable to retain supernovae ejecta, implying that any massive fast-rotating metal-poor star that enriched the interstellar medium must have formed and evolved before the globular cluster formed. Neutron capture element production from asymptotic giant branch stars or magneto-rotational instabilities in core-collapse supernovae provide poor fits to the observations. We also report one Phoenix stream star to be a lithium-rich giant (A(Li) = 3.1 ± 0.1). At [Fe/H] = −2.93 it is among the most metal-poor lithium-rich giants known.