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Register a new userTechnetium and the third dredge up in AGB stars II. Bulge stars
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Stefan Uttenthaler
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We searched for Technetium (Tc) in a sample of bright oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars located in the outer galactic bulge. Tc is an unstable element synthesised via the s-process in deep layers of AGB stars, thus it is a reliable indicator of both recent s-process activity and third dredge-up. We aim to test theoretical predictions on the luminosity limit for the onset of third dredge-up. Using high resolution optical spectra obtained with the UVES spectrograph at ESOs VLT we search for resonance lines of neutral Tc in the blue spectral region of our sample stars. These measurements allow us to improve the procedure of classification of stars with respect to their Tc content by using flux ratios. Synthetic spectra based on MARCS atmospheric models are presented and compared to the observed spectra around three lines of Tc. Bolometric magnitudes are calculated based on near infrared photometry of the objects. Among the sample of 27 long period bulge variables four were found to definitely contain Tc in their atmospheres. The luminosity of the Tc rich stars is in agreement with predictions from AGB evolutionary models on the minimum luminosity at the time when third dredge-up sets in. However, AGB evolutionary models and a bulge consisting of a single old population cannot be brought into agreement. This probably means that a younger population is present in the bulge, as suggested by various authors, which contains the Tc-rich stars here identified.
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High dispersion near-infrared spectra have been taken of seven highly-evolved, variable, intermediate-mass (4-6 Msun) AGB stars in the LMC and SMC in order to look for C, N and O variations that are expected to arise from third dredge-up and hot-bottom burning. The pulsation of the objects has been modelled, yielding stellar masses, and spectral synthesis calculations have been performed in order to derive abundances from the observed spectra. For two stars, abundances of C, N, O, Na, Al, Ti, Sc and Fe were derived and compared with the abundances predicted by detailed AGB models. Both stars show very large N enhancements and C deficiencies. These results provide the first observational confirmation of the long-predicted production of primary nitrogen by the combination of third dredge-up and hot-bottom burning in intermediate-mass AGB stars. It was not possible to derive abundances for the remaining five stars: three were too cool to model, while another two had strong shocks in their atmospheres which caused strong emission to fill the line cores and made abundance determination impossible. The latter occurrence allows us to predict the pulsation phase interval during which observations should be made if successful abundance analysis is to be possible.
S stars are late-type giants that are transition objects between M-type stars and carbon stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). They are classified into two types: intrinsic or extrinsic, based on the presence or absence of technetium (Tc). The Tc-rich or intrinsic S stars are thermally-pulsing (TP-)AGB stars internally producing s-process elements (including Tc) which are brought to their surface via the third dredge-up (TDU). Tc-poor or extrinsic S stars gained their s-process overabundances via accretion of s-process-rich material from an AGB companion which has since turned into a dim white dwarf. Our goal is to investigate the evolutionary status of Tc-rich S stars by locating them in a Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram using the results of Gaia early Data Release 3 (EDR3). We combine the current sample of 13 Tc-rich stars with our previous studies of 10 Tc-rich stars to determine the observational onset of the TDU in the metallicity range [-0.7; 0]. We also compare our abundance determinations with dedicated AGB nucleosynthesis predictions. The stellar parameters are derived using an iterative tool which combines HERMES high-resolution spectra, accurate Gaia EDR3 parallaxes, stellar evolution models and tailored MARCS model atmospheres for S-type stars. Using these stellar parameters we determine the heavy-element abundances by line synthesis. In the HR diagram, the intrinsic S stars are located at higher luminosities than the predicted onset of the TDU. These findings are consistent with Tc-rich S stars being genuinely TP-AGB stars. The comparison of the derived s-process abundance profiles of our intrinsic S stars with the nucleosynthesis predictions provide an overall good agreement. Stars with highest [s/Fe] tend to have the highest C/O ratios.
We follow-up on a previous finding that AGB Mira variables containing the 3DUP indicator technetium (Tc) in their atmosphere form a different sequence of K-[22] colour as a function of pulsation period than Miras without Tc. A near- to mid-infrared colour such as K-[22] is a good probe for the dust mass-loss rate of the stars. Contrary to what might be expected, Tc-poor Miras show redder K-[22] colours (i.e. higher dust mass-loss rates) than Tc-rich Miras at a given period. Here, the previous sample is extended and the analysis is expanded towards other colours and dust spectra. The most important aim is to investigate if the same two sequences can be revealed in the gas mass-loss rate. We analysed new optical spectra and expanded the sample by including more stars from the literature. Near- and mid-IR photometry and ISO dust spectra of our stars were investigated. Literature data of gas mass-loss rates of Miras and semi-regular variables were collected and analysed. Our results show that Tc-poor Miras are redder than Tc-rich Miras in a broad range of the mid-IR, suggesting that the previous finding based on the K-[22] colour is not due to a specific dust feature in the 22 micron band. We establish a linear relation between K-[22] and the gas mass-loss rate. We also find that the 13 micron feature disappears above K-[22]~2.17 mag, corresponding to $dot{M}_{rm g}sim2.6times10^{-7}M_{sun}yr^{-1}$. No similar sequences of Tc-poor and Tc-rich Miras in the gas mass-loss rate vs. period diagram are found, most probably owing to limitations in the available data. Different hypotheses to explain the observation of two sequences in the P vs. K-[22] diagram are discussed and tested, but so far none of them convincingly explains the observations. Nevertheless, we might have found an hitherto unknown but potentially important process influencing mass loss on the TP-AGB.
The planetary nebulae He 2-436 and Wray 16-423 in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy appear to result from nearly twin stars, except that third-dredge-up carbon is more abundant in He 2-436. A thorough photoionization-model analysis implies that ratios Ne/O, S/O and Ar/O are significantly smaller in He 2-436, indicative of third-dredge-up oxygen enrichment. The enrichment of oxygen with respect to carbon is (7 +/- 4)%. Excess nitrogen in Wray 16-423 suggests third dredge-up of late CN-cycle products even in these low-mass, intermediate-metallicity stars.
Post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars are known to be chemically diverse. In this paper we present the first observational evidence of a star that has failed the third dredge-up (TDU). J005252.87-722842.9 is a A-type ($T_{rm eff}$ = 8250 $pm$ 250K) luminous (8200 $pm$ 700 $rm L_{odot}$), metal-poor ($textrm{[Fe/H]}$ = $- 1.18 pm$ 0.10), low-mass (M$_{rm initial}$ $approx$ 1.5 $-$ 2.0 $rm M_{odot}$) post-AGB star in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Through a systematic abundance study, using high-resolution optical spectra from UVES, we found that this likely post-AGB object shows an intriguing photospheric composition with no confirmed carbon-enhancement (upper limit of [C/Fe] $<$ 0.50) nor enrichment of $s$-process elements. We derived an oxygen abundance of [O/Fe] = 0.29 $pm$ 0.1. For Fe and O, we took into account the effects of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE). We could not derive an upper limit for the nitrogen abundance as there are no useful nitrogen lines within our spectral coverage. The chemical pattern displayed by this object has not been observed in single or binary post-AGBs. Based on its derived stellar parameters and inferred evolutionary state, single star nucleosynthesis models predict that this star should have undergone TDU episodes while on the AGB and be carbon-enriched. However, our observations are in contrast with these predictions. We identify two possible Galactic analogues which are likely to be post-AGB stars, but the lack of accurate distances (hence luminosities) to these objects does not allow us to confirm their post-AGB status. If they have low luminosities then they are likely to be dusty post-RGB stars. The discovery of J005252.87-722842.9 reveals a new stellar evolutionary channel whereby a star evolves without any third dredge-up episodes.
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