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1. M giants with IGRINS: I. Stellar parameters and α -abundance trends of the solar neighborhood population

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346149  

   Nandakumar, G. ; Ryde, N. ; Casagrande, L. ; Mace, G. ( July 2023 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   Context. Cool stars, such as M giants, can only be analyzed in the near-infrared (NIR) regime due to the ubiquitous titanium oxide features in optical spectra of stars with T eff  < 4000 K. In dust-obscured regions, the inner bulge and Galactic center region, the intrinsically bright M giants observed in the NIR are an optimal option for studying stellar abundances and the chemical evolution of stellar populations. Because of the uncertainties in photometric methods, a method for determining the stellar parameters for M giants from the NIR spectra themselves is needed. Aims. We develop a method for determining the stellar parameters for M giants from the NIR spectra. We validate the method by deriving the stellar parameters for nearby well-studied M giants with spectra from the spectral library of the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS). We demonstrate the accuracy and precision of our method by determining the stellar parameters and α -element trends versus metallicity for solar neighborhood M giants. Methods. We carried out new observations of 44 M giant stars with IGRINS mounted on the Gemini South telescope. We also obtained the full H and K band IGRINS spectra of six nearby well-studied M giants at a spectral resolving power of R  = 45 000 from the IGRINS spectral library. We used the tool called spectroscopy made easy in combination with one-dimensional (1D) model atmospheres in a radiative and convective scheme (MARCS) stellar atmosphere models to model the synthetic spectrum that fits the observed spectrum best. Results. The effective temperatures that we derive from our new method (tested for 3400 ≲  T eff  ≲ 4000 K here) agree excellently with those of the six nearby well-studied M giants, which indicates that the accuracy is indeed high. For the 43 solar neighborhood M giants, our T eff , log g , [Fe/H], ξ micro , [C/Fe], [N/Fe], and [O/Fe] agree with APOGEE with mean differences and a scatter (our method – APOGEE) of −67±33 K, −0.31±0.15 dex, 0.02±0.05 dex, 0.22±0.13 km s −1 , −0.05±0.06 dex, 0.06±0.06 dex, and 0.02±0.09 dex, respectively. Furthermore, the tight offset with a small dispersion compared to the APOGEE T eff indicates a high precision in our derived temperatures and those derived from the APOGEE pipeline. The typical uncertainties in the stellar parameters are found to be ±100 K in T eff , ±0.2 dex in log g , ±0.1 dex in [Fe/H], and ±0.1 km s −1 in ξ micro . The α -element trends versus metallicity for Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti are consistent with the APOGEE DR17 trends for the same stars and with the GILD optical trends. We also find a clear enhancement in the abundances for thick-disk stars. 

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2. Probing Massive Star Nucleosynthesis with Data on Metal-Poor Stars and the Solar System

   https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202226009001  

   Qian, Yong-Zhong ( January 2022 , EPJ Web of Conferences)

   Liu, W. ; Wang, Y. ; Guo, B. ; Tang, X. ; Zeng, S. (Ed.)

   Metal-poor stars were formed during the early epochs when only massive stars had time to evolve and contribute to the chemical enrichment. Low-mass metal-poor stars survive until the present and provide fossil records of the nucleosynthesis of early massive stars. On the other hand, short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) in the early solar system (ESS) reflect the nucleosynthesis of sources that occurred close to the proto-solar cloud in both space and time. Both the ubiquity of Sr and Ba and the diversity of heavy-element abundance patterns observed in single metal-poor stars suggest that some neutron-capture mechanisms other than the r -process might have operated in early massive stars. Three such mechanisms are discussed: the weak s -process in non-rotating models with initial carbon enhancement, a new s -process induced by rapid rotation in models with normal initial composition, and neutron-capture processes induced by proton ingestion in non-rotating models. In addition, meteoritic data are discussed to constrain the core-collapse supernova (CCSN) that might have triggered the formation of the solar system and provided some of the SLRs in the ESS. If there was a CCSN trigger, the data point to a low-mass CCSN as the most likely candidate. An 11.8 M ⊙ CCSN trigger is discussed. Its nucleosynthesis, the evolution of its remnant, and the interaction of the remnant with the proto-solar cloud appear to satisfy the meteoritic constraints and can account for the abundances of the SLRs 41 Ca, 53 Mn, and 60 Fe in the ESS. 

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3. The Galactic chemical evolution of phosphorus observed with IGRINS

