Related papers: The CNO Isotopes: Deep Circulation in Red Giants a…
(Abridged) We examine the effects of cool bottom processing (CBP) on several isotopic ratios in the convective envelope during the TP-AGB phase of evolution in a 1.5 M_sun initial-mass star of solar initial composition. We use a parametric…
Three-dimensional stellar modeling has enabled us to identify a deep-mixing mechanism that must operate in all low mass giants. This mixing process is not optional, and is driven by a molecular weight inversion created by the 3He(3He,2p)4He…
To better understand the mixing and mass loss experienced by low-mass stars as they ascend the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), I have gathered from the literature the abundances of CNO and s-process elements in post-AGB stars in Galactic…
AGB stars have long been held responsible for the important star-to-star variations in light elements observed in Galactic globular clusters. We analyse the main impacts of a first generation of rotating intermediate-mass stars on the…
It is known that there must be some weak form of transport (called cool bottom processing, or CBP) acting in low mass RGB and AGB stars, adding nuclei, newly produced near the hydrogen-burning shell, to the convective envelope. We assume…
It has been demonstrated that Li-7 can be created in low mass red giant stars, via the Cameron-Fowler mechanism, due to extra deep mixing and the associated "cool bottom processing" (CBP). Under certain conditions, this Li-7 creation can…
(abridge version) The evolution of population III stars (Z=0) is followed from the pre-main sequence phase up to the AGB phase for intermediate-mass stars and up to C ignition in more massive stars...We find that, thanks to the development…
The photospheres of low-mass red giants show CNO isotopic abundances that are not satisfactorily accounted for by canonical stellar models. The same is true for the measurements of these isotopes and of the $^{26}$Al/$^{27}$Al ratio in…
Chandra LETG+HRC-S and XMM-Newton RGS spectra of H-like C and N formed in the corona of the lambda And primary star, a mildly metal-poor G8 III-IV first ascent giant that completed dredge-up ~50 Myr ago, have been used to make a precise…
We present computations of nucleosynthesis in low-mass red-giant-branch and asymptotic-giant-branch stars of Population I experiencing extended mixing. We adopt the updated version of the FRANEC evolutionary model, a new post-process code…
The oldest stars hide information about the chemical evolution of the early universe. In this contect new models of the AGB stellar evolution phase at very low and zero metallicity are presented. Due to the deficiency or absence of CNO…
Evolved low-mass stars of a wide range of metallicity bear signatures of a non-standard mixing event in their surface abundances of Li, C, and N, and in their 12C/13C ratio. A Na overabundance has also been reported in some giants of open…
A grid of evolutionary sequences of stars in the mass range $1.2$-$7$ M$_{\odot}$, with solar-like initial composition is presented. We focus on this mass range in order to estimate the masses and calculate the CNO surface abundances of a…
We study the merging of massive stars inside a common envelope for binary systems consisting of a red supergiant with a mass of 15-20 Msun and a main-sequence companion of 1-5 Msun. We are particularly interested in the stage when the…
This study calls attention to the importance of properly coupling the molecular opacities to the actual surface abundances of TP-AGB stars that experience the third dredge-up and/or hot-bottom burning, i.e. with surface abundances of carbon…
The red-giant branch bump provides valuable information for the investigation of the internal structure of low-mass stars. Because current models are unable to accurately predict the occurrence and efficiency of mixing processes beyond…
In order to investigate the possible influence of rotation on the efficiency of the first dredge-up we determined atmospheric parameters, masses, and abundances of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in a sample of evolved intermediate mass stars.…
New stellar models with mass ranging between 4 and 8 Mo, Z=0 and Y=0.23 are presented. The models have been evolved from the pre Main Sequence up to the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB). At variance with previous claims, we find that these…
We investigate the evolution of super-AGB thermal pulse (TP) stars for a range of metallicities (Z) and explore the effect of convective boundary mixing (CBM). With decreasing metallicity and evolution along the TP phase, the He-shell flash…
Low mass stars (< 2-2.5 M_sun) exhibit, at all the stages of their evolution, signatures of processes that require challenging modeling beyond the standard stellar theory. In this paper we focus on their peculiarities while they climb the…