Bibcode
García-Hernández, D. A.; Manchado, A.; Lambert, D. L.; Plez, B.; García-Lario, P.; D'Antona, F.; Lugaro, M.; Karakas, A. I.; van Raai, M. A.
Referencia bibliográfica
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 705, Issue 1, pp. L31-L35 (2009).
Fecha de publicación:
11
2009
Número de citas
92
Número de citas referidas
68
Descripción
We present high-resolution (R ~ 60,000) optical spectra of a carefully
selected sample of heavily obscured and presumably massive O-rich
asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Magellanic Clouds. We report
the discovery of strong Rb I lines at 7800 Å in four Rb-rich LMC
stars at luminosities equal to or greater than the standard adopted
luminosity limit for AGB stars (M bol ~ -7.1), confirming
that "hot bottom burning" may produce a flux excess in the more massive
AGB stars. In the SMC sample, just one of the five stars with M
bol < -7.1 was detected in Rb; the other stars may be
massive red supergiants. The Rb-rich LMC AGB stars might have stellar
masses of at least ~6-7 M sun. Our abundance analyses show
that these Rb-rich stars are extremely enriched in Rb by up to
103-105 times solar but seem to have only mild Zr
enhancements. The high Rb/Zr ratios, if real, represent a severe problem
for the s-process, even if the 22Ne source is operational as
expected for massive AGB stars; it is not possible to synthesize copious
amounts of Rb without also overproducing Zr. The solution to the problem
may lie with an incomplete present understanding of the atmospheres of
luminous AGB stars.
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