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Register a new userThe s process in AGB stars as constrained by a large sample of Barium stars
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Context. Barium (Ba) stars are dwarf and giant stars enriched in elements heavier than iron produced by the slow neutron-capture process (s process). They belong to binary systems where the primary star evolved through the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase,during which it produced the s-process elements and transferred them onto the secondary, now observed as a Ba star. Aims. We compare the largest homogeneous set of Ba giant star observations of the s-process elements Y, Zr, La, Ce, and Nd with AGB nucleosynthesis models to reach a better understanding of the s process in AGB stars. Methods. By considering the light-s (ls: Y and Zr) heavy-s (hs: La, Ce, and Nd) and elements individually, we computed for the first time quantitative error bars for the different hs-element/ls-element abundance ratios, and for each of the sample stars. We compared these ratios to low-mass AGB nucleosynthesis models. We excluded La from our analysis because the strong La lines in some of the sample stars cause an overestimation and unreliable abundance determination, as compared to the other observed hs-type elements. Results. All the computed hs-type to ls-type element ratios show a clear trend of increasing with decreasing metallicity with a small spread (less than a factor of 3). This trend is predicted by low-mass AGB models where 13C is the main neutron source. The comparison with rotating AGB models indicates the need for the presence of an angular momentum transport mechanism that should not transport chemical species, but significantly reduce the rotational speed of the core in the advanced stellar evolutionary stages. This is an independent confirmation of asteroseismology observations of the slow down of core rotation in giant stars, and of rotational velocities of white dwarfs lower than predicted by models without an extra angular momentum transport mechanism.
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Detailed chemical composition studies of stars with enhanced abundances of neutron-capture elements can provide observational constraints for neutron-capture nucleosynthesis studies and clues for understanding their contribution to the Galactic chemical enrichment. We present abundance results from high-resolution spectral analyses of a sample of four chemically peculiar stars characterized by s-process enhancement. High-Resolution spectra (R ~ 42000) of these objects spanning a wavelength range from 4000 to 6800 A, are taken from the ELODIE archive. We have estimated the stellar atmospheric parameters, the effective temperature T_eff, the surface gravity log g, and metallicity [Fe/H] from local thermodynamic equilibrium analysis using model atmospheres. We report estimates of elemental abundances for several neutron-capture elements, Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Dy. While HD 49641 and HD 58368 show [Ba/Fe] > 1.16 the other two objects HD 119650 and HD 191010 are found to be mild barium stars with [Ba/Fe] ~ 0.4. The derived abundances of the elements are interpreted on the basis of existing theories for understanding their origin and evolution.
In order to get a broader view of the s-process nucleosynthesis we study the abundance distribution of heavy elements of 35 barium stars and 24 CEMP-stars, including nine CEMP-s stars and 15 CEMP-r/s stars. The similar distribution of [Pb/hs] between CEMP-s and CEMP-r/s stars indicate that the s-process material of both CEMP-s and CEMP-r/s stars should have a uniform origin, i.e. mass transfer from their predominant AGB companions. For the CEMP-r/s stars, we found that the r-process should provide similar proportional contributes to the second s-peak and the third s-peak elements, and also be responsible for the higher overabundance of heavy elements than those in CEMP-s stars. Which hints that the r-process origin of CEMP-r/s stars should be closely linked to the main r-process. The fact that some small $r$ values exist for both barium and CEMP-s stars, implies that the single exposure event of the s-process nucleosynthesis should be general in a wide metallicity range of our Galaxy. Based on the relation between $C_{r}$ and $C_{s}$, we suggest that the origin of r-elements for CEMP-r/s stars have more sources. A common scenario is that the formation of the binary system was triggered by only one or a few supernova. In addition, accretion-induced collapse(AIC) or SN 1.5 should be the supplementary scenario, especially for these whose pre-AGB companion with higher mass and smaller orbit radius, which support the higher values of both $C_{r}$ and $C_{s}$.
In this paper we present a large-scale sensitivity study of reaction rates in the main component of the $s$ process. The aim of this study is to identify all rates, which have a global effect on the $s$ process abundance distribution and the three most important rates for the production of each isotope. We have performed a sensitivity study on the radiative $^{13}$C-pocket and on the convective thermal pulse, sites of the $s$ process in AGB stars. We identified 22 rates, which have the highest impact on the $s$-process abundances in AGB stars.
Origin of enhanced abundance of heavy elements observed in the surface chemical composition of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars still remain poorly understood. Here, we present detailed abundance analysis of seven CEMP stars based on high resolution (R${sim}$ 50,000) spectra that reveal enough evidence of Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars being possible progenitors for these objects. For the objects HE0110$-$0406, HE1425$-$2052 and HE1428$-$1950, we present for the first time a detailed abundance analysis. Our sample is found to consists of one metal-poor ([Fe/H]$<$$-1.0$) and six very metal-poor ([Fe/H]$<$$-2.0$) stars with enhanced carbon and neutron-capture elements. We have critically analysed the observed abundance ratios of [O/Fe], [Sr/Ba] and [hs/ls] and examined the possibility of AGB stars being possible progenitors. The abundance of oxygen estimated in the programme stars are characteristics of AGB progenitors except for HE1429$-$0551 and HE1447$+$0102. The estimated values of [Sr/Ba] and [hs/ls] ratios also support AGB stars as possible progenitors. The locations of the programme stars in the absolute carbon abundance A(C) vs. [Fe/H] diagram along with the Group I objects hint at binary nature of the object. We have studied the chemical enrichment histories of the programme stars based on abundance ratios [Mg/C], [Sc/Mn] and [C/Cr]. Using [C/N] and $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C ratios we have examined if any internal mixing had modified their surface chemical compositions. Kinematic analysis shows that the objects HE 0110$-$0406 and HE1447$+$0102 are thick disk objects and the remaining five objects belong to the halo population of the Galaxy.
The study of the evolutionary properties of Asymptotic Giant Branch stars still presents unresolved topics. Progress in the theoretical understanding of their evolution is hampered by the difficulty to empirically explain key physical parameters like their luminosity, mass loss rate and chemical abundances. We are performing an analysis of Galactic AGB stars trying to find constraints for these parameters. Our aim is of extending this analysis to the AGB stars of the Magellanic Clouds and of the Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies using also mid-infrared observations from the Antarctic telescope IRAIT. AGB sources from the Magellanic Clouds will be fundamental in our understanding of the AGB evolution because they are all at a well defined distance (differently from the Galactic AGBs). Moreover, these sources present different values of metallicity: this fact should permit us of examining in a better way their evolutionary properties comparing their behaviour with the one from Galactic sources.
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