arXiv subjects

Andreas J. Korn

Publications and source records attributed to Andreas J. Korn.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Atomic diffusion and mixing in old stars IV: Weak abundance trends in the globular cluster NGC 6752

Atomic diffusion in stars can create systematic trends of surface abundances with evolutionary stage. Globular clusters offer useful laboratories to put observational constraints on this theory as one needs to compare abundances in unevolved and evolved stars, all drawn from the same stellar population. In this paper, we show the results of an abundance study of stars in the globular cluster NGC6752 which shows weak but systematic abundances trends with evolutionary phase for Fe, Sc, Ti and Ca. The trends are best explained by a stellar structure model including atomic diffusion with efficient additional mixing. The model allows to correct for sub-primordial stellar lithium abundances of the stars on the Spite plateau, and to match it to the WMAP-calibrated Big-Bang nucleosynthesis predictions to within the mutual 1-sigma errors.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2006

Pinning Down Gravitational Settling

We analyse high-resolution archival UVES data of turnoff and subgiant stars in the nearby globular cluster NGC 6397 ([Fe/H] = -2). Balmer-profile analyses are performed to derive reddening-free effective temperatures. Due to the limited S/N and uncertainties related to blaze removal, we find the data quality insufficient to exclude the existence of gravitational settling. If the newly derived effective temperatures are taken as a basis for an abundance analysis, the photospheric iron (Fe II) abundance in the turnoff stars is 0.11 dex lower than in the (well-mixed) subgiants.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Sulphur abundances in metal-poor stars

We investigate the debated "sulphur discrepancy" found among metal-poor stars of the Galactic halo with [Fe/H] < -2. This discrepancy stems in part from the use of two different sets of sulphur lines, the very weak triplet at 8694-95 A and the stronger triplet lines at 9212 - 9237 A. For three representative cases of metal-poor dwarf, turnoff and subgiant stars, we argue that the abundances from the 8694-95 lines have been overestimated which has led to a continually rising trend of [S/Fe] as metallicity decreases. Given that the near-IR region is subject to CCD fringing, these weak lines become excessively difficult to measure accurately in the metallicity regime of [Fe/H] < -2. Based on homogeneously determined spectroscopic stellar parameters, we also present updated [S/Fe] ratios from the 9212-9237 lines which suggest a plateau-like behaviour similar to that seen for other alpha elements.

astro-ph↗