Abstract
We have investigated a highly energetic H-ingestion event during shell He burning leading to H-burning luminosities of log (LH/L⊙) ∼ 13 in a 45 M⊙ Pop III massive stellar model. In order to ...track the nucleosynthesis which may occur in such an event, we run a series of single-zone nucleosynthesis models for typical conditions found in the stellar evolution model. Such nucleosynthesis conditions may lead to i-process neutron densities of up to ∼1013 cm−3. The resulting simulation abundance pattern, where Mg comes from He burning and Ca from the i process, agrees with the general observed pattern of the most iron-poor star currently known, SMSS J031300.36−670839.3. However, Na is also efficiently produced in these i-process conditions, and the prediction exceeds observations by ∼2.5 dex. While this probably rules out this model for SMSS J031300.36−670839.3, the typical i-process signature of combined He burning and i process of higher than solar Na/Mg, Mg/Al, and low Ca/Mg is reproducing abundance features of the two next most iron-poor stars HE 1017−5240 and HE 1327−2326 very well. The i process does not reach Fe which would have to come from a low level of additional enrichment. i process in hyper-metal-poor or Pop III massive stars may be able to explain certain abundance patterns observed in some of the most metal-poor CEMP-no stars.
ABSTRACT
In Pop III stellar models, convection-induced mixing between H- and He-rich burning layers can induce a burst of nuclear energy and thereby substantially alter the subsequent evolution and ...nucleosynthesis in the first massive stars. We investigate H–He shell and core interactions in 26 stellar evolution simulations with masses 15–140, M⊙, using five sets of mixing assumptions. In 22 cases H–He interactions induce local nuclear energy release in the range $\sim 10^{9}\!-\!10^{13.5}\, \mathrm{L}_{\odot }$. The luminosities on the upper end of this range amount to a substantial fraction of the layer’s internal energy over a convective advection time-scale, indicating a dynamic stellar response that would violate 1D stellar evolution modelling assumptions. We distinguish four types of H–He interactions depending on the evolutionary phase and convective stability of the He-rich material. H-burning conditions during H–He interactions give 12C/13C ratios between ≈ 1.5 to ∼1000 and C/N ratios from ≈ −2.3 to ≈ 3 with a correlation that agrees well with observations of CEMP (carbon-enhanced metal-poor) no stars. We also explore Ca production from hot CNO breakout and find the simulations presented here likely cannot explain the observed Ca abundance in the most Ca-poor CEMP-no star. We describe the evolution leading to H–He interactions, which occur during or shortly after core-contraction phases. Three simulations without an H–He interaction are computed to Fe-core infall and a $140\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ simulation becomes pair unstable. We also discuss present modelling limitations and the need for 3D hydrodynamic models to fully understand these stellar evolutionary phases.
ABSTRACT
Convective boundary mixing (CBM) in the advanced evolutionary stages of massive stars is not well understood. Structural changes caused by convection have an impact on the evolution as well ...as the subsequent supernova, or lack thereof. The effects of convectively driven mixing across convective boundaries during the post-He core burning evolution of 25 M$\odot$, solar-metallicity, non-rotating stellar models is studied using the MESA stellar evolution code. CBM is modelled using the exponentially decaying diffusion coefficient equation, the free parameter of which, fCBM, is varied systematically throughout the course of the stellar model’s evolution with values of (0.002, 0.012, 0.022, 0.032). The effect of varying this parameter produces mass ranges at collapse in the ONe, Si, Fe cores of (1.82 M$\odot$, 4.36 M$\odot$), (1.67 M$\odot$, 1.99 M$\odot$) and (1.46 M$\odot$, 1.70 M$\odot$) respectively, with per cent differences from the model with minimal CBM as large as 86.3 per cent. At the pre-supernova stage, the compactness of the stellar cores, ξM, exhibit a range of (0.120, 0.354), suggesting that the extent of CBM in the advanced burning stages of massive stars is an important consideration for the explodability and type of compact remnant. The nucleosynthetic yields from the models, most notably C, O, Ne, Mg, and Si are also significantly affected by the CBM assumptions, showing non-linear trends with increased mixing. The simulations show that interactions between convective C, Ne, and O shells produce significant non-linear changes in the evolution, whereas from the end of Si burning, the structural changes attributed to the CBM are dominated by the growth of the convective C shell. Structure evolution data sets for all the models are available online.
