Helioseismology and asteroseismology of red giant stars have shown that distribution of angular momentum in stellar interiors, and the evolution of this distribution with time remains an open issue ...in stellar physics. Owing to the unprecedented quality and long baseline of Kepler photometry, we are able to seismically infer internal rotation rates in γ Doradus stars, which provide the main-sequence counterpart to the red-giants puzzle. Here, we confront these internal rotation rates to stellar evolution models which account for rotationally induced transport of angular momentum, in order to test angular momentum transport mechanisms. On the one hand, we used a stellar model-independent method developed by our team in order to obtain accurate, seismically inferred, buoyancy radii and near-core rotation for 37 γ Doradus stars observed by Kepler. We show that the stellar buoyancy radius can be used as a reliable evolution indicator for field stars on the main sequence. On the other hand, we computed rotating evolutionary models of intermediate-mass stars including internal transport of angular momentum in radiative zones, following the formalism developed in the series of papers started by Zahn (1992, A&A, 265, 115), with the CESTAM code. This code calculates the rotational history of stars from the birth line to the tip of the RGB. The initial angular momentum content has to be set initially, which is done here by fitting rotation periods in young stellar clusters. We show a clear disagreement between the near-core rotation rates measured in the sample and the rotation rates obtained from the evolutionary models including rotationally induced transport of angular momentum following Zahn’s prescriptions. These results show a disagreement similar to that of the Sun and red giant stars in the considered mass range. This suggests the existence of missing mechanisms responsible for the braking of the core before and along the main sequence. The efficiency of the missing mechanisms is investigated. The transport of angular momentum as formalized by Zahn and Maeder cannot explain the measurements of near-core rotation in main-sequence intermediate-mass stars we have at hand.
Chemical mixing in low mass stars Deal, M.; Goupil, M.-J.; Marques, J. P. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
01/2020, Letnik:
633
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Context.
When modelling stars with masses higher than 1.2
M
⊙
with no observed chemical peculiarity, atomic diffusion is often neglected because, on its own, it causes unrealistic surface abundances ...compared with those observed. The reality is that atomic diffusion is in competition with other transport processes. Rotation is one of the processes able to prevent excessively strong surface abundance variations.
Aims.
The purpose of this study is to quantify the opposite or conjugated effects of atomic diffusion (including radiative acceleration) and rotationally induced mixing in stellar models of low mass stars, and to assess whether rotational mixing is able to prevent the strong abundance variations induced by atomic diffusion in F-type stars. Our second goal is to estimate the impact of neglecting both rotational mixing and atomic diffusion in stellar parameter inferences for stars with masses higher than 1.3
M
⊙
.
Methods.
Using the Asteroseismic Inference on a Massive Scale (AIMS) stellar parameter inference code, we infer the masses and ages of a set of representative artificial stars for which models were computed with the Code d’Evolution Stellaire Adaptatif et Modulaire (CESTAM; the T stands for Transport) evolution code, taking into account rotationally induced mixing and atomic diffusion, including radiative acceleration. The observed constraints are asteroseismic and classical properties. The grid of stellar models used for the optimization search include neither atomic diffusion nor rotationally induced mixing. The differences between real and retrieved parameters then provide an estimate of the errors made when neglecting transport processes in stellar parameter inference.
Results.
We show that for masses lower than 1.3
M
⊙
, rotation dominates the transport of chemical elements and strongly reduces the effect of atomic diffusion, with net surface abundance modifications similar to solar values. At higher mass, atomic diffusion and rotation are competing equally. Above 1.44
M
⊙
, atomic diffusion dominates in stellar models with initial rotation lower than 80 km s
−1
producing a chemical peculiarity which is not observed in
Kepler
Legacy stars. This indicates that a transport process of chemical elements is missing, probably linked to the missing transport process of angular momentum needed to explain rotation profiles in solar-like stars. Importantly, neglecting rotation and atomic diffusion (including radiative acceleration) in the models, when inferring the parameters of F-type stars, may lead to respective errors of ≈5%, ≈2.5%, and ≈25% for stellar masses, radii, and ages.
Conclusions.
Atomic diffusion (including radiative acceleration) and rotational mixing should be taken into account in stellar models in order to determine accurate stellar parameters. When atomic diffusion and shellular rotation are both included, they enable stellar evolution codes to reproduce the observed metal and helium surface abundances for stars with masses up to 1.4
M
⊙
at solar metallicity. However, if rotation is actually uniform for these stars (as observations seem to indicate), then an additional chemical mixing process is needed together with a revised formulation of rotational mixing. For higher masses, an additional mixing process is needed in any case.
