Bibcode
Pérez-Mesa, V.; Zamora, O.; García-Hernández, D. A.; Osorio, Y.; Masseron, T.; Plez, B.; Manchado, A.; Karakas, A. I.; Lugaro, M.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 623, id.A151, 13 pp.
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3
2019
Journal
Citations
4
Refereed citations
3
Description
Context. We previously explored the circumstellar effects on Rb and Zr
abundances in a sample (21) of massive Galactic O-rich asymptotic giant
branch (AGB) stars. Here we are interested in clarifying the role of the
extended atmosphere in the case of Li and Ca. Li is an important
indicator of hot bottom burning while the total Ca abundances in these
stars could be affected by neutron captures. Aims: We report new
Li and Ca abundances in a larger sample (30) of massive Galactic O-rich
AGB stars by using more-realistic extended model atmospheres. Li
abundances had previously studied with hydrostatic models, while the Ca
abundances have been determined here for the first time. Methods:
We used a modified version of the spectral synthesis code Turbospectrum
and consider the presence of a gaseous circumstellar envelope and radial
wind in the modelling of the spectra of these massive AGB stars. The Li
and Ca abundances were obtained from the 6708 Å Li I and 6463
Å Ca I resonance lines, respectively. In addition, we studied the
sensitivity of the pseudo-dynamical models to variations of the stellar
and wind parameters. Results: The Li abundances derived with the
pseudo-dynamical models are very similar to those obtained from
hydrostatic models (the average difference is 0.18 dex,
σ2 = 0.02), with no difference for Ca. This indicates
that the Li and Ca content in these stars is only slightly affected by
the presence of a circumstellar envelope. We also found that the Li I
and Ca I line profiles are not very sensitive to variations of the model
wind parameters. Conclusions: The new Li abundances confirm the
Li-rich (and super Li-rich, in some cases) nature of the sample stars,
supporting the activation of hot bottom burning in massive Galactic AGB
stars. This is in good agreement with the theoretical predictions for
solar metallicity AGB models from ATON, Monash, and NuGrid/MESA but is
at odds with the FRUITY database, which predicts no hot bottom burning
leading to the production of Li. Most (20) sample stars display nearly
solar (within the estimated errors and considering possible non-local
thermodynamic equilibrium effects) Ca abundances that are consistent
with the available s-process nucleosynthesis models for solar
metallicity massive AGB stars, which predict overproduction of
46Ca relatively to the other Ca isotope and the creation of
the radioactive isotope 41Ca (half life of 0.1 Myr) but no
change in the total Ca abundance. A minority (five) of the sample stars
seem to show a significant Ca depletion (by up to 1.0 dex). Possible
explanations are offered to explain their apparent and unexpected Ca
depletion.
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