ABSTRACT
Interactions between convective shells in evolved massive stars have been linked to supernova impostors, to the production of the odd-Z elements Cl, K, and Sc, and they might also help ...generate the large-scale asphericities that are known to facilitate shock revival in supernova explosion models. We investigate the process of ingestion of C-shell material into a convective O-burning shell, including the hydrodynamic feedback from the nuclear burning of the ingested material. Our 3D hydrodynamic simulations span almost 3 dex in the total luminosity Ltot. All but one of the simulations reach a quasi-stationary state with the entrainment rate and convective velocity proportional to Ltot and $L_\mathrm{tot}^{1/3}$, respectively. Carbon burning provides $14\!-\!33{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the total luminosity, depending on the set of reactions considered. Equivalent simulations done on 7683 and 11523 grids are in excellent quantitative agreement. The flow is dominated by a few large-scale convective cells. An instability leading to large-scale oscillations with Mach numbers in excess of 0.2 develops in an experimental run with the energy yield from C burning increased by a factor of 10. This run represents most closely the conditions expected in a violent O–C shell merger, which is a potential production site for odd-Z elements such as K and Sc and which may seed asymmetries in the supernova progenitor. 1D simulations may underestimate the energy generation from the burning of ingested material by as much as a factor 2 owing to their missing the effect of clumpiness of entrained material on the nuclear reaction rate.
We provide here a significant extension of the NuGrid Set 1 models in mass coverage and towards lower metallicity, adopting the same physics assumptions. The combined data set now includes the ...initial masses MZAMS/M⊙ = 1, 1.65, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 15, 20, 25 for Z = 0.02, 0.01, 0.006, 0.001, 0.0001 with α-enhanced composition for the lowest three metallicities. These models are computed with the MESA stellar evolution code and are evolved up to the AGB, the white dwarf stage, or until core collapse. The nucleosynthesis was calculated for all isotopes in post-processing with the NuGrid MPPNP code. Explosive nucleosynthesis is based on semi-analytic 1D shock models. Metallicity-dependent mass-loss, convective boundary mixing in low- and intermediate-mass models and H and He core burning massive star models are included. Convective O-C shell mergers in some stellar models lead to the strong production of odd-Z elements P, Cl, K, and Sc. In AGB models with hot dredge-up, the convective boundary mixing efficiency is reduced to accommodate for its energetic feedback. In both low-mass and massive star models at the lowest metallicity, H-ingestion events are observed and lead to i-process nucleosynthesis and substantial 15N production. Finally, complete yield data tables, derived data products and online analytic data access are provided.
ABSTRACT We provide a set of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis calculations that applies established physics assumptions simultaneously to low- and intermediate-mass and massive star models. Our ...goal is to provide an internally consistent and comprehensive nuclear production and yield database for applications in areas such as presolar grain studies. Our non-rotating models assume convective boundary mixing (CBM) where it has been adopted before. We include 8 (12) initial masses for Z = 0.01 (0.02). Models are followed either until the end of the asymptotic giant branch phase or the end of Si burning, complemented by simple analytic core-collapse supernova (SN) models with two options for fallback and shock velocities. The explosions show which pre-SN yields will most strongly be effected by the explosive nucleosynthesis. We discuss how these two explosion parameters impact the light elements and the s and p process. For low- and intermediate-mass models, our stellar yields from H to Bi include the effect of CBM at the He-intershell boundaries and the stellar evolution feedback of the mixing process that produces the pocket. All post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations use the same nuclear reaction rate network and nuclear physics input. We provide a discussion of the nuclear production across the entire mass range organized by element group. The entirety of our stellar nucleosynthesis profile and time evolution output are available electronically, and tools to explore the data on the NuGrid VOspace hosted by the Canadian Astronomical Data Centre are introduced.
Recently, an increasing number of studies were devoted to measure the abundances of neutron-capture elements heavier than iron in stars belonging to Galactic Open Clusters (OCs). OCs span a sizeable ...range in metallicity (-0.6 less than or equal to Fe/H less than or equal to +0.4), and they show abundances of light elements similar to disc stars of the same age. A different pattern is observed for heavy elements. A large scatter is observed for Ba, with most OCs showing Ba/Fe and Ba/La overabundant with respect to the Sun. The origin of this overabundance is not clearly understood. With the goal of providing new observational insights, we determined radial velocities, atmospheric parameters and chemical composition of 27 giant stars members of five OCs: Cr 110, Cr 261, NGC 2477, NGC 2506 and NGC 5822. We used high-resolution spectra obtained with the UVES spectrograph at European Southern Observatory Paranal. We perform a detailed spectroscopic analysis of these stars to measure the abundance of up to 22 elements per star. We study the dependence of element abundance on metallicity and age with unprecedented detail, complementing our analysis with data culled from the literature. We confirm the trend of Ba overabundance in OCs, and show its large dispersion for clusters younger than similar to 4 Gyr. Finally, the implications of our results for stellar nucleosynthesis are discussed. We show in this work that the Ba enrichment compared to other neutron-capture elements in OCs cannot be explained by the contributions from the slow neutron-capture process and the rapid neutron-capture process. Instead, we argue that this anomalous signature can be explained by assuming an additional contribution by the intermediate neutron-capture process.
