2,763 research outputs found
The Origin of Fluorine: Abundances in AGB Carbon Stars Revisited
Revised spectroscopic parameters for the HF molecule and a new CN line list
in the 2.3 mu region have been recently available, allowing a revision of the F
content in AGB stars. AGB carbon stars are the only observationally confirmed
sources of fluorine. Nowadays there is not a consensus on the relevance of AGB
stars in its Galactic chemical evolution. The aim of this article is to better
constrain the contribution of these stars with a more accurate estimate of
their fluorine abundances. Using new spectroscopic tools and LTE spectral
synthesis, we redetermine fluorine abundances from several HF lines in the
K-band in a sample of Galactic and extragalactic AGB carbon stars of spectral
types N, J and SC spanning a wide range of metallicities. On average, the new
derived fluorine abundances are systematically lower by 0.33 dex with respect
to previous determinations. This may derive from a combination of the lower
excitation energies of the HF lines and the larger macroturbulence parameters
used here as well as from the new adopted CN line list. Yet, theoretical
nucleosynthesis models in AGB stars agree with the new fluorine determinations
at solar metallicities. At low metallicities, an agreement between theory and
observations can be found by handling in a different way the
radiative/convective interface at the base of the convective envelope. New
fluorine spectroscopic measurements agree with theoretical models at low and at
solar metallicity. Despite this, complementary sources are needed to explain
its observed abundance in the solar neighbourhood.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted in A&
Fluorine in AGB Carbon Stars Revisited
A reanalysis of the fluorine abundance in three Galactic AGB carbon stars (TX
Psc, AQ Sgr and R Scl) has been performed from the molecular HF (1-0) R9 line
at 2.3358 m. High-resolution (R) and high signal to noise
spectra obtained with the CRIRES spectrograph and the VLT telescope or from the
NOAO archive (for TX Psc) have been used. Our abundance analysis uses the
latest generation of MARCS model atmospheres for cool carbon rich stars. Using
spectral synthesis in LTE we derive for these stars fluorine abundances that
are systematically lower by dex in average with respect to the sole
previous estimates by Jorissen, Smith & Lambert (1992). The possible reasons of
this discrepancy are explored. We conclude that the difference may rely on the
blending with C-bearing molecules (CN and C) that were not properly taken
into account in the former study. The new F abundances are in better agreement
with the prediction of full network stellar models of low mass AGB stars. These
models also reproduce the -process elements distribution in the sampled
stars. This result, if confirmed in a larger sample of AGB stars, might
alleviate the current difficulty to explain the largest [F/O] ratios found by
Jorissen et al. In particular, it may not be necessary to search for
alternative nuclear chains affecting the production of F in AGB stars.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures. to be appear in The Astrophysical Journal (Jan
2009 issue
Measurement of the Higgs Boson Mass with a Linear e+e- Collider
The potential of a linear e+e- collider operated at a centre-of-mass energy
of 350 GeV is studied for the measurement of the Higgs boson mass. An
integrated luminosity of 500 fb-1 is assumed. For Higgs boson masses of 120,
150 and 180 GeV the uncertainty on the Higgs boson mass measurement is
estimated to be 40, 65 and 70 MeV, respectively. The effects of beam related
systematics, namely a bias in the beam energy measurement, the beam energy
spread and the luminosity spectrum due to beamstrahlung, on the precision of
the Higgs boson mass measurement are investigated. In order to keep the
systematic uncertainty on the Higgs boson mass well below the level of the
statistical error, the beam energy measurement must be controlled with a
relative precision better than 10-4.Comment: 19 pages, 10 Figure
Deep Mixing in Evolved Stars. II. Interpreting Li Abundances in RGB and AGB Stars
We reanalyze the problem of Li abundances in red giants of nearly solar
metallicity. After an outline of the problems affecting our knowledge of the Li
content in low-mass stars (M<3Mo), we discuss deep-mixing models for the RGB
stages suitable to account for the observed trends and for the correlated
variations of the carbon isotope ratio; we find that Li destruction in these
phases is limited to masses below about 2.3 Mo. Subsequently, we concentrate on
the final stages of evolution for both O-rich and C-rich AGB stars. Here, the
constraints on extra-mixing phenomena previously derived from heavier nuclei
(from C to Al), coupled to recent updates in stellar structure models
(including both the input physics and the set of reaction rates used), are
suitable to account for the observations of Li abundances below A(Li)= log
e(Li) = 1.5 (and sometimes more). Also their relations with other
nucleosynthesis signatures of AGB phases (like the abundance of F, the C/O and
12C/13C ratios) can be explained. This requires generally moderate efficiencies
(\dot M <= 0.3 - 0.5 x 10^-6 Mo/yr) for non-convective mass transport. At such
rates, slow extra-mixing does not modify remarkably Li abundances in early-AGB
phases; on the other hand, faster mixing encounters a physical limit in
destroying Li, set by the mixing velocity. Beyond this limit, Li starts to be
