Luminosity Function Bump Research Articles

Super lithium-rich K giant with low 12C to 13C ratio

Context. The lithium abundances in a few percent of giants exceed the value predicted by the standard stellar evolution models, and the mechanisms of Li enhancement are still under debate. The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) survey has obtained over six million spectra in the past five years, and thus provides a great opportunity to search these rare objects and to more clearly understand the mechanisms of Li enhancement. Aims. The aim of this work is to accurately measure the Li abundance and investigate the possible mechanisms of Li enrichment for a newly found super Li-rich giant, TYC 3251-581-1, located near the luminosity function bump with a low carbon isotopic ratio. Methods. Based on the high-resolution spectrum we obtained the stellar parameters (Teff, logg, [Fe/H]), and determined the elemental abundances of Li, C, N, α, Fe-peak, r-process, s-process elements, and the projected rotational velocity. For a better understanding of the effect of mixing processes, we also derived the 12C to 13C ratio, and constrained the evolutionary status of TYC 3251-581-1 based on the BaSTI stellar isochrones. Results. The super Li-rich giant TYC 3251-581-1 has A(Li) = 3.51, the average abundance of two lithium lines at λ = 6708 Å and 6104 Å based on the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium analysis. The atmospheric parameters show that our target locates on the luminosity function bump. The low carbon isotopic ratio (12C∕13C = 9.0), a slow rotational velocity vsini = 2.2 km s−1, and no sign of IR excess suggest that additional mixing after first dredge up (FDU) should occur to bring internal synthesized Li to the surface. The low carbon ([C∕Fe] ~−0.34) and enhanced nitrogen ([N∕Fe] ~ 0.33) are also consistent with the sign of mixing. Conclusions. Given the evolutionary stage of TYC 3251-581-1 with the relatively low 12C∕13C, the internal production which replenishes Li in the outer layer is the most likely origin of Li enhancement for this star.

HD 16771: A lithium-rich giant in the red-clump stage

Aims: We report the discovery of a young lithium rich giant, HD 16771, in the core-helium burning phase that does not seem to fit existing proposals of Li synthesis near the luminosity function bump or during He-core flash. We aim to understand the nature of Li enrichment in the atmosphere of HD 16771 by exploring various Li enhancement scenarios. Methods: We have collected high-resolution echelle spectra of HD 16771 and derived stellar parameters and chemical abundances for 27 elements by either line equivalent widths or synthetic spectrum analyses. Results: HD 16771 is a Li-rich (log(n(Li))=+2.67+/-0.10 dex) intermediate mass giant star (M=2.4+/-0.1 Msun) with age=0.76+/-0.13 Gyr and located at the red giant clump. Kinematics and chemical compositions are consistent with HD 16771 being a member of the Galactic thin disk population. The non-detection of 6Li(< 3%), a low carbon isotopic ratio (12C/13C=12+/-2), and the slow rotation (vsini=2.8 km/s) all suggest that lithium might have been synthesized in this star. On the contrary, HD 16771 with a mass of 2.4 Msun has no chance of encountering luminosity function bump and He-core flash where the possibility of fast deep-mixing for Li enrichment in K giants has been suggested previously. Conclusions: Based of the evolutionary status of this star, we discuss the possibility that 7Li synthesis in HD 16771 is triggered by the engulfment of close-in planet(s) during the RGB phase.