After off-center C ignition in the cores of super asymptotic giant branch (SAGB) stars, the C flame propagates all the way down to the center, trailing behind it the C-shell convective zone, and thus ...building a degenerate ONe core. This standard picture is obtained in stellar evolution simulations if the bottom C-shell convection boundary is assumed to be a discontinuity associated with a strict interpretation of the Schwarzschild condition for convective instability. However, this boundary is prone to additional mixing processes, such as thermohaline convection and convective boundary mixing. Using hydrodynamic simulations, we show that contrary to previous results, thermohaline mixing is too inefficient to interfere with the C-flame propagation. However, even a small amount of convective boundary mixing removes the physical conditions required for the C-flame propagation all the way to the center. This result holds even if we allow for some turbulent heat transport in the CBM region. As a result, SAGB stars build in their interiors hybrid C-O-Ne degenerate cores composed of a relatively large CO core (M sub(CO) approximately 0.2 M sub(middot in circle)) surrounded by a thick ONe zone ( Delta M sub(ONe) gap 0.85 M sub(middot in circle)) with another thin CO layer above. If exposed by mass loss, these cores will become hybrid C-O-Ne white dwarfs. Otherwise, the ignition of C-rich material in the central core, surrounded by the thick ONe zone, may trigger a thermonuclear supernova (SN) explosion. The quenching of the C-flame may have implications for the ignition mechanism of SN la in the double-degenerate merger scenario.
ABSTRACT
The origin of the proton-rich trans-iron isotopes in the Solar system is still uncertain. Single-degenerate thermonuclear supernovae (SNIa) with n-capture nucleosynthesis seeds assembled in ...the external layers of the progenitor’s rapidly accreting white dwarf (RAWD) phase may produce these isotopes. We calculate the stellar structure of the accretion phase of five white dwarf (WD) models with initial masses ≥ 0.85 $\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ using the stellar code mesa The near-surface layers of the 1, 1.26, 1.32 and 1.38 $\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ models are most representative of the regions in which the bulk of the p nuclei are produced during SNIa explosions, and for these models we also calculate the neutron-capture nucleosynthesis in the external layers. Contrary to previous RAWD models at lower mass, we find that the H-shell flashes are the main site of n-capture nucleosynthesis. We find high neutron densities up to several 1015 cm−3 in the most massive WDs. Through the recurrence of the H-shell flashes these intermediate neutron densities can be sustained effectively for a long time leading to high-neutron exposures with a strong production up to Pb. Both the neutron density and the neutron exposure increase with increasing the mass of the accreting WD. Finally, the SNIa nucleosynthesis is calculated using the obtained abundances as seeds. We obtain solar to supersolar abundances for p-nuclei with A > 96. Our models show that SNIa are a viable p-process production site.
We investigate the evolution of super-AGB (SAGB) thermal pulse (TP) stars for a range of metallicities (Z) and explore the effect of convective boundary mixing (CBM). With decreasing metallicity and ...evolution along the TP phase, the He-shell flash and the third dredge-up (TDU) occur closer together in time. After some time (depending upon the CBM parametrization), efficient TDU begins while the pulse-driven convection zone (PDCZ) is still present, causing a convective exchange of material between the PDCZ and the convective envelope. This results in the ingestion of protons into the convective He-burning pulse. Even small amounts of CBM encourage the interaction of the convection zones leading to transport of protons from the convective envelope into the He layer. H-burning luminosities exceed 109 (in some cases 1010) L⊙. We also calculate models of dredge-out in the most massive SAGB stars and show that the dredge-out phenomenon is another likely site of convective-reactive H-12C combustion. We discuss the substantial uncertainties of stellar evolution models under these conditions. Nevertheless, the simulations suggest that in the convective-reactive H-combustion regime of H ingestion the star may encounter conditions for the intermediate neutron capture process (i-process). We speculate that some CEMP-s/r stars could originate in i-process conditions in the H ingestion phases of low-Z SAGB stars. This scenario would however suggest a very low electron-capture supernova rate from SAGB stars. We also simulate potential outbursts triggered by such H ingestion events, present their light curves and briefly discuss their transient properties.
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