arXiv subjects

G. Tautvaisiene

Publications and source records attributed to G. Tautvaisiene.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

C, N and O abundances in red clump stars of the Milky Way

The Hipparcos orbiting observatory has revealed a large number of helium-core-burning "clump" stars in the Galactic field. These low-mass stars exhibit signatures of extra-mixing processes that require modeling beyond the first dredge-up of standard models. The 12C/13C ratio is the most robust diagnostic of deep mixing, because it is insensitive to the adopted stellar parameters. In this work we present 12C/13C determinations in a sample of 34 Galactic clump stars as well as abundances of nitrogen, carbon and oxygen. Abundances of carbon were studied using the C2 Swan (0,1) band head at 5635.5 A. The wavelength interval 7980-8130 A with strong CN features was analysed in order to determine nitrogen abundances and 12C/13C isotope ratios. The oxygen abundances were determined from the [O I] line at 6300 A. Compared with the Sun and dwarf stars of the Galactic disk, mean abundances in the investigated clump stars suggest that carbon is depleted by about 0.2 dex, nitrogen is enhanced by 0.2 dex and oxygen is close to abundances in dwarfs. Comparisons to evolutionary models show that the stars fall into two groups: the one is of first ascent giants with carbon isotope ratios altered according to the first dredge-up prediction, and the other one is of helium-core-burning stars with carbon isotope ratios altered by extra mixing. The stars investigated fall to these groups in approximately equal numbers.

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arXiv2010

High resolution spectroscopic study of red clump stars in the Galaxy: iron group elements

The main atmospheric parameters and abundances of the iron group elements (vanadium, chromium, iron, cobalt and nickel) are determined for 62 red giant "clump" stars revealed in the Galactic field by the Hipparcos orbiting observatory. The stars form a homogeneous sample with the mean value of temperature T=4750 +- 160K, of surface gravity log g = 2.41 +- 0.26 and the mean value of metallicity [Fe/H] = -0.04 +- 0.15 dex. A Gaussian fit to the [Fe/H] distribution produces the mean [Fe/H] = -0.01 dex and dispersion of [Fe/H] = 0.08 dex. The near-solar metallicity and small dispersion of [Fe/H] of clump stars of the Galaxy obtained in this work confirm the theoretical model of the Hipparcos clump by Girardi & Salaris (2001). This suggests that nearby clump stars are (in the mean) relatively young objects, reflecting mainly the near-solar metallicities developed in the local disk during the last few Gyrs of its history. We find iron group element to iron abundance ratios in clump giants to be close to solar.

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arXiv2005

The design and performance of the Gaia photometric system

The European Gaia astrometry mission is due for launch in 2011. Gaia will rely on the proven principles of ESA's Hipparcos mission to create an all-sky survey of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy and beyond, by observing all objects down to 20th magnitude. Through its massive measurement of stellar distances, motions and multi-colour photometry it will provide fundamental data necessary for unravelling the structure, formation and evolution of the Galaxy. This paper presents the design and performance of the broad- and medium-band set of photometric filters adopted as the baseline for Gaia. The nineteen selected passbands (extending from the ultraviolet to the far-red), the criteria, and the methodology on which this choice has been based are discussed in detail. We analyse the photometric capabilities for characterizing the luminosity, temperature, gravity and chemical composition of stars. We also discuss the automatic determination of these physical parameters for the large number of observations involved, for objects located throughout the entire Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Finally, the capability of the photometric system to deal with the main Gaia science case is outlined.

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arXiv2001

Chemical composition of red horizontal branch stars in the thick disk of the Galaxy

High-resolution spectra of 13 core helium-burning stars in the thick disk of the Galaxy have been obtained with the SOFIN spectrograph on the Nordic Optical Telescope to investigate abundances of up to 22 chemical elements. Abundances of carbon were studied using the C_2 Swan (0,1) band head at 5635.5 A. The wavelength interval 7980-8130 A with strong CN features was analysed in order to determine nitrogen abundances and 12C/13C isotope ratios. The oxygen abundances were determined from the O I line at 6300 A. Abundances in the investigated stars suggest that carbon is depleted by about 0.3 dex, nitrogen is enhanced by more than 0.4 dex and oxygen is unaltered. The 12C/13C ratios are lowered and lie between values 3 and 7 which is in agreement with "cool bottom processing" predictions (Boothroyd & Sackmann 1999). The C/N ratios in the investigated stars are lowered to values between 0.7 and 1.2 which is less than present day theoretical predictions and call for further studies of stellar mixing processes. Abundance ratios of O, Mg, Eu and other heavy chemical elements to iron in the investigated stars show a pattern characteristic of thick disk stars. The results provide evidence that the thick disk population has a distinct chemical history from the thin disk. The onset of the bulk of SN Ia is suggested to appear around [Fe/H] = -0.6 dex.