LITHIUM-RICH GIANTS IN GLOBULAR CLUSTERS*

ABSTRACT Although red giants deplete lithium on their surfaces, some giants are Li-rich. Intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars can generate Li through the Cameron–Fowler conveyor, but the existence of Li-rich, low-mass red giant branch (RGB) stars is puzzling. Globular clusters are the best sites to examine this phenomenon because it is straightforward to determine membership in the cluster and to identify the evolutionary state of each star. In 72 hours of Keck/DEIMOS exposures in 25 clusters, we found four Li-rich RGB and two Li-rich AGB stars. There were 1696 RGB and 125 AGB stars with measurements or upper limits consistent with normal abundances of Li. Hence, the frequency of Li-richness in globular clusters is (0.2 ± 0.1)% for the RGB, (1.6 ± 1.1)% for the AGB, and (0.3 ± 0.1)% for all giants. Because the Li-rich RGB stars are on the lower RGB, Li self-generation mechanisms proposed to occur at the luminosity function bump or He core flash cannot explain these four lower RGB stars. We propose the following origin for Li enrichment: (1) All luminous giants experience a brief phase of Li enrichment at the He core flash. (2) All post-RGB stars with binary companions on the lower RGB will engage in mass transfer. This scenario predicts that 0.1% of lower RGB stars will appear Li-rich due to mass transfer from a recently Li-enhanced companion. This frequency is at the lower end of our confidence interval.

The red giant branch phase transition: Implications for the RGB luminosity function bump and detections of Li-rich red clump stars

We performed a detailed study of the evolution of the luminosity of He-ignition stage and of the red giant branch bump luminosity during the red giant branch phase transition for various metallicities. To this purpose we calculated a grid of stellar models that sample the mass range of the transition with a fine mass step equal to ${\rm 0.01M_\odot}$. We find that for a stellar population with a given initial chemical composition, there is a critical age (of 1.1-1.2~Gyr) around which a decrease in age of just 20-30 million years causes a drastic drop in the red giant branch tip brightness. We also find a narrow age range (a few $10^7$ yr) around the transition, characterized by the luminosity of the red giant branch bump being brighter than the luminosity of He ignition. We discuss a possible link between this occurrence and observations of Li-rich core He-burning stars.

Tracking Advanced Planetary Systems (TAPAS) with HARPS-N

Lithium rich giant stars are rare objects. For some of them, Li enrichment exceeds abundance of this element found in solar system meteorites, suggesting that these stars have gone through a Li enhancement process. We identified a Li rich giant HD 107028 with A(Li) > 3.3 in a sample of evolved stars observed within the PennState Torun Planet Search. In this work we study different enhancement scenarios and we try to identify the one responsible for Li enrichment for HD 107028. We collected high resolution spectra with three different instruments, covering different spectral ranges. We determine stellar parameters and abundances of selected elements with both equivalent width measurements and analysis, and spectral synthesis. We also collected multi epoch high precision radial velocities in an attempt to detect a companion. Collected data show that HD 107028 is a star at the base of Red Giant Branch. Except for high Li abundance, we have not identified any other anomalies in its chemical composition, and there is no indication of a low mass or stellar companion. We exclude Li production at the Luminosity Function Bump on RGB, as the effective temperature and luminosity suggest that the evolutionary state is much earlier than RGB Bump. We also cannot confirm the Li enhancement by contamination, as we do not observe any anomalies that are associated with this scenario. After evaluating various scenarios of Li enhancement we conclude that the Li-overabundance of HD 107028 originates from Main Sequence evolution, and may be caused by diffusion process.

DISCOVERY OF SUPER-Li-RICH RED GIANTS IN DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXIES

Stars destroy lithium (Li) in their normal evolution. The convective envelopes of evolved red giants reach temperatures of millions of K, hot enough for the 7Li(p,alpha)4He reaction to burn Li efficiently. Only about 1% of first-ascent red giants more luminous than the luminosity function bump in the red giant branch exhibit A(Li) > 1.5. Nonetheless, Li-rich red giants do exist. We present 15 Li-rich red giants--14 of which are new discoveries--among a sample of 2054 red giants in Milky Way dwarf satellite galaxies. Our sample more than doubles the number of low-mass, metal-poor ([Fe/H] <~ -0.7) Li-rich red giants, and it includes the most-metal poor Li-enhanced star known ([Fe/H] = -2.82, A(Li)_NLTE = 3.15). Because most of these stars have Li abundances larger than the universe's primordial value, the Li in these stars must have been created rather than saved from destruction. These Li-rich stars appear like other stars in the same galaxies in every measurable regard other than Li abundance. We consider the possibility that Li enrichment is a universal phase of evolution that affects all stars, and it seems rare only because it is brief.

