Context. The increasing number of observed supernova events allows for finding the progenitor star even more frequently in archive images. In a few cases, the progenitor star is a yellow supergiant ...star. The estimated position in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram of these stars is not compatible with the theoretical tracks of classical single-star models. Aims. According to several authors, the mass-loss rates during the red supergiant phase could be underestimated. We study the impact of an increase in these mass-loss rates on the position of 12 to 15 M⊙ stars at the end of their nuclear lives, in order to reconcile the theoretical tracks with the observed yellow supergiant progenitors. Methods. We have performed calculations of 12 to 15 M⊙ rotating stellar models using the Geneva stellar evolution code. To account for the uncertainties in the mass-loss rates during the RSG phase, we increased the mass-loss rate of the star (between 3 and 10 times the standard one) during that phase and compared the evolution of stars undergoing such high mass-loss rates with models computed with the standard mass-loss prescription. Results. We show that the final position of the models in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram depends on the mass loss they undergo during the red supergiant phase. With an increased mass-loss rate, we find that some models end their nuclear life at positions that are compatible with the observed position of several supernova progenitors. We conclude that an increased mass-loss rate (whose physical mechanism still needs to be clarified) allows single-star models to simultaneously reproduce the estimated position in the HRD of the YSG SN progenitors, as well as the SN type.
All ten LIGO/Virgo binary black hole (BH-BH) coalescences reported following the O1/O2 runs have near-zero effective spins. There are only three potential explanations for this. If the BH spin ...magnitudes are large, then: (i) either both BH spin vectors must be nearly in the orbital plane or (ii) the spin angular momenta of the BHs must be oppositely directed and similar in magnitude. Then there is also the possibility that (iii) the BH spin magnitudes are small. We consider the third hypothesis within the framework of the classical isolated binary evolution scenario of the BH-BH merger formation. We test three models of angular momentum transport in massive stars: a mildly efficient transport by meridional currents (as employed in the Geneva code), an efficient transport by the Tayler-Spruit magnetic dynamo (as implemented in the MESA code), and a very-efficient transport (as proposed by Fuller et al.) to calculate natal BH spins. We allow for binary evolution to increase the BH spins through accretion and account for the potential spin-up of stars through tidal interactions. Additionally, we update the calculations of the stellar-origin BH masses, including revisions to the history of star formation and to the chemical evolution across cosmic time. We find that we can simultaneously match the observed BH-BH merger rate density and BH masses and BH-BH effective spins. Models with efficient angular momentum transport are favored. The updated stellar-mass weighted gas-phase metallicity evolution now used in our models appears to be key for obtaining an improved reproduction of the LIGO/Virgo merger rate estimate. Mass losses during the pair-instability pulsation supernova phase are likely to be overestimated if the merger GW170729 hosts a BH more massive than 50
M
⊙
. We also estimate rates of black hole-neutron star (BH-NS) mergers from recent LIGO/Virgo observations. If, in fact. angular momentum transport in massive stars is efficient, then any (electromagnetic or gravitational wave) observation of a rapidly spinning BH would indicate either a very effective tidal spin up of the progenitor star (homogeneous evolution, high-mass X-ray binary formation through case A mass transfer, or a spin- up of a Wolf-Rayet star in a close binary by a close companion), significant mass accretion by the hole, or a BH formation through the merger of two or more BHs (in a dense stellar cluster).
Abstract
Convective boundary mixing is one of the major uncertainties in stellar evolution. In order to study its dependence on boundary properties and turbulence strength in a controlled way, we ...computed a series of 3D hydrodynamical simulations of stellar convection during carbon burning with a varying boosting factor of the driving luminosity. Our 3D implicit large eddy simulations were computed with the prompi code. We performed a mean field analysis of the simulations within the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes framework. Both the vertical rms velocity within the convective region and the bulk Richardson number of the boundaries are found to scale with the driving luminosity as expected from theory: $v$ ∝ L1/3 and RiB ∝ L−2/3, respectively. The positions of the convective boundaries were estimated through the composition profiles across them, and the strength of convective boundary mixing was determined by analysing the boundaries within the framework of the entrainment law. We find that the entrainment is approximately inversely proportional to the bulk Richardson number, RiB ($\propto \textrm{Ri}_{\textrm{B}}^{-\alpha }, \alpha \sim 0.75$). Although the entrainment law does not encompass all the processes occurring at boundaries, our results support the use of the entrainment law to describe convective boundary mixing in 1D models, at least for the advanced phases. The next steps and challenges ahead are also discussed.
