Related papers: On the missing second generation AGB stars in NGC6…
An analysis of high-resolution near-infrared spectra of a sample of 45 asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars towards the Galactic bulge is presented. The sample consists of two subsamples, a larger one in the inner and intermediate bulge, and…
Context. Extremely reddened AGB stars lose mass at high rates of >10^-5 Msun/yr. This is the very last stage of AGB evolution, in which stars in the mass range 2.0--4.0 Msun (for solar metallicity) should have been converted to C stars…
Using a chemical evolution model we investigate the intriguing suggestion that there are populations of stars in some globular clusters (e.g. NGC 2808, omega Centauri) with enhanced levels of helium (Y from about 0.28 to 0.40) compared to…
The use of abundance ratios involving Y, or other slow-neutron capture elements, are routinely used to infer stellar ages.Aims.We aim to explain the observed [Y/H] and [Y/Mg] abundance ratios of star clusters located in the inner disc with…
Internal chemical abundance spreads are one of fundamental properties of globular clusters (GCs) in the Galaxy. In order to understand the origin of such abundance spreads, we numerically investigate GC formation from massive molecular…
Luminous Galactic OH/IR stars have been identified as massive (>4-5 M_s) AGB stars experiencing HBB and Li production. Their Rb abundances and [Rb/Zr] ratios derived from hydrostatic model atmospheres, are significantly higher than…
(Abridged) We demonstrate that the amount of extra mixing required to fit the observed low C/N and 12C/13C ratios in first giant branch (FGB) stars is also sufficient to explain the C and N abundances of Galactic AGB stars. We simulate the…
Benefiting from the GAIA second and early third releases of photometric and astrometric data we examine the population of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars that appear in the fields of intermediate-age and young open star clusters. We…
NGC 362 is a non-common Type II Galactic globular cluster, showing a complex pseudo two-color diagram or 'chromosome map'. The clear separation of its stellar populations in the color-magnitude diagram and the distribution of the giant…
The Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) scenario for the formation of multiple populations has been quantitatively studied in the course of the latest twenty years, examining the aspects both of nucleosynthesis and of the dynamics of formation of…
A large number of spectroscopic studies have provided evidence of the presence of multiple populations in globular clusters by revealing patterns in the stellar chemical abundances. This paper is aimed at studying the origin of these…
Recent observations have revealed a population of $\alpha$-element abundances enhanced giant stars with unexpected high masses ($\gtrsim$1 $M_\odot$) from asteroseismic analysis and spectroscopy. Assuming single-star evolution, their masses…
The determination of the Ba abundance in globular cluster (GC) stars is a very powerful test to address several issues in the framework of multiple population scenarios. We measured the Ba content for a sample of more than 1200 stars in 15…
Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars play a significant role in our understanding of the origin of the elements. They contribute to the abundances of C, N, and approximately $50\%$ of the abundances of the elements heavier than iron. An…
We use images acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 and new models to probe the Horizontal Branch (HB) population of the We use images acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 and new models to…
Hydrogen-burning is the root cause of the star-to-star abundance variations of light nuclei in Galactic globular clusters (GC). In the present work we constrain the physical conditions that gave rise to the observed abundance patterns of…
This review discusses some of the observational constraints on what we know about the mass loss experienced by stars in the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase of evolution. Mass loss affects the maximum mass attained by the core of an AGB…
We review spectroscopic results concerning multiple stellar populations in globularclusters. The cluster initial mass is the most important parameter determining the fraction of second generation stars. The threshold for the onset of the…
We discuss a GC formation scenario in which the first generation (1G) of single asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and intermediate-mass close binaries (IMCBs) eject gas, from which the second generation (2G) of stars can be formed. The…
By means of three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, we investigate the formation of second generation (SG) stars in young globular clusters of different masses. We consider clusters with a first generation of asymptotic giant branch…