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202244724  

   Nandakumar, G. ; Ryde, N. ; Montelius, M. ; Thorsbro, B. ; Jönsson, H. ; Mace, G. ( December 2022 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   Context. Phosphorus (P) is considered to be one of the key elements for life, making it an important element to look for in the abundance analysis of spectra of stellar systems. Yet, only a select number of spectroscopic studies exist to estimate the phosphorus abundances and investigate its trend across a range of metallicities. This is due to the lack of good phosphorus lines in the optical wavelength region and the requirement of careful manual analysis of the blended phosphorus lines in near-infrared H-band spectra obtained with individual observations and surveys such as the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). Aims. Based on a consistent and systematic analysis of high-resolution, near-infrared Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) spectra of 38 K giant stars in the Solar neighborhood, we present and investigate the phosphorus abundance trend in the metallicity range of −1.2 dex < [Fe/H] < 0.4 dex. Furthermore, we compare this trend with the available chemical evolution models to shed some light on the origin and evolution of phosphorus. Methods. We have observed full H - and K -band spectra at a spectral resolving power of R = 45 000 with IGRINS mounted on the Gemini South telescope, the Discovery Channel Telescope, and the Harlan J Smith Telescope at McDonald Observatory. Abundances were determined from spectral lines by modeling the synthetic spectrum that best matches the observed spectrum by χ 2 minimization. For this task, we used the Spectroscopy Made Easy (SME) tool in combination with one-dimensional (1D) Model Atmospheres in a Radiative and Convective Scheme (MARCS) stellar atmosphere models. The investigated sample of stars have reliable stellar parameters estimated using optical FIber-fed Echelle Spectrograph (FIES) spectra obtained in a previous study of a set of stars called Giants in the Local Disk (GILD). In order to determine the phosphorus abundances from the 16482.92 Å phosphorus line, we needed to take special care blending the CO( v = 7−4) line. With the stellar parameters known, we thus determined the C, N, and O abundances from atomic carbon and a range of nonblended molecular lines (CO, CN, and OH) which are plentiful in the H-band region of K giant stars, assuring an appropriate modeling of the blending CO( v = 7−4) line. Results. We present the [P/Fe] versus [Fe/H] trend for K giant stars in the metallicity range of −1.2 dex < [Fe/H] < 0.4 dex and enhanced phosphorus abundances for two metal-poor s-rich stars. We find that our trend matches well with the compiled literature sample of prominently dwarf stars and the limited number of giant stars. Our trend is found to be higher by ~0.05−0.1 dex compared to the theoretical chemical evolution trend resulting from the core collapse supernova (type II) of massive stars with the phosphorus yields arbitrarily increased by a factor of 2.75. Thus the enhancement factor might need to be ~0.05−0.1 dex higher to match our trend. We also find an empirically determined primary behavior for phosphorus. Furthermore, the phosphorus abundance is found to be elevated by ~0.6−0.9 dex in the two s-enriched stars compared to the theoretical chemical evolution trend. 

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4. The detailed chemical abundance patterns of accreted halo stars from the optical to infrared

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac518  

   Carrillo, Andreia ; Hawkins, Keith ; Jofré, Paula ; de Brito Silva, Danielle ; Das, Payel ; Lucey, Madeline ( April 2022 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   Understanding the assembly of our Galaxy requires us to also characterize the systems that helped build it. In this work, we accomplish this by exploring the chemistry of accreted halo stars from Gaia-Enceladus/Gaia-Sausage (GES) selected in the infrared from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) Data Release 16. We use high resolution optical spectra for 62 GES stars to measure abundances in 20 elements spanning the α, Fe-peak, light, odd-Z, and notably, the neutron-capture groups of elements to understand their trends in the context of and in contrast to the Milky Way and other stellar populations. Using these derived abundances we find that the optical and the infrared abundances agree to within 0.15 dex except for O, Co, Na, Cu, and Ce. These stars have enhanced neutron-capture abundance trends compared to the Milky Way, and their [Eu/Mg] and neutron-capture abundance ratios (e.g. [Y/Eu], [Ba/Eu], [Zr/Ba], [La/Ba], and [Nd/Ba]) point to r-process enhancement and a delay in s-process enrichment. Their [α/Fe] trend is lower than the Milky Way trend for [Fe/H] > −1.5 dex, similar to previous studies of GES stars and consistent with the picture that these stars formed in a system with a lower rate of star formation. This is further supported by their depleted abundances in Ni, Na, and Cu abundances, again, similar to previous studies of low-α stars with accreted origins.

    

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5. Rubidium abundances in solar metallicity stars

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202040250  

   Abia, C. ; de Laverny, P. ; Korotin, S. ; Asensio Ramos, A. ; Recio-Blanco, A. ; Prantzos, N. ( April 2021 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   null (Ed.)

   Context. Rubidium is one of the few elements produced by the neutron capture s - and r -processes in almost equal proportions. Recently, a Rb deficiency ([Rb/Fe] < 0.0), amounting to a factor of about two with respect to the Sun, has been found in M dwarfs of near-solar metallicity. This stands in contrast to the close-to-solar [Sr, Zr/Fe] ratios derived in the same stars. This deficiency is difficult to understand from the point of view of observations and of nucleosynthesis. Aims. To test the reliability of this Rb deficiency, we study the Rb and Zr abundances in a sample of KM-type giant stars across a similar metallicity range, extracted from the AMBRE Project. Methods. We used high-resolution and high signal-to-noise spectra to derive Rb and Zr abundances in a sample of 54 bright giant stars with metallicities in the range of −0.6 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ +0.4 dex, via spectral synthesis in both local and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE and NLTE, respectively). We also studied the impact of the Zeeman broadening in the profile of the Rb  I at λ 7800 Å line. Results. The LTE analysis also results in a Rb deficiency in giant stars, however, it is considerably lower than that obtained in M dwarfs. However, once NLTE corrections are performed, the [Rb/Fe] ratios are very close to solar (average −0.01 ± 0.09 dex) in the full metallicity range studied here. This stands in contrast to the value found for M dwarfs. The [Zr/Fe] ratios derived are in excellent agreement with those obtained in previous studies in FGK dwarf stars with a similar metallicity. We investigate the effect of gravitational settling and magnetic activity as possible causes of the Rb deficiency found in M dwarfs. Although the former phenomenon has a negligible impact on the surface Rb abundance, the presence of an average magnetic field with an intensity that is typical of that observed in M dwarfs may result in systematic Rb abundance underestimations if the Zeeman broadening is not considered in the spectral synthesis. This may explain the Rb deficiency in M dwarfs, but not fully. On the other hand, the new [Rb/Fe] and [Rb/Zr] versus [Fe/H] relationships can be explained when the Rb production by rotating massive stars and low-to-intermediate mass stars (these latter also producing Zr) are considered, without the need to deviate from the standard s -process nucleosynthesis in asymptotic giant branch stars, as suggested previously. 

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