903 research outputs found
The metal and dust yields of the first massive stars
We quantify the role of Population (Pop) III core-collapse supernovae (SNe)
as the first cosmic dust polluters. Starting from a homogeneous set of stellar
progenitors with masses in the range [13 - 80] Msun, we find that the mass and
composition of newly formed dust depend on the mixing efficiency of the ejecta
and the degree of fallback experienced during the explosion. For standard Pop
III SNe, whose explosions are calibrated to reproduce the average elemental
abundances of Galactic halo stars with [Fe/H] < -2.5, between 0.18 and 3.1 Msun
(0.39 - 1.76 Msun) of dust can form in uniformly mixed (unmixed) ejecta, and
the dominant grain species are silicates. We also investigate dust formation in
the ejecta of faint Pop III SN, where the ejecta experience a strong fallback.
By examining a set of models, tailored to minimize the scatter with the
abundances of carbon-enhanced Galactic halo stars with [Fe/H ] < -4, we find
that amorphous carbon is the only grain species that forms, with masses in the
range 2.7 10^{-3} - 0.27 Msun (7.5 10^{-4} - 0.11 Msun) for uniformly mixed
(unmixed) ejecta models. Finally, for all the models we estimate the amount and
composition of dust that survives the passage of the reverse shock, and find
that, depending on circumstellar medium densities, between 3 and 50% (10 - 80%)
of dust produced by standard (faint) Pop III SNe can contribute to early dust
enrichment.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS, 22 pages, 12 figures, 12 table
Massive Stars in the Range : Evolution and Nucleosynthesis. II. the Solar Metallicity Models
We present the evolutionary properties of a set of massive stellar models
(namely 13, 15, 20 and 25 ) from the main sequence phase up to the
onset of the iron core collapse. All these models have initial solar chemical
composition, i.e. Y=0.285 and Z=0.02. A 179 isotope network, extending from
neutron up to and fully coupled to the evolutionary code has been
adopted from the Carbon burning onward. Our results are compared, whenever
possible, to similar computations available in literature.Comment: 42 pages, 18 figures, 26 tables, accepted for publicatin in ApJ
Hot Cores : Probes of High-Redshift Galaxies
The very high rates of second generation star formation detected and inferred
in high redshift objects should be accompanied by intense millimetre-wave
emission from hot core molecules. We calculate the molecular abundances likely
to arise in hot cores associated with massive star formation at high redshift,
using several independent models of metallicity in the early Universe. If the
number of hot cores exceeds that in the Milky Way Galaxy by a factor of at
least one thousand, then a wide range of molecules in high redshift hot cores
should have detectable emission. It should be possible to distinguish between
independent models for the production of metals and hence hot core molecules
should be useful probes of star formation at high redshift.Comment: Updated to correspond to version accepted by MNRA
On the Origin of the Early Solar System Radioactivities. Problems with the AGB and Massive Star Scenarios
Recent improvements in stellar models for intermediate-mass and massive stars
are recalled, together with their expectations for the synthesis of radioactive
nuclei of lifetime Myr, in order to re-examine the origins
of now extinct radioactivities, which were alive in the solar nebula. The
Galactic inheritance broadly explains most of them, especially if -process
nuclei are produced by neutron star merging according to recent models.
Instead, Al, Ca, Cs and possibly Fe require
nucleosynthesis events close to the solar formation. We outline the persisting
difficulties to account for these nuclei by Intermediate Mass Stars (2
M/M). Models of their final stages now
predict the ubiquitous formation of a C reservoir as a neutron capture
source; hence, even in presence of Al production from Deep Mixing or Hot
Bottom Burning, the ratio Al/Pd remains incompatible with
measured data, with a large excess in Pd. This is shown for two recent
approaches to Deep Mixing. Even a late contamination by a Massive Star meets
problems. In fact, inhomogeneous addition of Supernova debris predicts
non-measured excesses on stable isotopes. Revisions invoking specific low-mass
supernovae and/or the sequential contamination of the pre-solar molecular cloud
might be affected by similar problems, although our conclusions here are
weakened by our schematic approach to the addition of SN ejecta. The limited
parameter space remaining to be explored for solving this puzzle is discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication on Ap
Neuropsychology of posteromedial parietal cortex and conversion factors from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s disease: systematic search and state-of-the-art review
In the present review, we discuss the rationale and the clinical implications of assessing visuospatial working memory (VSWM), awareness of memory deficits, and visuomotor control in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). These three domains are related to neural activity in the posteromedial parietal cortex (PMC) whose hypoactivation seems to be a significant predictor of conversion from MCI to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as indicated by recent neuroimaging evidence. A systematic literature search was performed up to May 2021. Forty-eight studies were included: 42 studies provided analytical cross-sectional data and 6 studies longitudinal data on conversion rates. Overall, these studies showed that patients with MCI performed worse than healthy controls in tasks assessing VSWM, awareness of memory deficits, and visuomotor control; in some cases, MCI patients’ performance was comparable to that of patients with overt dementia. Deficits in VSWM and metamemory appear to be significant predictors of conversion. No study explored the relationship between visuomotor control and conversion. Nevertheless, it has been speculated that the assessment of visuomotor abilities in subjects at high AD risk might be useful to discriminate patients who are likely to convert from those who are not. Being able to indirectly estimate PMC functioning through quick and easy neuropsychological tasks in outpatient settings may improve diagnostic and prognostic accuracy, and therefore, the quality of the MCI patient’s management
