Spin Angular Momentum Evolution of the Long Period Algols

We consider the spin angular momentum evolution of the accreting components of Algol-type binary stars. In wider Algols the accretion is through a disc so that the accreted material can transfer enough angular momentum to the gainer that material at its equator should be spinning at break-up. We demonstrate that even a small amount of mass transfer, much less than required to produce today's mass ratios, transfers enough angular momentum to spin the gainer up to this critical rotation velocity. However the accretors in these systems have spins typically between 10 and $40\,$per cent of the critical rate. So some mechanism for angular momentum loss from the gainers is required. We consider generation of magnetic fields in the radiative atmospheres in a differentially rotating star and the possibility of angular momentum loss driven by strong stellar winds in the intermediate mass stars, such as the primaries of the Algols. Differential rotation, induced by the accretion itself, may produce such winds which carry away enough angular momentum to reduce their rotational velocities to the today's observed values. We apply this model to two systems with initial periods of 5\,d, one with initial masses 5 and $3\,\rm{M}_{\odot}$ and the other with 3.2 and $2\,\rm{M}_{\odot}$. Our calculations show that, if the mass outflow rate in the stellar wind is about $10\,$per cent of the accretion rate and the dipole magnetic field is stronger than about $1\,$kG, the spin rate of the gainer is reduced to below break-up velocity even in the fast phase of mass transfer. Larger mass loss is needed for smaller magnetic fields. The slow rotation of the gainers in the classical Algol systems is explained by a balance between the spin-up by mass accretion and spin-down by a stellar wind linked to a magnetic field.Comment: 12 figures, 26 pages, accepted in MNRA

Accretion Disc Evolution in Single and Binary T Tauri Stars

We present theoretical models for the evolution of T Tauri stars surrounded by circumstellar discs. The models include the effects of pre-main-sequence stellar and time dependent disc evolution, and incorporate the effects of stellar magnetic fields acting on the inner disc. For single stars, consistency with observations in Taurus-Auriga demands that disc dispersal occurs rapidly, on much less than the viscous timescale of the disc, at roughly the epoch when heating by stellar radiation first dominates over internal viscous dissipation. Applying the models to close binaries, we find that because the initial conditions for discs in binaries are uncertain, studies of extreme mass ratio systems are required to provide a stringent test of theoretical disc evolution models. We also note that no correlation of the infra-red colours of T Tauri stars with their rotation rate is observed, in apparent contradiction to the predictions of simple magnetospheric accretion models.Comment: 11 pages, MNRAS in pres

Carbon Rich Extremely Metal Poor Stars: Signatures of Population-III AGB stars in Binary Systems

We use the Cambridge stellar evolution code STARS to model the evolution and nucleosynthesis of zero-metallicity intermediate-mass stars. We investigate the effect of duplicity on the nucleosynthesis output of these systems and the potential abundances of the secondaries. The surfaces of zero-metallicity stars are enriched in CNO elements after second dredge up. During binary interaction, such as Roche lobe overflow or wind accretion, metals can be released from these stars and the secondaries enriched in CNO isotopes. We investigate the formation of the two most metal poor stars known, HE 0107-5240 and HE 1327-2326. The observed carbon and nitrogen abundances of HE 0107-5240 can be reproduced by accretion of material from the companion-enhanced wind of a seven solar star after second dredge-up, though oxygen and sodium are underproduced. We speculate that HE 1327-2326, which is richer in nitrogen and strontium, may similarly be formed by wind accretion in a later AGB phase after third dredge-up.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, 7 tables, accepted by MNRA

A two-dimensional mixing length theory of convective transport

The helioseismic observations of the internal rotation profile of the Sun raise questions about the two-dimensional (2D) nature of the transport of angular momentum in stars. Here we derive a convective prescription for axisymmetric (2D) stellar evolution models. We describe the small scale motions by a spectrum of unstable linear modes in a Boussinesq fluid. Our saturation prescription makes use of the angular dependence of the linear dispersion relation to estimate the anisotropy of convective velocities. We are then able to provide closed form expressions for the thermal and angular momentum fluxes with only one free parameter, the mixing length. We illustrate our prescription for slow rotation, to first order in the rotation rate. In this limit, the thermodynamical variables are spherically symetric, while the angular momentum depends both on radius and latitude. We obtain a closed set of equations for stellar evolution, with a self-consistent description for the transport of angular momentum in convective regions. We derive the linear coefficients which link the angular momentum flux to the rotation rate ($\Lambda$- effect) and its gradient ($\alpha$-effect). We compare our results to former relevant numerical work.Comment: MNRAS accepted, 10 pages, 1 figure, version prior to language editio

Reconstructing the evolution of white dwarf binaries: further evidence for an alternative algorithm for the outcome of the common-envelope phase in close binaries

We determine the possible masses and radii of the progenitors of white dwarfs in binaries from fits to detailed stellar evolution models and use these to reconstruct the mass-transfer phase in which the white dwarf was formed. We confirm the earlier finding that in the first phase of mass transfer in the binary evolution leading to a close pair of white dwarfs, the standard common-envelope formalism equating the energy balance in the system, does not work. An algorithm equating the angular momentum balance can explain the observations. This conclusion is now based on ten observed systems rather than three. With the latter algorithm the separation does not change much for approximately equal mass binaries. Assuming constant efficiency in the standard \alpha-formalism and a constant value of \gamma, we investigate the effect of both methods on the change in separation in general and conclude that when there is observational evidence for strong shrinkage of the orbit, the \gamma-algorithm also leads to this. We then extend our analysis to all close binaries with at least one white dwarf component and reconstruct the mass transfer phases that lead to these binaries. We find that all observations can be explained with a single value of \gamma, making the \gamma-algorithm a useful tool to predict the outcome of common-envelope evolution. We discuss the consequences of our findings for different binary populations in the Galaxy, including massive binaries, for which the reconstruction method cannot be used (abbriged).Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Approximate input physics for stellar modelling

We present a simple and efficient, yet reasonably accurate, equation of state, which at the moderately low temperatures and high densities found in the interiors of stars less massive than the Sun is substantially more accurate than its predecessor by Eggleton, Faulkner & Flannery. Along with the most recently available values in tabular form of opacities, neutrino loss rates, and nuclear reaction rates for a selection of the most important reactions, this provides a convenient package of input physics for stellar modelling. We briefly discuss a few results obtained with the updated stellar evolution code.Comment: uuencoded compressed postscript. The preprint are also available at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/preprint/PrePrint.htm

The C-flash and the ignition conditions of type Ia supernovae

Thanks to a stellar evolution code able to compute through the C-flash we link the binary population synthesis of single degenerate progenitors of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) to their physical condition at the time of ignition. We show that there is a large range of possible ignition densities and we detail how their probability distribution depends on the accretion properties. The low density peak of this distribution qualitatively reminds of the clustering of the luminosities of Branch-normal SNe Ia. We tighten the possible range of initial physical conditions for explosion models: they form a one-parameter family, independent of the metallicity. We discuss how these results may be modified if we were to relax our hypothesis of a permanent Hachisu wind or if we were to include electron captures.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figures, MNRAS accepte