Related papers: What we do and do not know about the s-process
A large sample of carbon enhanced metal-poor stars enriched in s-process elements (CEMP-s) have been observed in the Galactic halo. These stars of low mass (M ~ 0.9 Msun) are located on the main-sequence or the red giant phase, and do not…
New measurements of neutron-capture elements are presented for two very metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] ~ -3). One (LP 625-44) has an s-process signature believed to be due to mass transfer from a now-extinct metal-poor AGB companion, and the…
We summarise the evolution and nucleosynthesis in AGB and Super-AGB stars. We then examine the major sources of uncertainty, especially mass-loss.
We explore modifications to the current scenario for the slow neutron capture process in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars to account for the Pb deficiency observed in post-AGB stars of low metallicity ([Fe/H] ~ -1.2) and low initial mass…
Recent observations of heavy elements in Globular Clusters reveal intriguing deviations from the standard paradigm of the early galactic nucleosynthesis. If the r-process contamination is a common feature of halo stars, s-process…
(abridged) We model the nucleosynthesis during the thermal pulse phase of a rotating, solar metallicity AGB star of 3M_sun. Rotationally induced mixing during the thermal pulses produces a layer (~2E-5M_sun) on top of the CO-core where…
Among presolar materials recovered in meteorites, abundant SiC and Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ grains of AGB origins were found. They showed records of C, N, O, $^{26}$Al and s-element isotopic ratios that proved invaluable in constraining the…
It is well known that thermally pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch stars with low mass play a relevant role in the chemical evolution. They have synthesized about 30% of the galactic carbon and provide an important contribution to the…
Recent spectroscopic measurements in open clusters younger than the Sun, with [Fe/H]>=0, showed that the abundances of neutron-rich elements have continued to increase in the Galaxy after the formation of the Sun, roughly maintaining a…
We evaluated the uncertainty relevant to s-process nucleosynthesis using a Monte-Carlo centred approach. We are based on a realistic and general prescription of temperature dependent uncertainty for the reactions. We considered massive…
Massive stars are crucial to galactic chemical evolution for elements heavier than iron. Their contribution at early times in the evolution of the Universe, however, is unclear due to poorly constrained nuclear reaction rates. The competing…
A chemical study of normal Galactic C(N) carbon stars is presented. Abundances of Li, CNO isotopes and s-elements are derived. The derived abundances of s-elements nicely agree with theoretical s-process nucleosynthesis predictions during…
S stars are transition objects between M-type giants and carbon stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). They are characterized by overabundances of s-process elements. Roughly half of them are enhanced in technetium (Tc), an s-process…
We model the nucleosynthesis during a radiative interpulse phase of a rotating 3Msun Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) star. We find an enhanced production of the neutron source species C13 compared to non-rotating models due to shear mixing of…
The recently improved information on the stellar (n,gamma) cross sections of neutron-magic nuclei at N = 82, and in particular of 142Nd, turned out to represent a sensitive test for models of s-process nucleosynthesis. While these data were…
Despite much effort in the past decades, the C-burning reaction rate is uncertain by several orders of magnitude, and the relative strength between the different channels 12C(12C,alpha)20Ne, 12C(12C,p)23Na and 12C(12C,n)23Mg is poorly…
The observational data guiding the theoretical chemical evolutionary models of AGB stars come mainly from the analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic s-process enriched objects. The first are the stars of the M-MS-S-SC-C star sequence which is…
The s-process in AGB stars produces elements with atomic mass numbers $A\gtrsim60$ through successive neutron captures and beta decays. In stellar environments where the s-process occurs, neutrons quickly thermalize, adopting a…
Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars play a fundamental role in the s-process nucleosynthesis during their thermal pulsing phase. The theoretical predictions obtained by AGB models at different masses, s-process efficiencies, dilution…
Several stars at the low-metallicity extreme of the Galactic halo show large spreads of [Pb/hs]. Theoretically, a s-process pattern should be obtained from an AGB star with fixed metallicity and initial mass. For the third dredge-up and the…