775 research outputs found
The Puzzling Frequencies of CEMP and NEMP Stars
We present the results of binary population simulations of carbon- and
nitrogen-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP and NEMP) stars. We show that the observed
paucity of very nitrogen-rich stars puts strong constraints on possible
modifications of the initial mass function at low metallicity.Comment: 3 pages, contribution to "The Origin of the Elements Heavier than
Iron" in honor of the 70th birthday of Roberto Gallino, Torino, Italy,
September 200
Third Dredge-up in Low Mass Stars: Solving the LMC Carbon Star Mystery
A long standing problem with asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star models has
been their inability to produce the low-luminosity carbon stars in the Large
and Small Magellanic Clouds. Dredge-up must begin earlier and extend deeper. We
find this for the first time in our models of LMC metallicity. Such features
are not found in our models of SMC metallicity. The fully implicit and
simultaneous stellar evolution code STARS has been used to calculate the
evolution of AGB stars with metallicities of Z=0.008 and Z=0.004, corresponding
to the observed metallicities of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds,
respecitively. Third dredge-up occurs in stars of 1Msol and above and carbon
stars were found for models between 1Msol and 3Msol. We use the detailed models
as input physics for a population synthesis code and generate carbon star
luminosity functions. We now find that we are able to reproduce the carbon star
luminosity function of the LMC without any manipulation of our models. The SMC
carbon star luminosity function still cannot be produced from our detailed
models unless the minimum core mass for third dredge-up is reduced by 0.06Msol.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Modelling the observed properties of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars using binary population synthesis
The stellar population in the Galactic halo is characterised by a large
fraction of CEMP stars. Most CEMP stars are enriched in -elements (CEMP-
stars), and some of these are also enriched in -elements (CEMP- stars).
One formation scenario proposed for CEMP stars invokes wind mass transfer in
the past from a TP-AGB primary star to a less massive companion star which is
presently observed. We generate low-metallicity populations of binary stars to
reproduce the observed CEMP-star fraction. In addition, we aim to constrain our
wind mass-transfer model and investigate under which conditions our synthetic
populations reproduce observed abundance distributions. We compare the CEMP
fractions and the abundance distributions determined from our synthetic
populations with observations. Several physical parameters of the binary
stellar population of the halo are uncertain, e.g. the initial mass function,
the mass-ratio and orbital-period distributions, and the binary fraction. We
vary the assumptions in our model about these parameters, as well as the wind
mass-transfer process, and study the consequent variations of our synthetic
CEMP population. The CEMP fractions calculated in our synthetic populations
vary between 7% and 17%, a range consistent with the CEMP fractions among very
metal-poor stars recently derived from the SDSS/SEGUE data sample. The results
of our comparison between the modelled and observed abundance distributions are
different for CEMP- stars and for CEMP- stars. For the latter, our
simulations qualitatively reproduce the observed distributions of C, Na, Sr,
Ba, Eu, and Pb. Contrarily, for CEMP- stars our model cannot reproduce the
large abundances of neutron-rich elements such as Ba, Eu, and Pb. This result
is consistent with previous studies, and suggests that CEMP- stars
experienced a different nucleosynthesis history to CEMP- stars.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication on Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Critically rotating stars in binaries - an unsolved problem -
In close binaries mass and angular momentum can be transferred from one star
to the other during Roche-lobe overflow. The efficiency of this process is not
well understood and constitutes one of the largest uncertainties in binary
evolution.
One of the problems lies in the transfer of angular momentum, which will spin
up the accreting star. In very tight systems tidal friction can prevent
reaching critical rotation, by locking the spin period to the orbital period.
Accreting stars in systems with orbital periods larger than a few days reach
critical rotation after accreting only a fraction of their mass, unless there
is an effective mechanism to get rid of angular momentum. In low mass stars
magnetic field might help. In more massive stars angular momentum loss will be
accompanied by strong mass loss. This would imply that most interacting
binaries with initial orbital periods larger than a few days evolve very
non-conservatively.
