No Arabic abstract
We follow the Galactic enrichment of three easily observed light n-capture elements Sr,Y,and Zr.Input stellar yields have been first separated into their respective main and weak s-process,and r-process components.The s-process yields from AGB stars are computed,exploring a wide range of efficiencies of the major neutron source,13C,and covering both disk and halo metallicities.AGBs have been shown to reproduce the main s-component in the solar system.The concurrent weak s-process,which accounts for the major fraction of the light s-process isotopes in the solar system and occurs in massive stars by the operation of the 22Ne n-source,is discussed in detail.Neither the main s-,nor the weak s-components are shown to contribute significantly to the n-capture element abundances observed in unevolved halo stars.We present a detailed analysis of a large database of spectroscopic observations of Sr,Y,Zr, Ba,and Eu for Galactic stars at various metallicities.Spectroscopic observations of Sr,Y,and Zr to Ba and Eu abundance ratios versus metallicity provide useful diagnostics of the types of n-capture processes forming Sr,Y and Zr.The observed [Sr,Y,Zr/Ba,Eu] ratio is clearly not flat at low metallicities,as we would expect if Ba,Eu and Sr,Y,Zr all had the same r-process origin.We discuss our chemical evolution predictions, taking into account the interplay between different processes to produce Sr-Y-Zr.We find hints for a primary process in low-metallicity massive stars, different from the classical s-process and from the classical r-process,that we tentatively define LEPP (Lighter Element Primary Process).This allows us to revise the estimates of the r-process contributions to the solar Sr,Y and Zr abundances,as well as of the contribution to the s-only isotopes 86Sr,87Sr,96Mo.
Heavy-metal hot subdwarfs (sdB and sdO) represent a small group of stars with unusually high concentrations of trans-iron elements in their atmospheres, having abundances ~ 10000 times solar. One example is LS IV-14$^{circ}$ 116, where a number of heavy-metal absorption lines of Sr II, Y III and Zr IV have been observed in the optical band 4000 - 5000 A. We use a fully relativistic Dirac atomic R-Matrix (DARC) to calculate photoionization cross sections of Sr$^{0}$, Y$^{+}$ and Zr$^{2+}$ from their ground state to the twentieth excited level. We use the cross sections and the oscillator strengths to simulate the spectrum of a hot subdwarf. We obtain complete sets of photoionization cross sections for the three ions under study. We use these data to calculate the opacity of the stellar atmospheres of hot subdwarf stars, and show that for overabundances observed in some heavy-metal subdwarves, photo-excitation from zirconium, in particular, does contribute some back warming in the model.
Using isochronous mass spectrometry at the experimental storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou, the masses of $^{82}$Zr and $^{84}$Nb were measured for the first time with an uncertainty of $sim 10$ keV, and the masses of $^{79}$Y, $^{81}$Zr, and $^{83}$Nb were re-determined with a higher precision. %The latter differ significantly from their literature values. The latter are significantly less bound than their literature values. Our new and accurate masses remove the irregularities of the mass surface in this region of the nuclear chart. Our results do not support the predicted island of pronounced low $alpha$ separation energies for neutron-deficient Mo and Tc isotopes, making the formation of Zr-Nb cycle in the $rp$-process unlikely. The new proton separation energy of $^{83}$Nb was determined to be 490(400)~keV smaller than that in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012. This partly removes the overproduction of the $p$-nucleus $^{84}$Sr relative to the neutron-deficient molybdenum isotopes in the previous $ u p$-process simulations.
In a recent study, based on homogeneous barium abundance measurements in open clusters, a trend of increasing [Ba/Fe] ratios for decreasing cluster age was reported. We present here further abundance determinations, relative to four other elements hav- ing important s-process contributions, with the aim of investigating whether the growth found for [Ba/Fe] is or not indicative of a general property, shared also by the other heavy elements formed by slow neutron captures. In particular, we derived abundances for yttrium, zirconium, lanthanum and cerium, using equivalent widths measurements and the MOOG code. Our sample includes 19 open clusters of different ages, for which the spectra were obtained at the ESO VLT telescope, using the UVES spectrometer. The growth previously suggested for Ba is confirmed for all the elements analyzed in our study. This fact implies significant changes in our views of the Galactic chemical evolution for elements beyond iron. Our results necessarily require that very low-mass AGB stars (M < 1.5Modot) produce larger amounts of s-process elements (hence acti- vate the 13 C-neutron source more effectively) than previously expected. Their role in producing neutron-rich elements in the Galactic disk has been so far underestimated and their evolution and neutron-capture nucleosynthesis should now be reconsidered.
Context. Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are thought to be in a transitory phase between O stars on the main-sequence and the Wolf-Rayet stage. Recent studies suggest that they might be formed through binary interaction. Only a few are known in binary systems but their multiplicity fraction is uncertain. Aims. This study aims at deriving the binary fraction among the Galactic (confirmed and candidate) LBV population. We combine multi-epoch spectroscopy and long-baseline interferometry. Methods. We use cross-correlation to measure their radial velocities. We identify spectroscopic binaries through significant RV variability (larger than 35 km/s). We investigate the observational biases to establish the intrinsic binary fraction. We use CANDID to detect interferometric companions, derive their parameters and positions. Results. We derive an observed spectroscopic binary fraction of 26 %. Considering period and mass ratio ranges from Porb=1 to 1000 days, and q = 0.1-1.0, and a representative set of orbital parameter distributions, we find a bias-corrected binary fraction of 62%. From interferometry, we detect 14 companions out of 18 objects, providing a binary fraction of 78% at projected separations between 1 and 120 mas. From the derived primary diameters, and the distances of these objects, we measure for the first time the exact radii of Galactic LBVs to be between 100 and 650 Rsun, making unlikely to have short-period systems. Conclusions. This analysis shows that the binary fraction among the Galactic LBV population is large. If they form through single-star evolution, their orbit must be initially large. If they form through binary channel that implies that either massive stars in short binary systems must undergo a phase of fully non-conservative mass transfer to be able to sufficiently widen the orbit or that LBVs form through merging in initially binary or triple systems.
Shape evolution of Zr nuclei are investigated by the axial Hartree-Fock (HF) calculations using the semi-realistic interaction M3Y-P6, with focusing on roles of the tensor force. Deformation at $Napprox 40$ is reproduced, which has not been easy to describe within the self-consistent mean-field calculations. The spherical shape is obtained in $46leq Nleq 56$, and the prolate deformation is predicted in $58leq Nleq 72$, while the shape switches to oblate at $N=74$. The sphericity returns at $N=80$ and $82$. The deformation in $60lesssim Nlesssim 70$ resolves the discrepancy in the previous magic-number prediction based on the spherical mean-field calculations [Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. textbf{2014}, 033D02]. It is found that the deformation at $Napprox 40$ takes place owing to the tensor force with a good balance. The tensor-force effects significantly depend on the configurations, and are pointed out to be conspicuous when the unique-parity orbit (e.g. $n0h_{11/2}$) is present near the Fermi energy, delaying deformation. These effects are crucial for the magicity at $N=56$ and for the predicted shape change at $N=74$ and $80$.