Classical Cepheid variable stars (from hereon: Cepheids) are high-sensitivity probes of stellar evolution and fundamental tracers of cosmic distances. While rotational mixing significantly affects ...the evolution of Cepheid progenitors (intermediate-mass stars), the impact of the resulting changes in stellar structure and composition on Cepheids and their pulsational properties is hitherto unknown. Here we present the first detailed pulsational instability analysis of stellar evolution models that include the effects of rotation, for both fundamental mode and first overtone pulsation. We employ Geneva evolution models spanning a three-dimensional grid in mass (1.7-15 M sub(middot in circle)), metallicity (Z= 0.014, 0.006, 0.002), and rotation (non-rotating, average & fast rotation). We determine (1) hot and cool instability strip (IS) boundaries taking into account the coupling between convection and pulsation; (2) pulsation periods; and (3) rates of period change. We investigate relations between period and (a) luminosity; (b) age; (c) radius; (d) temperature; (e) rate of period change; (f) mass; (g) the flux-weighted gravity-luminosity relation (FWGLR). We confront all predictions aside from those for age with observations, finding generally excellent agreement. We tabulate period-luminosity relations (PLRs) for several photometric pass-bands and investigate how the finite IS width, different IS crossings, metallicity, and rotation affect PLRs. We show that a Wesenheit index based on H, V, and I photometry is expected to have the smallest intrinsic PLR dispersion. We confirm that rotation resolves the Cepheid mass discrepancy. Period-age relations depend significantly on rotation, with rotation leading to older Cepheids, offering a straightforward explanation for evolved stars in binary systems that cannot be matched by conventional isochrones assuming a single age. We further show that Cepheids obey a tight FWGLR. Rotation is a fundamental property of stars that has important implications for the study of intermediate-mass stars, intermediate-age clusters, and classical Cepheid variable stars.
Context. The post-main-sequence evolution of massive stars is very sensitive to many parameters of the stellar models. Key parameters are the mixing processes, the metallicity, the mass-loss rate, ...and the effect of a close companion. Aims. We study the change in the red supergiant (RSG) lifetimes, the tracks in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram (HRD), the positions in this diagram of the pre-supernova progenitor and the structure of the stars at that time for various mass-loss rates during the RSG phase and for two different initial rotation velocities. Methods. Stellar models were computed with the Geneva code for initial masses between 9 and 25 M⊙ at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014) with 10 times and 25 times the standard mass-loss rates during the RSG phase, with and without rotation. Results. The surface abundances of RSGs are much more sensitive to rotation than to the mass-loss rates during that phase. A change of the RSG mass-loss rate has a strong impact on the RSG lifetimes and in turn on the luminosity function of RSGs. An observed RSG is associated with a model of higher initial mass when models with an enhanced RSG mass-loss rate are used to deduce that mass. At solar metallicity, models with an enhanced mass-loss rate produce significant changes in the populations of blue, yellow, and RSGs. When extended blue loops or blueward excursions are produced by enhanced mass-loss, the models predict that a majority of blue (yellow) supergiants are post-RSG objects. These post-RSG stars are predicted to show much lower surface rotational velocities than similar blue supergiants on their first crossing of the HR gap. Enhanced mass-loss rates during the RSG phase have little impact on the Wolf-Rayet populations. The position in the HRD of the end point of the evolution depends on the mass of the hydrogen envelope. More precisely, whenever at the pre-supernova stage the H-rich envelope contains more than about 5% of the initial mass, the star is a RSG, and whenever the H-rich envelope contains less than 1% of the total mass, the star is a blue supergiant. For intermediate situations, intermediate colors and effective temperatures are obtained. Yellow progenitors for core-collapse supernovae can be explained by models with an enhanced mass-loss rate, while the red progenitors are better fitted by models with the standard mass-loss rate.