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arXiv2000

Chemical composition of evolved stars in the open cluster M 67

High-resolution spectra of six core helium-burning `clump' stars and three giants in the open cluster M 67 have been obtained with the SOFIN spectrograph on the Nordic Optical Telescope to investigate abundances of up to 25 chemical elements. Abundances of carbon were studied using the C2 Swan (0,1) band head at 5635.5 A. The wavelength interval 7980-8130 A with strong CN features was analysed in order to determine nitrogen abundances and 12C/13C isotope ratios. The oxygen abundances were determined from the [O I] line at 6300 A. The overall metallicity of the cluster stars was found to be close to solar ([Fe/H]=-0.03+-0.03). Compared with the Sun and other dwarf stars of the Galactic disk, as well as with dwarf stars of M 67 itself, abundances in the investigated stars suggest that carbon is depleted by about 0.2 dex, nitrogen is enhanced by about 0.2 dex and oxygen is unaltered. Among other mixing- sensitive chemical elements an overabundance of sodium may be suspected. The mean C/N and 12C/13C ratios are lowered to the values of 1.7+-0.2 and 24+-4 in the giants and to the values of 1.4+-0.2 and 16+-4 in the clump stars. These results suggest that extra mixing of CN-cycled material to the stellar surface takes place after the He-core flash. Abundances of heavy chemical elements in all nine stars were found to be almost identical and close to solar.

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arXiv1999

s/alpha/Fe Abundance Ratios in Halo Field Stars: Is there a Globular Cluster Connection?

We try to understand the s- and r-process elements vs Ti/Fe plots derived by Jehin et al. (1999) for mildly metal-poor stars within the framework of the analytical semi-empirical models for these elements by Pagel & Tautvaisiene (1995, 1997). Jehin et al. distinguished two Pop II subgroups: IIa with alpha/Fe and s-elements/Fe increasing together, which they attribute to pure SNII activity, and IIb with constant alpha/Fe and a range in s/Fe which they attribute to a prolonged accretion phase in parent globular clusters. However, their sample consists mainly of thick-disk stars with only 4 clear halo members, of which two are `anomalous' in the sense defined by Nissen & Schuster (1997). Only the remaining two halo stars (and one in Nissen & Schuster's sample) depart significantly from Y/Ti (or s/alpha) ratios predicted by our model.

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arXiv1998

Chemical Evolution of the Magellanic Clouds: analytical models

We have extended our analytical chemical evolution modelling ideas for the Galaxy to the Magellanic Clouds. Unlike previous authors, we assume neither a steepened IMF nor selective galactic winds, since among the alpha-particle elements only oxygen shows a large deficit relative to iron and a similar deficit is also found in Galactic supergiants. Thus we assume yields and time delays identical to those we previously assumed for the solar neighbourhood. We include inflow and non-selective galactic winds and consider both smooth and bursting star formation rates, the latter giving a better fit to the age-metallicity relations. We predict essentially solar abundance ratios for primary elements and these seem to fit most of the data within their substantial scatter. Our LMC model also gives a remarkably good fit to the anomalous Galactic halo stars discovered by Nissen & Schuster (1997). Our models predict current ratios of SNIa to core-collapse supernova rates enhanced by 50 per cent and 25 per cent respectively relative to the solar neighbourhood, in fair agreement with ratios found by Cappellaro et al. (1993) for Sdm-Im relative to Sbc galaxies, but these ratios are sensitive to detailed assumptions about the bursts. We consider that the high SNIa/SNII ratios found in some late-type galaxies are related to their star formation history rather than to any differences in the IMF.

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