Related papers: A nova re-accretion model for J-type carbon stars
Context. The evolution of massive stars is strongly influenced by internal mixing processes such as semiconvection, convective core overshooting, and rotationally induced mixing. None of these is currently well constrained. Aims. We…
[ABRIDGED] In order to trace the origin and evolution of carbon in the Galactic disk we have determined carbon abundances in 51 nearby F and G dwarf stars. The sample is divided into two kinematically distinct subsamples with 35 and 16…
Hydrogen-deficient Carbon (HdC) stars are a class of supergiants with anomalous chemical compositions, suggesting that they are remnants of CO-He white dwarf (WD) mergers. This class comprises two spectroscopically similar subclasses -…
Context: Homogeneous investigations of red giant stars in open clusters contribute to studies of internal evolutionary mixing processes inside stars, which are reflected in abundances of mixing-sensitive chemical elements like carbon,…
The chemically peculiar (CP) stars of the upper main sequence are well suited for investigating the impact of magnetic fields and diffusion on the surface layers of slowly rotating stars. They can even be traced in the Magellanic Clouds and…
We use the available data for Magellanic Cloud carbon stars to constrain the efficiency of the third dredge-up process in TP-AGB models. We show that star counts in LMC clusters provide quite stringent limits to the lifetime of the C-star…
We present ISO photometric and spectroscopic observations of a sample of 57 bright Asymptotic Giant Branch stars and red supergiants in the Large Magellanic Cloud, selected on the basis of IRAS colours indicative of high mass-loss rates.…
We are conducting a high-resolution follow-up of candidate EMP stars extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; York et al. 2000) using UVES at the VLT. Three of the programme stars, SDSS J0912+0216, SDSS J1036+1212 and SDSS…
The first stars were likely more massive than those forming today and thus rapidly evolved, exploding as supernovae and enriching the surrounding gas with their chemical products. In the Local Group, the chemical signature of the first…
We investigate the star formation occurring in the Planck Galactic cold clump PGCC 120.69+2.66. Near-infrared JHKs images and K-band spectroscopy obtained with NOTCam at the Nordic Optical Telescope complemented with archive data are used…
We report on the serendipitous discovery of a star-forming galaxy at redshift z=0.116 with morphological features that indicate an ongoing merger. This object exhibits two clearly separated components with significantly different colors,…
We present a novel scenario for the formation of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars. Carbon enhancement at low stellar metallicities is usually considered a consequence of faint or other exotic supernovae. An analytical estimate of…
About a quarter of massive binary stars undergo mass transfer while both stars burn hydrogen at their cores, first on the thermal and then on the nuclear timescale. The nuclear timescale mass transfer leads to observable counterparts: the…
We investigate star formation at very early evolutionary phases in five massive clouds in the inner 500 pc of the Galaxy, the Central Molecular Zone. Using interferometer observations of H$_2$O masers and ultra-compact H II regions, we find…
We analyze the production of the element Cr in galactic chemical evolution (GCE) models using the NuGrid nucleosynthesis yields set. We show that the unusually large [Cr/Fe] abundance at [Fe/H] $\approx 0$ reported by previous studies using…
The Magellanic Clouds offer unique opportunities to study star formation both on the global scales of an interacting system of gas-rich galaxies, as well as on the scales of individual star-forming clouds. The interstellar media of the…
There is an apparent dichotomy between the metal-poor ([Fe/H] <= -2) yet carbon-normal giants and their carbon-rich counterparts. The former undergo significant depletion of carbon on the red giant branch after they have undergone first…
We are studying the extremely young cluster of M17 to investigate the birth of high-mass stars and the initial mass function. Deep JHKL imaging and K-band spectroscopy from the VLT of 201 stars toward the cluster is presented. The majority…
Atomic carbon has been detected in the envelopes of three carbon-rich evolved stars: HD 44179 (=AFGL 915, the `Red Rectangle'); HD 56126; and, tentatively, the carbon star V Hya. This brings to seven the number of evolved star envelopes in…
Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen (CNO) are key elements in stellar formation and evolution, and their abundances should also have a significant impact on planetary formation and evolution. We present a detailed spectroscopic analysis of 74…