In this contribution we wish to draw attention to the unsolved problems
related to mass and angular momentum transfer in binary systems. We do this by
presenting the first results of an implementation of spin up by accretion into
the TWIN version of the Eggleton stellar evolution code.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of the conference
"Unsolved Problems in Stellar Physics", Cambridge, 2-6 July 200
The Luminosity & Mass Function of the Trapezium Cluster: From B stars to the Deuterium Burning Limit
We use the results of a new, multi-epoch, multi-wavelength, near-infrared
census of the Trapezium Cluster in Orion to construct and to analyze the
structure of its infrared (K band) luminosity function. Specifically, we employ
an improved set of model luminosity functions to derive this cluster's
underlying Initial Mass Function (IMF) across the entire range of mass from OB
stars to sub-stellar objects down to near the deuterium burning limit. We
derive an IMF for the Trapezium Cluster that rises with decreasing mass, having
a Salpeter-like IMF slope until near ~0.6 M_sun where the IMF flattens and
forms a broad peak extending to the hydrogen burning limit, below which the IMF
declines into the sub-stellar regime. Independent of the details, we find that
sub-stellar objects account for no more than ~22% of the total number of likely
cluster members. Further, the sub-stellar Trapezium IMF breaks from a steady
power-law decline and forms a significant secondary peak at the lowest masses
(10-20 times the mass of Jupiter). This secondary peak may contain as many as
\~30% of the sub-stellar objects in the cluster. Below this sub-stellar IMF
peak, our KLF modeling requires a subsequent sharp decline toward the planetary
mass regime. Lastly, we investigate the robustness of pre-main sequence
luminosity evolution as predicted by current evolutionary models, and we
discuss possible origins for the IMF of brown dwarfs.Comment: 74 pages, 30 figures, AASTeX5.0. To be published in the 01 July 2002
ApJ. For color version of figure 1 and online data table see
http://www.astro.ufl.edu/~muench/PUB/publications.htm
The evolution of naked helium stars with a neutron-star companion in close binary systems
The evolution of helium stars with masses of 1.5 - 6.7 M_sun in binary
systems with a 1.4 M_sun neutron-star companion is presented. Such systems are
assumed to be the remnants of Be/X-ray binaries with B-star masses in the range
of 8 - 20 M_sun which underwent a case B or case C mass transfer and survived
the common-envelope and spiral-in process. The orbital period is chosen such
that the helium star fills its Roche lobe before the ignition of carbon in the
centre. We distinguish case BA (in which mass transfer is initiated during
helium core burning) from case BB (onset of Roche-lobe overflow occurs after
helium core burning is terminated, but before the ignition of carbon). We found
that the remnants of case BA mass transfer from 1.5 - 2.9 M_sun helium stars
are heavy CO white dwarfs. This implies that a star initially as massive as 12
M_sun is able to become a white dwarf. CO white dwarfs are also produced from
case BB mass transfer from 1.5 - 1.8 M_sun helium stars, while ONe white dwarfs
are formed from 2.1 - 2.5 M_sun helium stars. Case BB mass transfer from
more-massive helium stars with a neutron-star companion will produce a double
neutron-star binary. We are able to distinguish the progenitors of type Ib
supernovae (as the high-mass helium stars or systems in wide orbits) from those
of type Ic supernovae (as the lower-mass helium stars or systems in close
orbits). Finally, we derive a "zone of avoidance" in the helium star mass vs.