produced; therefore its destruction on the AGB is modest. Li is then
significantly produced by the third dredge up. We also show that effective
circulation episodes, while not destroying Li, would easily bring the 12C/13C
ratios to equilibrium, contrary to the evidence in most AGB stars, and would
burn F beyond the limits shown by C(N) giants. Hence, we do not confirm the
common idea that efficient extra-mixing drastically reduces the Li content of
C-stars with respect to K-M giants.Comment: 56 pages, 21 13 figures, ApJ submitte
Evolution, nucleosynthesis and yields of low mass AGB stars at different metallicities (II): the FRUITY database
By using updated stellar low mass stars models, we can systematically
investigate the nucleosynthesis processes occurring in AGB stars, when these
objects experience recurrent thermal pulses and third dredge-up episodes. In
this paper we present the database dedicated to the nucleosynthesis of AGB
stars: the FRUITY (FRANEC Repository of Updated Isotopic Tables & Yields)
database. An interactive web-based interface allows users to freely download
the full (from H to Bi) isotopic composition, as it changes after each third
dredge-up episode and the stellar yields the models produce. A first set of AGB
models, having masses in the range 1.5 < M/Msun < 3.0 and metallicities 1e-3 <
Z < 2e-2, is discussed here. For each model, a detailed description of the
physical and the chemical evolution is provided. In particular, we illustrate
the details of the s-process and we evaluate the theoretical uncertainties due
to the parametrization adopted to model convection and mass loss. The resulting
nucleosynthesis scenario is checked by comparing the theoretical [hs/ls] and
[Pb/hs] ratios to those obtained from the available abundance analysis of
s-enhanced stars. On the average, the variation with the metallicity of these
spectroscopic indexes is well reproduced by theoretical models, although the
predicted spread at a given metallicity is substantially smaller than the
observed one. Possible explanations for such a difference are briefly
discussed. An independent check of the third dredge-up efficiency is provided
by the C-stars luminosity function. Consequently, theoretical C-stars
luminosity functions for the Galactic disk and the Magellanic Clouds have been
derived. We generally find a good agreement with observations.Comment: Accepted for Publication on The Astrophysical Journal Supplement
Chemical evolution of star clusters
I discuss the chemical evolution of star clusters, with emphasis on old
globular clusters, in relation to their formation histories. Globular clusters
clearly formed in a complex fashion, under markedly different conditions from
any younger clusters presently known. Those special conditions must be linked
to the early formation epoch of the Galaxy and must not have occurred since.
While a link to the formation of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies has been
suggested, present-day dwarf galaxies are not representative of the
gravitational potential wells within which the globular clusters formed.
Instead, a formation deep within the proto-Galaxy or within dark-matter
minihaloes might be favoured. Not all globular clusters may have formed and
evolved similarly. In particular, we may need to distinguish Galactic halo from
Galactic bulge clusters.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figures. To appear as invited review article in a special
issue of the Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A: Ch. 6 "Star clusters as tracers of
galactic star-formation histories" (ed. R. de Grijs). Fully peer reviewed.
LaTeX, requires rspublic.cls style fil
Magnetic-buoyancy-induced mixing in AGB stars: Fluorine nucleosynthesis at different metallicities
DV and SC acknowledge S. Bagnulo for fruitful discussions. DV acknowledges financial support from the German-Israeli Foundation (GIF No. I-1500-303.7/2019). CA acknowledges financial support from the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion through the FEDER founds projects PGC2018-095317-B-C2.Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are considered to be among the most significant contributors to the fluorine budget in our Galaxy. While observations and theory agree at close-to-solar metallicity, stellar models at lower metallicities overestimate the fluorine production with respect to that of heavy elements. We present F-19 nucleosynthesis results for a set of AGB models with different masses and metallicities in which magnetic buoyancy acts as the driving process for the formation of the C-13 neutron source (the so-called C-13 pocket). We find that F-19 is mainly produced as a result of nucleosynthesis involving secondary N-14 during convective thermal pulses, with a negligible contribution from the N-14 present in the C-13 pocket region. A large F-19 production is thus prevented, resulting in lower fluorine surface abundances. As a consequence, AGB stellar models with mixing induced by magnetic buoyancy at the base of the convective envelope agree well with available fluorine spectroscopic measurements at low and close-to-solar metallicity.German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development I-1500-303.7/2019Agencia Estatal de Investigacion of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion through the FEDER founds projects PGC2018-095317-B-C
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)
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