Context. Observations and analysis of solar-type oscillations in red-giant stars is an emerging aspect of asteroseismic analysis with a number of open questions yet to be explored. Although ...stochastic oscillations have previously been detected in red giants from both radial velocity and photometric measurements, those data were either too short or had sampling that was not complete enough to perform a detailed data analysis of the variability. The quality and quantity of photometric data as provided by the CoRoT satellite is necessary to provide a breakthrough in observing p-mode oscillations in red giants. We have analyzed continuous photometric time-series of about 11 400 relatively faint stars obtained in the exofield of CoRoT during the first 150 days long-run campaign from May to October 2007. We find several hundred stars showing a clear power excess in a frequency and amplitude range expected for red-giant pulsators. In this paper we present first results on a sub-sample of these stars. Aims. Knowing reliable fundamental parameters like mass and radius is essential for detailed asteroseismic studies of red-giant stars. As the CoRoT exofield targets are relatively faint (11-16 mag) there are no (or only weak) constraints on the stars' location in the H-R diagram. We therefore aim to extract information about such fundamental parameters solely from the available time series. Methods. We model the convective background noise and the power excess hump due to pulsation with a global model fit and deduce reliable estimates for the stellar mass and radius from scaling relations for the frequency of maximum oscillation power and the characteristic frequency separation. Results. We provide a simple method to estimate stellar masses and radii for stars exhibiting solar-type oscillations. Our method is tested on a number of known solar-type pulsators.
Period spacings in red giants Mosser, B.; Gehan, C.; Belkacem, K. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
10/2018, Letnik:
618
Journal Article
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Context
. Oscillation modes with a mixed character, as observed in evolved low-mass stars, are highly sensitive to the physical properties of the innermost regions. Measuring their properties is ...therefore extremely important to probe the core, but requires some care, due to the complexity of the mixed-mode pattern.
Aims
. The aim of this work is to provide a consistent description of the mixed-mode pattern of low-mass stars, based on the asymptotic expansion. We also study the variation of the gravity offset
ε
g
with stellar evolution.
Methods
. We revisit previous works about mixed modes in red giants and empirically test how period spacings, rotational splittings, mixed-mode widths, and heights can be estimated in a consistent view, based on the properties of the mode inertia ratios.
Results
. From the asymptotic fit of the mixed-mode pattern of a large set of red giants at various evolutionary stages, we derive unbiased and precise asymptotic parameters. As the asymptotic expansion of gravity modes is verified with a precision close to the frequency resolution for stars on the red giant branch (10
−4
in relative values), we can derive accurate values of the asymptotic parameters. We decipher the complex pattern in a rapidly rotating star, and explain how asymmetrical splittings can be inferred. We also revisit the stellar inclinations in two open clusters, NGC 6819 and NGC 6791: our results show that the stellar inclinations in these clusters do not have privileged orientation in the sky. The variation of the asymptotic gravity offset with stellar evolution is investigated in detail. We also derive generic properties that explain under which conditions mixed modes can be observed.
In the context of the space missions CoRoT, Kepler, Gaia, TESS, and PLATO, precise and accurate stellar ages, masses, and radii are of paramount importance. We aim at quantifying how detailed stellar ...modelling can improve the accuracy and precision on age and mass of individual stars. To that end, we adopt a multifaceted approach where we carefully examine how the number of observational constraints as well as the uncertainties on observations and on model input physics affect the results of age-dating and weighing. We demonstrate that asteroseismology allows us to substantially improve the age accuracy that can be achieved with other methods. We emphasize that the knowledge of the mean properties of stellar oscillations -- such as the large frequency separation -- is not enough to derive accurate ages. Our results emphasize the importance of precise classical stellar parameters and oscillation frequencies such as will be obtained by the Gaia and PLATO missions.
Chemical etching with fluoride ions is a new approach for secondary porosity engineering of aluminosilicate zeolite frameworks. We show that diluted HF solutions extract preferentially aluminum from ...zeolite frameworks. The Brønsted acidity of ZSM-5 treated in such a way decreases, while its structure is unaffected after an HF treatment. With higher HF concentrations, the number of undissociated HF molecules and the concentration of HF2 – ions, extracting indiscriminately Al and Si, increase. The addition of NH4F shifts the chemical equilibria to produce more HF2 –, avoiding the use of highly concentrated HF solutions; it also suppresses HF dissociation. The etching selectivity of such solutions is concentration-independent and extracts indiscriminately both framework Si and Al. Zeolite dissolution in NH4F-HF solutions starts preferentially at small intergrowth domains and goes deeply in the crystals without a substantial increase of the external surface area. Macropores are produced without altering zeolite acidity. Hierarchical materials obtained by these two approaches are characterized extensively by complementary methods and the catalytic impact illustrated in the m-xylene conversion.
