Search results for "Asymptotic giant branch"
showing 10 items of 14 documents
Lithium in metal-poor red giants
2009
AbstractThe lithium abundance was calculated for five metal-poor red giant stars from Li i doublet at 6707 Å by fitting the observed high-resolution spectra with synthetic spectra. The lithium abundance was found to be low in all stars, logϵ(Li) ≤ 1.8, confirming lithium depletion on the red giant and asymptotic giant branch.
A novel approach to measure the cross section of the 18O(p, α)15N resonant reaction in the 0-200 keV energy range
2009
The 18O(p, ?)15N reaction is of primary importance to pin down the uncertainties, due to nuclear physics input, affecting present-day models of asymptotic giant branch stars. Its reaction rate can modify both fluorine nucleosynthesis inside such stars and oxygen and nitrogen isotopic ratios, which allow one to constrain the proposed astrophysical scenarios. Thus, an indirect measurement of the low-energy region of the 18O(p, ?)15N reaction has been performed to access, for the first time, the range of relevance for astrophysical application. In particular, a full, high-accuracy spectroscopic study of the 20 and 90 keV resonances has been performed and the strengths deduced to evaluate the r…
The evolved pulsating CEMP star HD112869
2015
Radial velocity measurements, $BVR_C$ photometry, and high-resolution spectroscopy in the wavelength region from blue to near infrared are employed in order to clarify the evolutionary status of the carbon-enhanced metal-poor star HD112869 with unique ratio of carbon isotopes in the atmosphere. An LTE abundance analysis was carried out using the method of spectral synthesis and new self consistent 1D atmospheric models. The radial velocity monitoring confirmed semiregular variations with a peak-to-peak amplitude of about 10 km $s^{-1}$ and a dominating period of about 115 days. The light, color and radial velocity variations are typical of the evolved pulsating stars. The atmosphere of HD11…
On metal-deficient barium stars and their link with yellow symbiotic stars
2005
This paper addresses the question of why metal-deficient barium stars are not yellow symbiotic stars (YSyS). Samples of (suspected) metal-deficient barium (mdBa) stars and YSyS have been collected from the literature, and their properties reviewed. It appears in particular that the barium nature of the suspected mdBa stars needs to be ascertained by detailed abundance analyses. Abundances are therefore derived for two of them, HD 139409 and HD 148897, which reveal that HD 148897 should not be considered a barium star. HD 139409 is a mild barium star, with overabundances observed only for elements belonging to the first s-process peak (Y and Zr). The evidence for binarity among mdBa stars is…
A search for diffuse absorption bands in carbon-rich stars -- I. Barium and related stars
2003
The results of a search for interstellar and circumstellar absorption lines in high-resolution optical spectra of seven late-type stars are presented. All these stars are single-lined spectroscopic binaries with unseen companions, presumably white dwarfs. Some residual material indicative of recent mass transfer from an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star might still be associated with the systems. Peculiar energy distribution and the sodium D 1 and D 2 lines give direct evidence about the material in the line of sight in some cases. Absorption features of simple carbon-bearing molecules (C 2 , CN) have been detected in most of the examined stars, confirming a carbon-rich nature of the corre…
CONDENSATION OF REFRACTORY METALS IN ASYMPTOTIC GIANT BRANCH AND OTHER STELLAR ENVIRONMENTS
2014
The condensation of material from a gas of solar composition has been extensively studied, but less so condensation in the environment of evolved stars, which has been mainly restricted to major compounds and some specific element groups such as the Rare Earth elements. Also of interest, however, are refractory metals like Mo, Ru, Os, W, Ir, and Pt, which may condense to form refractory metal nuggets (RMNs) like the ones that have been found in association with presolar graphite. We have performed calculations describing the condensation of these elements in the outflows of s-process enriched AGB stars as well as from gas enriched in r-process products. While in carbon-rich environments (C …
Measurement of the 151Sm n,gamma 152Sm cross section at n_TOF
2005
The 151 Sm(n, γ ) 152 Sm cross section, which is important for the interpretation of the 151 Sm branching as an s -process thermometer, was measured from 1 eV up to 1 MeV at the innovative n_TOF facility at CERN. Based on these data, the Maxwellian-averaged cross section at k T = 30 keV is found to be 3100±160 mb. This value can be used to constrain the thermodynamical conditions in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars during He-shell burning.
AMBER observations of the AGB star RS Cap: extended atmosphere and comparison with stellar models
2011
We report on K-band VLTI/AMBER observations at medium spectral resolution ($\sim$1500) of RS Capricorni, an M6/M7III semi-regular AGB star. From the spectrally-dispersed visibilities, we measure the star diameter as a function of observing wavelength from 2.13 to 2.47 microns. We derive a Rosseland angular diameter of $7.95 \pm 0.07$ mas, which corresponds to an effective temperature of $3160 \pm 160$ K. We detect size variations of around 10% in the CO band heads, indicating strong opacity effects of CO in the stellar photosphere. We also detect a linear increase of the size as a function of wavelength, beginning at 2.29 microns. Models of the stellar atmosphere, based on the mass of the s…
A detailed spectroscopy of the carbon-rich star BD +57° 2161
2005
An LTE abundance analysis based on high-resolution spectra is presented for the carbon-rich star BD +57° 2161, whose evolutionary status is unknown. With [C/Fe] = +0.4 dex and a mean s-process overabundance of [s/Fe] ≃ +1.5 dex the peculiar atmospheric composition of BD +57° 2161 is confirmed. The 12 C/ 13 C abundance ratio was found to be about 10. The mild iron deficiency, [Fe/H] = -0.2, supports the idea that BD +57° 2161 could be an old-disk-population object. Radial-velocity measurements confirm the binary nature of the star. Therefore the peculiar chemical composition could be due to the mass transfer from the secondary - AGB star in the past. Orbital parameters are estimated for anot…
Self-Enrichment in Globular Clusters: Is There a Role for the Super-Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars?
2008
In four globular clusters (GCs) a non negligible fraction of stars can be interpreted only as a very helium rich population. The evidence comes from the presence of a "blue" main sequence in $\omega$ Cen and NGC 2808, and from the the very peculiar horizontal branch morphology in NGC 6441 and NGC 6388. Although a general consensus is emerging on the fact that self--enrichment is a common feature among GCs, the helium content required for these stars is Y$\simgt$0.35, and it is difficult to understand how it can be produced without any --or, for $\omega$ Cen, without a considerable--associated metal enhancement. We examine the possible role of super--AGB stars, and show that they may provide…