174 research outputs found
Low mass star formation and subclustering in the HII regions RCW 32, 33 and 27 of the Vela Molecular Ridge. A photometric diagnostics to identify M-type stars
Most stars born in clusters and recent results suggest that star formation
(SF) preferentially occurs in subclusters. Studying the morphology and SF
history of young clusters is crucial to understanding early SF. We identify the
embedded clusters of young stellar objects (YSOs) down to M stars, in the HII
regions RCW33, RCW32 and RCW27 of the Vela Molecular Ridge. Our aim is to
characterise their properties, such as morphology and extent of the clusters in
the three HII regions, derive stellar ages and the connection of the SF history
with the environment. Through public photometric surveys such as Gaia, VPHAS,
2MASS and Spitzer/GLIMPSE, we identify YSOs with IR, Halpha and UV excesses, as
signature of circumstellar disks and accretion. In addition, we implement a
method to distinguish M dwarfs and giants, by comparing the reddening derived
in several optical/IR color-color diagrams, assuming suitable theoretical
models. Since this diagnostic is sensitive to stellar gravity, the procedure
allows us to identify pre-main sequence stars. We find a large population of
YSOs showing signatures of circumstellar disks with or without accretion. In
addition, with the new technique of M-type star selection, we find a rich
population of young M stars with a spatial distribution strongly correlated to
the more massive population. We find evidence of three young clusters, with
different morphology. In addition, we identify field stars falling in the same
region, by securely classifying them as giants and foreground MS stars. We
identify the embedded population of YSOs, down to about 0.1 Msun, associated
with the HII regions RCW33, RCW32 and RCW27 and the clusters Vela T2, Cr197 and
Vela T1, respectively, showing very different morphologies. Our results suggest
a decreasing SF rate in Vela T2 and triggered SF in Cr197 and Vela T1.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 20 pages, 22 figures, 6 table
The distance to the young cluster NGC 7129 and its age
The dust cloud TGU H645 P2 and embedded in it young open cluster NGC 7129 are
investigated using the results of medium-band photometry of 159 stars in the
Vilnius seven-colour system down to V = 18.8 mag. The photometric data were
used to classify about 50 percent of the measured stars in spectral and
luminosity classes. The extinction A_V vs. distance diagram for the 20x20
arcmin area is plotted for 155 stars with two-dimensional classification from
the present and the previous catalogues. The extinction values found range
between 0.6 and 3.4 mag. However, some red giants, located in the direction of
the dense parts of the cloud, exhibit the infrared extinction equivalent up to
A_V = 13 mag. The distance to the cloud (and the cluster) is found to be 1.15
kpc (the true distance modulus 10.30 mag). For determining the age of NGC 7129,
a luminosity vs. temperature diagram for six cluster members of spectral
classes B3 to A1 was compared with the Pisa pre-main-sequence evolution tracks
and the Palla birthlines. The cluster can be as old as about 3 Myr, but star
forming continues till now as witnessed by the presence in the cloud of many
younger pre-main-sequence objects identified with photometry from 2MASS,
Spitzer and WISE infrared surveys.Comment: 8 pages, 6 fugures, full Table 1 online. Accepted for publication in
MNRAS on 2013 November 3
When the tale comes true: multiple populations and wide binaries in the Orion Nebula Cluster
The high-quality OmegaCAM photometry of the 3x3 deg around the Orion Nebula
Cluster (ONC) in r, and i filters by Beccari et al.(2017) revealed three
well-separated pre-main sequences in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD). The
objects belonging to the individual sequences are concentrated towards the
center of the ONC. The authors concluded that there are two competitive
scenarios: a population of unresolved binaries and triples with an exotic mass
ratio distribution, or three stellar populations with different ages. We use
Gaia DR2 in combination with the photometric OmegaCAM catalog to test and
confirm the presence of the putative three stellar populations. We also study
multiple stellar systems in the ONC for the first time using Gaia DR2. We
confirm that the second and third sequence members are more centrally
concentrated towards the center of the ONC. In addition we find an indication
that the parallax and proper motion distributions are different among the
members of the stellar sequences. The age difference among stellar populations
is estimated to be 1-2 Myr. We use Gaia measurements to identify and remove as
many unresolved multiple system candidates as possible. Nevertheless we are
still able to recover two well-separated sequences with evidence for the third
one, supporting the existence of the three stellar populations. We were able to
identify a substantial number of wide binary objects (separation between
1000-3000 au). This challenges previously inferred values that suggested no
wide binary stars exist in the ONC. Our inferred wide-binary fraction is approx
5%. We confirm the three populations correspond to three separated episodes of
star formation. Based on this result, we conclude that star formation is not
happening in a single burst in this region. (abridged)Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A) accepted. 12 pages, 9 figures +
appendix. New version with language corrections and new ID values in Tab.A.