initial orbital period diagram for producing neutron stars from helium stars.Comment: 16 pages, latex, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Extent of pollution in planet-bearing stars
(abridged) Search for planets around main-sequence (MS) stars more massive
than the Sun is hindered by their hot and rapidly spinning atmospheres. This
obstacle has been sidestepped by radial-velocity surveys of those stars on
their post-MS evolutionary track (G sub-giant and giant stars). Preliminary
observational findings suggest a deficiency of short-period hot Jupiters around
the observed post MS stars, although the total fraction of them with known
planets appears to increase with their mass. Here we consider the possibility
that some very close- in gas giants or a population of rocky planets may have
either undergone orbital decay or been engulfed by the expanding envelope of
their intermediate-mass host stars. If such events occur during or shortly
after those stars' main sequence evolution when their convection zone remains
relatively shallow, their surface metallicity can be significantly enhanced by
the consumption of one or more gas giants. We show that stars with enriched
veneer and lower-metallicity interior follow slightly modified evolution tracks
as those with the same high surface and interior metallicity. As an example, we
consider HD149026, a marginal post MS 1.3 Msun star. We suggest that its
observed high (nearly twice solar) metallicity may be confined to the surface
layer as a consequence of pollution by the accretion of either a planet similar
to its known 2.7-day-period Saturn-mass planet, which has a 70 Mearth compact
core, or a population of smaller mass planets with a comparable total amount of
heavy elements. It is shown that an enhancement in surface metallicity leads to
a reduction in effective temperature, in increase in radius and a net decrease
in luminosity. The effects of such an enhancement are not negligible in the
determinations of the planet's radius based on the transit light curves.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap
The Evolution of Relativistic Binary Progenitor Systems
Relativistic binary pulsars, such as B1534+12 and B1913+16 are characterized
by having close orbits with a binary separation of ~ 3 R_\sun. The progenitor
of such a system is a neutron star, helium star binary. The helium star, with a
strong stellar wind, is able to spin up its compact companion via accretion.
The neutron star's magnetic field is then lowered to observed values of about
10^{10} Gauss. As the pulsar lifetime is inversely proportional to its magnetic
field, the possibility of observing such a system is, thus, enhanced by this
type of evolution. We will show that a nascent (Crab-like) pulsar in such a
system can, through accretion-braking torques (i.e. the "propeller effect") and
wind-induced spin-up rates, reach equilibrium periods that are close to
observed values. Such processes occur within the relatively short helium star
lifetimes. Additionally, we find that the final outcome of such evolutionary
scenarios depends strongly on initial parameters, particularly the initial
binary separation and helium star mass. It is, indeed, determined that the
majority of such systems end up in the pulsar "graveyard", and only a small
fraction are strongly recycled. This fact might help to reconcile theoretically
expected birth rates with limited observations of relativistic binary pulsars.Comment: 24 pages, 10 Postscript figures, Submitted to The Astrophysical
Journa
WIYN Open Cluster Study 1: Deep Photometry of NGC 188
We have employed precise V and I photometry of NGC 188 at WIYN to explore the
cluster luminosity function (LF) and study the cluster white dwarfs (WDs). Our
photometry is offset by V = 0.052 (fainter) from Sandage (1962) and Eggen &
Sandage (1969). All published photometry for the past three decades have been
based on these two calibrations, which are in error by 0.05 +- 0.01. We employ
the Pinsonneault etal (1998) fiducial main sequence to derive a cluster
distance modulus of 11.43 +- 0.08. We report observations that are >= 50%
complete to V = 24.6 and find that the cluster central-field LF peaks at M_I ~
3 to 4. This is unlike the solar neighborhood LF and unlike the LFs of
dynamically unevolved portions of open and globular clusters, which rise
continuously until M_I ~ 9.5. Although we find that >= 50% of the unresolved
cluster objects are multiple systems, their presence cannot account for the
shape of the NGC 188 LF. For theoretical reasons (Terlevich 1987; Vesperini &
Heggie 1997) having to do with the survivability of NGC 188 we believe the
cluster is highly dynamically evolved and that the missing low luminosity stars
are either in the cluster outskirts or have left the cluster altogether. We
identify nine candidate WDs, of which we expect three to six are bona fide
cluster WDs. The luminosities of the faintest likely WD indicates an age
(Bergeron, Wesemael, & Beauchamp 1995) of 1.14 +- 0.09 Gyrs. This is a lower
limit to the cluster age and observations probing to V = 27 or 28 will be
necessary to find the faintest cluster WDs and independently determine the
cluster age. While our age limit is not surprising for this ~6 Gyr old cluster,
our result demonstrates the value of the WD age technique with its very low
internal errors. (abridged)Comment: 26 pages, uuencoded gunzip'ed latex + 16 postscrip figures, to be
published in A
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