| 1. |
- Bergemann, Maria, et al.
(author)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey : Hydrogen lines in red giants directly trace stellar mass
- 2016
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 594
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Red giant stars are perhaps the most important type of stars for Galactic and extra-galactic archaeology: they are luminous, occur in all stellar populations, and their surface temperatures allow precise abundance determinations for many different chemical elements. Yet, the full star formation and enrichment history of a galaxy can be traced directly only if two key observables can be determined for large stellar samples: age and chemical composition. While spectroscopy is a powerful method to analyse the detailed abundances of stars, stellar ages are the missing link in the chain, since they are not a direct observable. However, spectroscopy should be able to estimate stellar masses, which for red giants directly infer ages provided their chemical composition is known. Here we establish a new empirical relation between the shape of the hydrogen line in the observed spectra of red giants and stellar mass determined from asteroseismology. The relation allows determining stellar masses and ages with an accuracy of 10-15%. The method can be used with confidence for stars in the following range of stellar parameters: 4000 < T-eff < 5000 K, 0.5 < log g < 3.5, -2.0 < [ Fe/H] < 0.3, and luminosities log L/L-Sun < 2.5. Our analysis provides observational evidence that the H-alpha spectral characteristics of red giant stars are tightly correlated with their mass and therefore their age. We also show that the method samples well all stellar populations with ages above 1 Gyr. Targeting bright giants, the method allows obtaining simultaneous age and chemical abundance information far deeper than would be possible with asteroseismology, extending the possible survey volume to remote regions of the Milky Way and even to neighbouring galaxies such as Andromeda or the Magellanic Clouds even with current instrumentation, such as the VLT and Keck facilities.
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| 2. |
- Semenova, Ekaterina, et al.
(author)
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The Gaia -ESO survey : 3D NLTE abundances in the open cluster NGC 2420 suggest atomic diffusion and turbulent mixing are at the origin of chemical abundance variations
- 2020
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 643
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Atomic diusion and mixing processes in stellar interiors influence the structure and the surface composition of stars. Some of these processes cannot yet be modelled from the first principles, and they require calibrations. This limits their applicability in stellar models used for studies of stellar populations and Galactic evolution. Aims. Our main goal is to put constraints on the stellar structure and evolution models using new refined measurements of the chemical composition in stars of a Galactic open cluster. Methods.We used medium-resolution, 19 200 R 21 500, optical spectra of stars in the open cluster NGC2420 obtained within the Gaia-ESO survey. The sample covers all evolutionary stages from the main sequence to the red giant branch. Stellar parameters were derived using a combined Bayesian analysis of spectra, 2MASS photometry, and astrometric data from Gaia DR2. The abundances of Mg, Ca, Fe, and Li were determined from non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) synthetic spectra, which were computed using one-dimensional (1D) and averaged three-dimensional (3D) model atmospheres. We compare our results with a grid of Code d'Evolution Stellaire Adaptatif et Modulaire (CESTAM) stellar evolution models, which include atomic diusion, turbulent, and rotational mixing. Results. We find prominent evolutionary trends in the abundances of Fe, Ca, Mg, and Li with the mass of the stars in the cluster. Furthermore, Fe, Mg, and Ca show a depletion at the cluster turn-o, but the abundances gradually increase and flatten near the base of the red giant branch. The abundance trend for Li displays a signature of rotational mixing on the main sequence and abrupt depletion on the sub-giant branch, which is caused by advection of Li-poor material to the surface. The analysis of abundances combined with the CESTAM model predictions allows us to place limits on the parameter space of the models and to constrain the zone in the stellar interior, where turbulent mixing takes place.
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