Chemical evolution with rotating massive star yields II. A new assessment of the solar s- and r- process components
The decomposition of the Solar system abundances of heavy isotopes into their sand r- components plays a key role in our understanding of the corresponding nuclear
processes and the physics and evolution of their astrophysical sites. We present a new
method for determining the s- and r- components of the Solar system abundances,
fully consistent with our current understanding of stellar nucleosynthesis and galactic chemical evolution. The method is based on a study of the evolution of the solar
neighborhood with a state-of-the-art 1-zone model, using recent yields of low and intermediate mass stars as well as of massive rotating stars. We compare our results with
previous studies and we provide tables with the isotopic and elemental contributions
of the s- and r-processes to the Solar system compositionThis article is based upon work partially supported from
the “ChETEC” COST Action (CA16117) of COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). C.A. acknowledges in part to the Spanish grants AYA2015-63588-P
and PGC2018-095317-B-C21 within the European Founds
for Regional Development (FEDER)
Supernova dust yields: the role of metallicity, rotation, and fallback
Supernovae (SNe) are considered to have a major role in dust enrichment of
high redshift galaxies and, due to the short lifetimes of interstellar grains,
in dust replenishment of local galaxies. Here we explore how SN dust yields
depend on the mass, metallicity, and rotation rate of the progenitor stars, and
on the properties of the explosion. To this aim, assuming uniform mixing inside
the ejecta, we quantify the dust mass produced by a sample of SN models with
progenitor masses , metallicity , rotation rate and ~km/s, that
explode with a fixed energy of ~erg (FE models) or with
explosion properties calibrated to reproduce the - relation
inferred from SN observations (CE models). We find that rotation favours more
efficient dust production, particularly for more massive, low metallicity
stars, but that metallicity and explosion properties have the largest effects
on the dust mass and its composition. In FE models, SNe with are more efficient at forming dust: between 0.1 and 1 is
formed in a single explosion, with a composition dominated by silicates, carbon
and magnetite grains when , and by carbon and magnetite grains
when . In CE models, the ejecta are massive and metal-rich and
dust production is more efficient. The dust mass increases with and it is
dominated by silicates, at all [Fe/H].Comment: MNRAS, in pres
C/O white dwarfs of very low mass: 0.33-0.5 Mo
The standard lower limit for the mass of white dwarfs (WDs) with a C/O core
is roughly 0.5 Mo. In the present work we investigated the possibility to form
C/O WDs with mass as low as 0.33 Mo. Both the pre-WD and the cooling evolution
of such nonstandard models will be described.Comment: Submitted to the "Proceedings of the 16th European White Dwarf
Workshop" (to be published JPCS). 7 pages including 13 figure
The Luminosity Function of M3
We present a high precision, large sample luminosity function (LF) for the
Galactic globular cluster M3. With a combination of ground based and Hubble
Space Telescope data we cover the entire radial extent of the cluster. The
observed LF is well fit by canonical standard stellar models from the red giant
branch (RGB) tip to below the main sequence turnoff point. Specifically,
neither the RGB LF-bump nor subgiant branch LF indicate any breakdown in the
standard models. On the main sequence we find evidence for a flat initial mass
function and for mass segregation due to the dynamical evolution of the
cluster.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures. ApJ, in pres
Hydrodynamic simulations of shell convection in stellar cores
Shell convection driven by nuclear burning in a stellar core is a common
hydrodynamic event in the evolution of many types of stars. We encounter and
simulate this convection (i) in the helium core of a low-mass red giant during
core helium flash leading to a dredge-down of protons across an entropy
barrier, (ii) in a carbon-oxygen core of an intermediate-mass star during core
carbon flash, and (iii) in the oxygen and carbon burning shell above the
silicon-sulfur rich core of a massive star prior to supernova explosion. Our
results, which were obtained with the hydrodynamics code HERAKLES, suggest that
both entropy gradients and entropy barriers are less important for stellar
structure than commonly assumed. Our simulations further reveal a new dynamic
mixing process operating below the base of shell convection zones.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures .. submitted to a proceedings of conference about
"Red Giants as Probes of the Structure and Evolution of the Milky Way" which
has taken place between 15-17 November 2010 in Rom
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