Abstract
Surface magnetic fields have a strong impact on stellar mass loss and rotation and, as a consequence, on the evolution of massive stars. In this work, we study the influence of an evolving ...dipolar surface fossil magnetic field with an initial field strength of 4 kG on the characteristics of 15 M⊙ solar metallicity models using the Geneva stellar evolution code. Non-rotating and rotating models considering two different scenarios for internal angular momentum transport are computed, including magnetic field evolution, mass-loss quenching, and magnetic braking. Magnetic field evolution results in weakening the initially strong magnetic field; however, in our models, an observable magnetic field is still maintained as the star evolves towards the red supergiant phase. At the given initial mass of the models, mass-loss quenching is modest. Magnetic braking greatly enhances chemical element mixing if radial differential rotation is allowed for; on the other hand, the inclusion of surface magnetic fields yields a lower surface enrichment in the case of near solid-body rotation. Models including surface magnetic fields show notably different trends on the Hunter diagram (plotting nitrogen abundance versus vsin i) compared to those that do not. The magnetic models agree qualitatively with the anomalous ‘Group 2 stars’, showing slow surface rotation and high surface nitrogen enhancement on the main sequence.
We use the Geneva syclist isochrone models that include the effects of stellar rotation to investigate the role that rotation has on the resulting colour–magnitude diagram of young and intermediate ...age clusters. We find that if a distribution of rotation velocities exists within the clusters, rotating stars will remain on the main sequence for longer, appearing to be younger than non-rotating stars within the same cluster. This results in an extended main sequence turn-off (eMSTO) that appears at young ages (∼30 Myr) and lasts beyond 1 Gyr. If this eMSTO is interpreted as an age spread, the resulting age spread is proportional to the age of the cluster, i.e. young clusters (<100 Myr) appear to have small age spreads (tens of Myr) whereas older clusters (∼1 Gyr) appear to have much large spreads, up to a few hundred Myr. We compare the predicted spreads for a sample of rotation rates to observations of young and intermediate age clusters, and find a strong correlation between the measured ‘age spread’ and the age of the cluster, in good agreement with models of stellar rotation. This suggests that the ‘age spreads’ reported in the literature may simply be the result of a distribution of stellar rotation velocities within clusters.
Abstract
We present the first detailed 3D hydrodynamic implicit large eddy simulations of turbulent convection of carbon burning in massive stars. Simulations begin with radial profiles mapped from a ...carbon-burning shell within a 15 M⊙ 1D stellar evolution model. We consider models with 1283, 2563, 5123, and 10243 zones. The turbulent flow properties of these carbon-burning simulations are very similar to the oxygen-burning case. We performed a mean field analysis of the kinetic energy budgets within the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes framework. For the upper convective boundary region, we find that the numerical dissipation is insensitive to resolution for linear mesh resolutions above 512 grid points. For the stiffer, more stratified lower boundary, our highest resolution model still shows signs of decreasing sub-grid dissipation suggesting it is not yet numerically converged. We find that the widths of the upper and lower boundaries are roughly 30 per cent and 10 per cent of the local pressure scaleheights, respectively. The shape of the boundaries is significantly different from those used in stellar evolution models. As in past oxygen-shell-burning simulations, we observe entrainment at both boundaries in our carbon-shell-burning simulations. In the large Péclet number regime found in the advanced phases, the entrainment rate is roughly inversely proportional to the bulk Richardson number, RiB (∝RiB
−α, 0.5 ≲ α ≲ 1.0). We thus suggest the use of RiB as a means to take into account the results of 3D hydrodynamics simulations in new 1D prescriptions of convective boundary mixing.
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