Protostellar accretion in low mass metal poor stars and the cosmological lithium problem
© ESO 2020. Context. The cosmological lithium problem, that is, the discrepancy between the lithium abundance predicted by the Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the one observed for the stars of the 'Spite plateau', is one of the long standing problems of modern astrophysics. Recent hints for a possible solution involve lithium burning induced by protostellar mass accretion on Spite plateau stars. However, to date, most of the protostellar and pre-main sequence stellar models that take mass accretion into account have been computed at solar metallicity, and a detailed analysis on the impact of protostellar accretion on the lithium evolution in the metal-poor regime, which is relevant for stars in the Spite plateau, is completely missing. Aims. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap, analysing, in detail, for the first time the effect of protostellar accretion on low metallicity low-mass stars with a focus on pre-main sequence lithium evolution. Methods. We computed the evolution from the protostar to the main-sequence phase of accreting models with final masses equal to 0.7 and 0.8 M°, and three metallicities Z = 0.0001, Z = 0.0010, and Z = 0.0050, corresponding to [Fe/H] ∼-2.1, -1.1 (typical of Spite plateau stars), and [Fe/H] ∼-0.42, respectively. We followed the temporal evolution of the chemical composition by considering nuclear burning, convective mixing, and diffusion. The effects of changing some of the main parameters affecting accreting models, that is the accretion energy (i.e. cold versus hot accretion), the initial seed mass Mseed and radius Rseed, and the mass accretion rate (also considering episodic accretion), have been investigated in detail. Results. As for the main stellar properties and in particular the surface 7Li abundance, hot accretion models converge to standard non-accreting ones within 1 Myr, regardless of the actual value of Mseed, Rseed, and . Also, cold accretion models with a relatively large Mseed (10 MJ) or Rseed (1 R°) converge to standard non-accreting ones in less than about 10-20 Myr. However, a drastically different evolution occurs whenever a cold protostellar accretion process starts from small values of Mseed and Rseed (Mseed ∼ 1 MJ, Rseed 1 R°). These models almost entirely skip the standard Hayashi track evolution and deplete lithium before the end of the accretion phase. The exact amount of depletion depends on the actual combination of the accretion parameters (, Mseed, and Rseed), achieving in some cases the complete exhaustion of lithium in the whole star. Finally, the lithium evolution in models accounting for burst accretion episodes or for an initial hot accretion followed by a cold accretion phase closely resemble that of standard non-accreting ones. Conclusions. To significantly deplete lithium in low-mass metal poor stars by means of protostellar accretion, a cold accretion scenario starting from small initial Mseed and Rseed is required. Even in this extreme configuration leading to a non-standard evolution that misses almost entirely the standard Hayashi track, an unsatisfactory fine tuning of the parameters governing the accretion phase is required to deplete lithium in stars of different mass and metallicity - starting from the Big Bang nucleosynthesis abundance - in such a way as to produce the observed Spite plateau
Protostellar accretion and the cosmological lithium problem
The cosmological lithium problem, i.e. the discrepancy between the lithium
abundance predicted by the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and the one observed for
the stars of the "Spite plateau", is one of the long standing problems of
modern astrophysics. A possible astrophysical solution involves lithium burning
due to protostellar mass accretion on Spite plateau stars. In present work, for
the first time, we investigate with accurate evolutionary computations the
impact of accretion on the lithium evolution in the metal-poor regime, that
relevant for stars in the Spite plateau.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Proceedings of the conference "Lithium in the
Universe: to Be or not to Be", 18-22 November 2019, Rome (Italy
Protostellar accretion in low mass metal poor stars and the cosmological lithium problem
Context. The cosmological lithium problem, that is, the discrepancy between the lithium abundance predicted by the Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the one observed for the stars of the 'Spite plateau', is one of the long standing problems of modern astrophysics. Recent hints for a possible solution involve lithium burning induced by protostellar mass accretion on Spite plateau stars. However, to date, most of the protostellar and pre-main sequence stellar models that take mass accretion into account have been computed at solar metallicity, and a detailed analysis on the impact of protostellar accretion on the lithium evolution in the metal-poor regime, which is relevant for stars in the Spite plateau, is completely missing. Aims. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap, analysing, in detail, for the first time the effect of protostellar accretion on low metallicity low-mass stars with a focus on pre-main sequence lithium evolution. Methods. We computed the evolution from the protostar to the main-sequence phase of accreting models with final masses equal to 0.7 and 0.8 M°, and three metallicities Z = 0.0001, Z = 0.0010, and Z = 0.0050, corresponding to [Fe/H] ∼-2.1, -1.1 (typical of Spite plateau stars), and [Fe/H] ∼-0.42, respectively. We followed the temporal evolution of the chemical composition by considering nuclear burning, convective mixing, and diffusion. The effects of changing some of the main parameters affecting accreting models, that is the accretion energy (i.e. cold versus hot accretion), the initial seed mass Mseed and radius Rseed, and the mass accretion rate (also considering episodic accretion), have been investigated in detail. Results. As for the main stellar properties and in particular the surface 7Li abundance, hot accretion models converge to standard non-accreting ones within 1 Myr, regardless of the actual value of Mseed, Rseed, and . Also, cold accretion models with a relatively large Mseed (10 MJ) or Rseed (1 R°) converge to standard non-accreting ones in less than about 10-20 Myr. However, a drastically different evolution occurs whenever a cold protostellar accretion process starts from small values of Mseed and Rseed (Mseed ∼ 1 MJ, Rseed 1 R°). These models almost entirely skip the standard Hayashi track evolution and deplete lithium before the end of the accretion phase. The exact amount of depletion depends on the actual combination of the accretion parameters (, Mseed, and Rseed), achieving in some cases the complete exhaustion of lithium in the whole star. Finally, the lithium evolution in models accounting for burst accretion episodes or for an initial hot accretion followed by a cold accretion phase closely resemble that of standard non-accreting ones. Conclusions. To significantly deplete lithium in low-mass metal poor stars by means of protostellar accretion, a cold accretion scenario starting from small initial Mseed and Rseed is required. Even in this extreme configuration leading to a non-standard evolution that misses almost entirely the standard Hayashi track, an unsatisfactory fine tuning of the parameters governing the accretion phase is required to deplete lithium in stars of different mass and metallicity - starting from the Big Bang nucleosynthesis abundance - in such a way as to produce the observed Spite plateau
Deep near-infrared imaging of W3 Main: constraints on stellar cluster formation
Embedded clusters like W3 Main are complex and dynamically evolving systems
that represent an important phase of the star formation process. We aim at the
characterization of the entire stellar content of W3 Main in a statistical
sense to identify possible differences in evolutionary phase of the stellar
populations and find clues about the formation mechanism of this massive
embedded cluster. Methods. Deep JHKs imaging is used to derive the disk
fraction, Ks-band luminosity functions and mass functions for several
subregions in W3 Main. A two dimensional completeness analysis using artificial
star experiments is applied as a crucial ingredient to assess realistic
completeness limits for our photometry. We find an overall disk fraction of 7.7
2.3%, radially varying from 9.4 3.0 % in the central 1 pc to 5.6
2.2 % in the outer parts of W3 Main. The mass functions derived for three
subregions are consistent with a Kroupa and Chabrier mass function. The mass
function of IRSN3 is complete down to 0.14 Msun and shows a break at M
0.5 Msun. We interpret the higher disk fraction in the center as evidence for a
younger age of the cluster center. We find that the evolutionary sequence
observed in the low-mass stellar population is consistent with the observed age
spread among the massive stars. An analysis of the mass function variations
does not show evidence for mass segregation. W3 Main is currently still
actively forming stars, showing that the ionizing feedback of OB stars is
confined to small areas ( 0.5 pc). The FUV feedback might be influencing
large regions of the cluster as suggested by the low overall disk fraction.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, accepted by A&
Evidence of a substellar companion to AB Dor C
Studies of fundamental parameters of very low-mass objects are indispensable
to provide tests of stellar evolution models that are used to derive
theoretical masses of brown dwarfs and planets. However, only objects with
dynamically determined masses and precise photometry can effectively evaluate
the predictions of stellar models. AB Dor C (0.090 solar masses) has become a
prime benchmark for calibration of theoretical evolutionary models of low-mass
young stars. One of the ambiguities remaining in AB Dor C is the possible
binary nature of this star. We observed AB Dor C with the VLTI/AMBER instrument
in low-resolution mode at the J, H and K bands. The interferometric observables
at the K-band are compatible with a binary brown dwarf system with tentative
components AB Dor Ca/Cb with a K-band flux ratio of 51% and a separation
of 381 mas. This implies theoretical masses of 0.0720.013 M and 0.0130.001 M for each component, near the
hydrogen-burning limit for AB Dor Ca, and near the deuterium-burning limit,
straddling the boundary between brown dwarfs and giant planets, for AB Dor Cb.
The possible binarity of AB Dor C alleviates the disagreement between observed
magnitudes and theoretical mass-luminosity relationships.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
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