THE ROLE OF THERMOHALINE MIXING IN INTERMEDIATE- AND LOW-METALLICITY GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

It is now widely accepted that globular cluster red giant branch stars owe their strange abundance patterns to a combination of pollution from progenitor stars and in situ extra mixing. In this hybrid theory a first generation of stars imprint abundance patterns into the gas from which a second generation forms. The hybrid theory suggests that extra mixing is operating in both populations and we use the variation of [C/Fe] with luminosity to examine how efficient this mixing is. We investigate the observed red giant branches of M3, M13, M92, M15 and NGC 5466 as a means to test a theory of thermohaline mixing. The second parameter pair M3 and M13 are of intermediate metallicity and our models are able to account for the evolution of carbon along the RGB in both clusters. Although, in order to fit the most carbon-depleted main-sequence stars in M13 we require a model whose initial [C/Fe] abundance leads to a carbon abundance lower than is observed. Furthermore our results suggest that stars in M13 formed with some primary nitrogen (higher C+N+O than stars in M3). In the metal-poor regime only NGC 5466 can be tentatively explained by thermohaline mixing operating in multiple populations. We find thermohaline mixing unable to model the depletion of [C/Fe] with magnitude in M92 and M15. It appears as if extra mixing is occurring before the luminosity function bump in these clusters. To reconcile the data with the models would require first dredge-up to be deeper than found in extant models.

The impact of an updated14N(p,γ)15O reaction rate on advanced evolutionary stages of low-mass stellar models

We have investigated the impact of the $^{14}N(p,\gamma)^{15}O$ reaction rate recently redetermined by the LUNA experiment, on the shell H-burning and core He-burning phases of low-mass, metal poor stellar models. The new reaction rate has small but noticeable effects, the largest one being a $\sim$7-8\% reduction of the red giant branch lifetimes. To different degrees, the lifetimes and luminosities of horizontal branch models, the mass of the stellar models evolving within the RR Lyrae instability strip, the luminosity of the red giant branch luminosity function bump, the theoretical calibrations of the R-parameter and tip of the red giant branch luminosity are also affected. Predictions for the tip of the red giant branch luminosity, in particular, are in very good agreement with the currently available empirical constraints.

THE ACS LCID PROJECT. IV. DETECTION OF THE RED GIANT BRANCH BUMP IN ISOLATED GALAXIES OF THE LOCAL GROUP

We report the detection and analysis of the red giant branch luminosity function bump in a sample of isolated dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. We have designed a new analysis approach comparing the observed color-magnitude diagrams with theoretical best-fit color-magnitude diagrams derived from precise estimates of the star formation histories of each galaxy. This analysis is based on studying the difference between the V-magnitude of the RGB bump and the horizontal branch at the level of the RR Lyrae instability strip (Delta_vhbb) and we discuss here a technique for reliably measuring this quantity in complex stellar systems. By using this approach, we find that the difference between the observed and predicted values of Delta_vhbb is +0.13 +/- 0.14 mag. This is smaller, by about a factor of two, than the well-known discrepancy between theory and observation at low metallicity commonly derived for Galactic globular clusters. This result is confirmed by a comparison between the adopted theoretical framework and empirical estimates of the Delta_vhbb parameter for both a large database of Galactic globular clusters and for four other dSph galaxies for which this estimate is available in the literature. We also investigate the strength of the red giant branch bump feature (R_bump), and find very good agreement between the observed and theoretically predicted R_bump values. This agreement supports the reliability of the evolutionary lifetimes predicted by theoretical models of the evolution of low-mass stars.

