Bibcode
Spoo, Taylor; Tayar, Jamie; Frinchaboy, Peter M.; Cunha, Katia; Myers, Natalie; Donor, John; Majewski, Steven R.; Bizyaev, Dmitry; García-Hernández, D. A.; Jönsson, Henrik; Lane, Richard R.; Pan, Kaike; Longa-Peña, Penélope; Roman-Lopes, A.
Bibliographical reference
The Astronomical Journal
Advertised on:
5
2022
Citations
12
Refereed citations
9
Description
Large-scale surveys open the possibility to investigate Galactic evolution both chemically and kinematically; however, reliable stellar ages remain a major challenge. Detailed chemical information provided by high-resolution spectroscopic surveys of the stars in clusters can be used as a means to calibrate recently developed chemical tools for age-dating field stars. Using data from the Open Cluster Abundances and Mapping survey, based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 survey, we derive a new empirical relationship between open cluster stellar ages and the carbon-to-nitrogen ([C/N]) abundance ratios for evolved stars, primarily those on the red giant branch. With this calibration, [C/N] can be used as a chemical clock for evolved field stars to investigate the formation and evolution of different parts of our Galaxy. We explore how mixing effects at different stellar evolutionary phases, like the red clump, affect the derived calibration. We have established the [C/N]-age calibration for APOGEE Data Release 17 (DR17) giant star abundances to be $\mathrm{log}{[\mathrm{Age}(\mathrm{yr})]}_{\mathrm{DR}17}=10.14\,(\pm 0.08)+2.23(\pm 0.19)\,[{\rm{C}}/{\rm{N}}]$ , usable for $8.62\leqslant \mathrm{log}(\mathrm{Age}[\mathrm{yr}])\leqslant 9.82$ , derived from a uniform sample of 49 clusters observed as part of APOGEE DR17 applicable primarily to metal-rich, thin- and thick-disk giant stars. This measured [C/N]-age APOGEE DR17 calibration is also shown to be consistent with asteroseismic ages derived from Kepler photometry.
Related projects
Nucleosynthesis and molecular processes in the late stages of Stellar Evolution
Low- to intermediate-mass (M < 8 solar masses, Ms) stars represent the majority of stars in the Cosmos. They finish their lives on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) - just before they form planetary nebulae (PNe) - where they experience complex nucleosynthetic and molecular processes. AGB stars are important contributors to the enrichment of the
Domingo Aníbal
García Hernández