Context. The seismic data provided by the space-borne missions CoRoT and Kepler enabled us to probe the internal rotation of thousands of evolved low-mass stars. Subsequently, several studies showed ...that current stellar evolution codes are unable to reproduce the low core rotation rates observed in these stars. These results indicate that an additional angular momentum transport process is necessary to counteract the spin up due to the core contraction during the post-main sequence evolution. For several candidates, the transport induced by internal gravity waves (IGW) could play a non-negligible role. Aims. We aim to investigate the effect of IGW generated by penetrative convection on the internal rotation of low-mass stars from the subgiant branch to the beginning of the red giant branch. Methods. A semi-analytical excitation model was used to estimate the angular momentum wave flux. The characteristic timescale associated with the angular momentum transport by IGW was computed and compared to the contraction timescale throughout the radiative region of stellar models at different evolutionary stages. Results. We show that IGW can efficiently counteract the contraction-driven spin up of the core of subgiant stars if the amplitude of the radial-differential rotation (between the center of the star and the top of the radiative zone) is higher than a threshold value. This threshold depends on the evolutionary stage and is comparable to the differential rotation rates inferred for a sample of subgiant stars observed by the satellite Kepler. Such an agreement can therefore be interpreted as the consequence of a regulation mechanism driven by IGW. This result is obtained under the assumption of a smooth rotation profile in the radiative region and holds true even if a wide range of values is considered for the parameters of the generation model. In contrast, on the red giant branch, we find that IGW remain insufficient, on their own, to explain the observations because of an excessive radiative damping. Conclusions. IGW generated by penetrative convection are able to efficiently extract angular momentum from the core of stars on the subgiant branch and accordingly have to be taken into account. Moreover, agreements with the observations reinforce the idea that their effect is essential to regulate the amplitude of the radial-differential rotation in subgiant stars. On the red giant branch, another transport mechanism must likely be invoked.
Context. Seismic observations with the space-borne Kepler mission have shown that a number of evolved stars exhibit low-amplitude dipole modes, which is referred to as depressed modes. Recently, ...these low amplitudes have been attributed to the presence of a strong magnetic field in the stellar core of those stars. Subsequently, and based on this scenario, the prevalence of high magnetic fields in evolved stars has been inferred. It should be noted, however, that this conclusion remains indirect. Aims. We intend to study the properties of mode depression in evolved stars, which is a necessary condition before reaching conclusions about the physical nature of the mechanism responsible for the reduction of the dipole mode amplitudes. Methods. We perform a thorough characterization of the global seismic parameters of depressed dipole modes and show that these modes have a mixed character. The observation of stars showing dipole mixed modes that are depressed is especially useful for deriving model-independent conclusions on the dipole mode damping. We use a simple model to explain how mode visibilities are connected to the extra damping seen in depressed modes. Results. Observations prove that depressed dipole modes in red giants are not pure pressure modes but mixed modes. This result, observed in more than 90% of the bright stars (mV ≤ 11), invalidates the hypothesis that depressed dipole modes result from the suppression of the oscillation in the radiative core of the stars. Observations also show that, except for visibility, seismic properties of the stars with depressed modes are equivalent to those of normal stars. The measurement of the extra damping that is responsible for the reduction of mode amplitudes, without any prior on its physical nature, potentially provides an efficient tool for elucidating the mechanism responsible for the mode depression. Conclusions. The mixed nature of the depressed modes in red giants and their unperturbed global seismic parameters carry strong constraints on the physical mechanism responsible for the damping of the oscillation in the core. This mechanism is able to damp the oscillation in the core but cannot fully suppress it. Moreover, it cannot modify the radiative cavity probed by the gravity component of the mixed modes. The recent mechanism involving high magnetic fields proposed for explaining depressed modes is not compliant with the observations and cannot be used to infer the strength and prevalence of high magnetic fields in red giants.
Context. The space mission Kepler provides us with long and uninterrupted photometric time series of red giants. We are now able to probe the rotational behaviour in their deep interiors using the ...observations of mixed modes. Aims. We aim to measure the rotational splittings in red giants and to derive scaling relations for rotation related to seismic and fundamental stellar parameters. Methods. We have developed a dedicated method for automated measurements of the rotational splittings in a large number of red giants. Ensemble asteroseismology, namely the examination of a large number of red giants at different stages of their evolution, allows us to derive global information on stellar evolution. Results. We have measured rotational splittings in a sample of about 300 red giants. We have also shown that these splittings are dominated by the core rotation. Under the assumption that a linear analysis can provide the rotational splitting, we observe a small increase of the core rotation of stars ascending the red giant branch. Alternatively, an important slow down is observed for red-clump stars compared to the red giant branch. We also show that, at fixed stellar radius, the specific angular momentum increases with increasing stellar mass. Conclusions. Ensemble asteroseismology indicates what has been indirectly suspected for a while: our interpretation of the observed rotational splittings leads to the conclusion that the mean core rotation significantly slows down during the red giant phase. The slow-down occurs in the last stages of the red giant branch. This spinning down explains, for instance, the long rotation periods measured in white dwarfs.
Porous LiMPO
4/C composites (where M stands for Fe and/or Mn) with micro-sized particles were synthesised by sol–gel technique. Particles porosity is discussed in terms of qualitative results ...obtained from SEM micrographs and in terms of quantitative results obtained from N
2 adsorption isotherms. Porous particles could be described as an inverse picture of nanoparticulate arrangement, where the pores serve as channels for lithium supply and the distance between the pores determines the materials kinetics. Tests show that the electrochemical behaviour of porous LiMPO
4/C composite is comparable with the results from the literature. The best electrochemical results were obtained with a LiFePO
4/C composite (over 140
mAh
g
−1 at
C/2 rate during continuous cycling). The capacity obtained with LiMnPO
4/C composite is much lower (40
mAh
g
−1 at
C/20 rate), although the textural properties are similar to those observed in the LiFePO
4/C composite.