scholarly journals Asymptotic-Giant-Branch Models at Very Low Metallicity

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Cristallo ◽  
L. Piersanti ◽  
O. Straniero ◽  
R. Gallino ◽  
I. Domínguez ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this paper we present the evolution of a low-mass model (initial mass M = 1.5 M⊙) with a very low metal content (Z = 5 × 10−5, equivalent to [Fe/H] = –2.44). We find that, at the beginning of the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase, protons are ingested from the envelope in the underlying convective shell generated by the first fully developed thermal pulse. This peculiar phase is followed by a deep third dredge-up episode, which carries to the surface the freshly synthesized 13C, 14N and 7Li. A standard thermally pulsing AGB (TP-AGB) evolution then follows. During the proton-ingestion phase, a very high neutron density is attained and the s process is efficiently activated. We therefore adopt a nuclear network of about 700 isotopes, linked by more than 1200 reactions, and we couple it with the physical evolution of the model. We discuss in detail the evolution of the surface chemical composition, starting from the proton ingestion up to the end of the TP-AGB phase.

Author(s):  
M P Roriz ◽  
M Lugaro ◽  
C B Pereira ◽  
N A Drake ◽  
S Junqueira ◽  
...  

Abstract Barium (Ba) stars are chemically peculiar stars that display in their atmospheres the signature of the slow neutron-capture (the s-process) mechanism that occurs in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, a main contributor to the cosmic abundances. The observed chemical peculiarity in these objects is not due to self-enrichment, but to mass transfer between the components of a binary system. The atmospheres of Ba stars are therefore excellent astrophysical laboratories providing strong constraints for the nucleosynthesis of the s-process in AGB stars. In particular, rubidium (Rb) is a key element for the s-process diagnostic because it is sensitive to the neutron density and therefore its abundance can reveal the main neutron source for the s-process in AGB stars. We present Rb abundances for a large sample of 180 Ba stars from high resolution spectra (R = 48000), and we compare the observed [Rb/Zr] ratios with theoretical predictions from AGB s-process nucleosynthesis models. The target Ba stars in this study display [Rb/Zr] <0, showing that Rb was not efficiently produced by the activation of branching points. Model predictions from the Monash and FRUITY data sets of low-mass (≲ 4 M⊙) AGB stars are able to cover the Rb abundances observed in the target Ba stars. These observations indicate that the 13C(α,n)16O reaction is the main neutron source of the s-process in the low-mass AGB companions of the observed Ba stars. We have not found in the present study candidate companion for IR/OH massive AGB stars.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 439-440
Author(s):  
T. Tsuji ◽  
K. Ohnaka ◽  
W. Aoki ◽  
H.R.A. Jones

Spectra of M dwarfs are rich in atomic and molecular lines. These spectra provide such basic information as Teff (or radius), log g (or mass), surface chemical composition, and something more (e.g. activity) if properly interpreted. It is recognized, however, that spectra of M dwarfs are already dimmed by the dust formed in their photospheres (Tsuji et al. 1996a) and this effect, which has been overlooked until recently, should be taken into account in any interpretation and analysis of the spectra of very low mass objects (VLMOs) including late M dwarfs and brown dwarfs.


2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Lugaro ◽  
S. W. Campbell ◽  
S. E. de Mink

AbstractCarbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMPs+r) stars show large enhancements of elements produced both by the slow and the rapid neutron capture processes (the s and r process, respectively) and represent a relatively large fraction, 30% to 50%, of the CEMP population. Many scenarios have been proposed to explain this peculiar chemical composition and most of them involve a binary companion producing the s-process elements during its Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase. The problem is that none of the proposed explanations appears to be able to account for all observational constraints, hence, alternatives are needed to be put forward and investigated. In this spirit, we propose a new scenario for the formation of CEMPs+r stars based on S. W. Campbell's finding that during the ‘dual core flash’ in low-mass stars of extremely low metallicity, when protons are ingested in the He-flash convective zone, a ‘neutron superburst’ is produced. Further calculations are needed to verify if this neutron superburst could make the r-process component observed in CEMPs+r, as well as their Fe abundances. The s-process component would then be produced during the following AGB phase.


2014 ◽  
Vol 790 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Rosenfield ◽  
Paola Marigo ◽  
Léo Girardi ◽  
Julianne J. Dalcanton ◽  
Alessandro Bressan ◽  
...  

Universe ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Paolo Ventura ◽  
Flavia Dell’Agli ◽  
Marco Tailo ◽  
Marco Castellani ◽  
Ester Marini ◽  
...  

We discuss the evolution of stars through the asymptotic giant branch, focusing on the physical mechanisms potentially able to alter the surface chemical composition and on how changes in the chemistry of the external regions affect the physical properties of the star and the duration of this evolutionary phase. We focus on the differences between the evolution of low-mass stars, driven by the growth of the core mass and by the surface carbon enrichment, and that of their higher mass counterparts, which experience hot bottom burning. In the latter sources, the variation of the surface chemical composition reflects the equilibria of the proton capture nucleosynthesis experienced at the base of the convective envelope. The pollution expected from this class of stars is discussed, outlining the role of mass and metallicity on the chemical composition of the ejecta. To this aim, we considered evolutionary models of 0.7–8 M⊙ stars in a wide range of metallicities, extending from the ultra-metal-poor domain to super-solar chemistries.


2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Izzard ◽  
Evert Glebbeek ◽  
Richard J. Stancliffe ◽  
Onno Pols

AbstractWe construct binary-star population nucleosynthesis models of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars. We compare the CEMP to extremely metal-poor (EMP) ratio of our models to the observed ratio and find it is an order of magnitude too small. Through an increase in the efficiency of third dredge-up in low-mass, low-metallicity, thermally-pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch (TP-AGB) stars our models better match the observations.


2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda I. Karakas ◽  
Maria Lugaro

AbstractThe determination of heavy element abundances from planetary nebula (PN) spectra provides an exciting opportunity to study the nucleosynthesis occurring in the progenitor asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. We perform post-processing calculations on AGB models of a large range of mass and metallicity to obtain predictions for the production of neutron-capture elements up to the first s-process peak at strontium. We find that solar metallicity intermediate-mass AGB models provide a reasonable match to the heavy element composition of Type I PNe. Likewise, many of the Se and Kr enriched PNe are well fitted by lower mass models with solar or close-to-solar metallicities. However, those objects most enriched in Krand those PN with sub-solar Se/O ratios are difficult to explain with AGB-nucleosynthesis models. Furthermore, we compute s-process abundance predictions for low-mass AGB models of very low metallicity ([Fe/H]≈−2.3) using both scaled solar and an α-enhanced initial composition. For these models, O is dredged to the surface, which means that abundance ratios measured relative to this element (e.g. X/O) do not provide a reliable measure of initial abundance ratios, or of production within the star owing to internal nucleosynthesis.


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