Spectroscopic Binaries, Velocity Jitter, and Rotation in Field Metal-poor Red Giant and Red Horizontal-Branch Stars

We summarize 2007 radial velocity measurements of 91 metal-poor field red giants. Excluding binary systems with orbital solutions, our coverage averages 13.7 yr per star, with a maximum of 18.0 yr. We report four significant findings. (1) Sixteen stars are found to be spectroscopic binaries, and we present orbital solutions for 14 of them. The spectroscopic binary frequency of the metal-poor red giants, with [Fe/H] ≤ -1.4, for periods less than 6000 days, is 16% ± 4%, which is not significantly different from that of comparable-metallicity field dwarfs, 17% ± 2%. The two CH stars in our program, BD -1°2582 and HD 135148, are both spectroscopic binaries. (2) Velocity jitter is present among about 40% of the giants with MV ≤ -1.4. The two best-observed cases, HD 3008 and BD +22°2411, show pseudoperiodicities of 172 and 186 days, longer than any known long-period variable in metal-poor globular clusters. Photometric variability seen in HD 3008 and three other stars showing velocity jitter hints that starspots are the cause. However, the phasing of the velocity data with the photometry data from Hipparcos is not consistent with a simple starspot model for HD 3008. We argue against orbital motion effects and radial pulsation, so rotational modulation remains the best explanation. The implied rotational velocities for HD 3008 and BD +22°2411, both with MV ≤ -1.4 and R ≈ 50 R⊙, exceed 12 km s-1. (3) Including HD 3008 and BD +22°2411, we have found signs of significant excess line broadening in eight of the 17 red giants with MV ≤ -1.4, which we interpret as rotation. In three cases, BD +30°2034, CD -37°14010, and HD 218732, the rotation is probably induced by tidal locking between axial rotation and the observed orbital motion with a stellar companion. But this cannot explain the other five stars in our sample that display signs of significant rotation. This high frequency of elevated rotational velocities does not appear to be caused by stellar mass transfer or mergers: there are too few main-sequence binaries with short enough periods. We also note that the lack of any noticeable increase in mean rotation at the magnitude level of the red giant branch luminosity function bump argues against the rapid rotation's being caused by the transport of internal angular momentum to the surface. Capture of a planetary-mass companion as a red giant expands in radius could explain the high rotational velocities. (4) We also find significant rotation in at least six of the roughly 15 (40%) red horizontal-branch stars in our survey. It is likely that the enhanced rotation seen among a significant fraction of both blue and red horizontal-branch stars arose when these stars were luminous red giants. Rapid rotation alone therefore appears insufficient cause to populate the blue side of the horizontal branch. While the largest projected rotational velocities seen among field blue and red horizontal-branch stars are consistent with their different sizes, neither are consistent with the large values we find for the largest red giants. This suggests that some form of angular momentum loss (and possibly mass loss) has been at work. Also puzzling is the apparent absence of rotation seen in field RR Lyrae variables. Angular momentum transfer and conservation in evolved metal-poor field stars thus pose many interesting questions for the evolution of low-mass stars.

The effect of diffusion on the red giant luminosity function ‘bump’

This paper investigates the effect of microscopic diffusion of helium and heavy elements on the location of the Red Giant Branch Luminosity Function Bump in Population II stellar models. To this aim updated evolutionary models taking into account diffusion from the Main Sequence until the Zero Age Horizontal Branch have been computed. The observational luminosity difference between the RGB bump and the ZAHB, as collected for a sample of galactic globular clusters, has been compared with the corresponding theoretical values obtained by adopting both canonical and diffusive models. We find that the effect of diffusion, even if slightly improving the agreement between observations and theory, is negligible with respect to the observational uncertainties. In any case the theoretical predictions in models with and without diffusion appear in agreement with the observational results within the estimated errors. Thus canonical models can be still safely adopted, at least until much more accurate observational data will be available.