scholarly journals Galactic evolution of D, 3He and 4He

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S268) ◽  
pp. 431-440
Author(s):  
Donatella Romano

AbstractThe uncertainties which still plague our understanding of the evolution of the light nuclides D, 3He and 4He in the Galaxy are described. Measurements of the local abundance of deuterium range over a factor of 3. The observed dispersion can be reconciled with the predictions on deuterium evolution from standard Galactic chemical evolution models, if the true local abundance of deuterium proves to be high, but not too high, and lower observed values are due to depletion onto dust grains. The nearly constancy of the 3He abundance with both time and position within the Galaxy implies a negligible production of this element in stars, at variance with predictions from standard stellar models which, however, do agree with the (few) measurements of 3He in planetary nebulae. Thermohaline mixing, inhibited by magnetic fields in a small fraction of low-mass stars, could in principle explain the complexity of the overall scenario. However, complete grids of stellar yields taking this mechanism into account are not available for use in chemical evolution models yet. Much effort has been devoted to unravel the origin of the extreme helium-rich stars which seem to inhabit the most massive Galactic globular clusters. Yet, the issue of 4He evolution is far from being fully settled even in the disc of the Milky Way.

2000 ◽  
Vol 198 ◽  
pp. 540-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Chiappini ◽  
Francesca Matteucci

In this work we present the predictions of a modified version of the ‘two-infall model’ (Chiappini et al. 1997 - CMG) for the evolution of 3He, 4He and D in the solar vicinity, as well as their distributions along the Galactic disk. In particular, we show that when allowing for extra-mixing process in low mass stars (M < 2.5 M⊙), as predicted by Charbonnel and do Nascimento (1998), a long standing problem in chemical evolution is solved, namely: the overproduction of 3He by the chemical evolution models as compared to the observed values in the sun and in the interstellar medium. Moreover, we show that chemical evolution models can constrain the primordial value of the deuterium abundance and that a value of (D/H)p < 3 × 10—5 is suggested by the present model. Finally, adopting the primordial 4He abundance suggested by Viegas et al. (1999), we obtain a value for ΔY/ΔZ ≃ 2 and a better agreement with the solar 4He abundance.


1977 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 79-101
Author(s):  
Jean Audouze

AbstractFrom observations of the galactic center using various techniques radioastronomy, millimeter waves (molecules) – infrared and gamma rays, the interstellar matter of this region* appears to have been strongly processed into stars : the gas density is much lower than in the solar neighbourhood. From CO measurements one knows that there are many molecular clouds such as SgrB2 where stars are forming now. From IR measurements, there are some indication that low mass stars are relatively more numerous in such regions than in the external regions of the galaxy. Finally the heavy element abundances show three important features (i) the possibility of strong enhancements in elements such as N and in a less extent 0 and Ne (the so called abundance gradients), (ii) Some specific enhancements of isotopes such43C,44N and also47O relative to42C,45N and43O (iii) Deuterium seems to have a lower abundance than in other parts of the galaxy such as the solar neighbourhood. Simple models of chemical evolution have been designed to account for such features and are rewiewed here.


1983 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 463-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Serrano

Tinsley (1978) has done an excellent review that illustrates the methods and concepts that can be developed to assess the effects of planetary nebulae (PN) on the long-term history of the galaxy. Tinsley concluded that research in PN could put constraints on the past rate of star formation and provide information on chemical enrichment by low mass stars.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (S351) ◽  
pp. 117-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Kroupa

AbstractSome ultra-compact dwarf galaxies have large dynamical mass to light (M / L) ratios and also appear to contain an overabundance of LMXB sources, and some Milky Way globular clusters have a low concentration and appear to have a deficit of low-mass stars. These observations can be explained if the stellar IMF becomes increasingly top-heavy with decreasing metallicity and increasing gas density of the forming object. The thus constrained stellar IMF then accounts for the observed trend of metallicity and M / L ratio found amongst M31 globular star clusters. It also accounts for the overall shift of the observationally deduced galaxy-wide IMF from top-light to top-heavy with increasing star formation rate amongst galaxies. If the IMF varies similarly to deduced here, then extremely young very massive star-burst clusters observed at a high redshift would appear quasar-like (Jerabkova et al. 2017).


2000 ◽  
Vol 198 ◽  
pp. 525-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Tosi

The predictions of Galactic chemical evolution models for D and 3He are described in connection with those on the other Galactic quantities for which observational constraints are available.Models in agreement with the largest set of data predict deuterium depletions from the Big Bang to the present epoch smaller than a factor of 3 and do not allow for D/H primordial abundances larger than ∼ 4 × 10—5. Models predicting higher D consumption do not reproduce other observed features of our Galaxy.If both the primordial D and 3He are low, models assuming that 90% of low-mass stars experience an extra-mixing during the red giant phase reproduce all the 3He observed abundances. The same percentage allows to fit also the observed carbon isotopic ratios, thus supporting the self-consistency of the extra-mixing mechanism.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S255) ◽  
pp. 330-335
Author(s):  
Yutaka Komiya ◽  
Takuma Suda ◽  
Asao Habe ◽  
Masayuki Fujimoto

AbstractExtremely metal-poor (EMP) stars are thought to be formed in the low-mass protogalaxies as building blocks of the Milky Way and can be probes to investigate the early stage of galaxy formation and star formation in the early universe. We study the formation history of EMP stars in the Milky Way halo using a new model of chemical evolution based on the hierarchical theory of the galaxy formation. We construct the merging history of the Milky Way halo based on the extended Press-Schechter formalism, and follow the star formation and chemical evolution along the merger tree. The abundance trends and number of low-mass stars predicted in our model are compared with those of observed EMP stars. Additionally, in order to clarify the origin of hyper metal poor stars, we investigate the change of the surface metal abundances of stars by accretion of interstellar matter. We also investigate the pre-enrichment of intergalactic matter by the first supernovae.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (2) ◽  
pp. 2514-2524
Author(s):  
Joel Pfeffer ◽  
Carmela Lardo ◽  
Nate Bastian ◽  
Sara Saracino ◽  
Sebastian Kamann

ABSTRACT A number of the massive clusters in the halo, bulge, and disc of the Galaxy are not genuine globular clusters (GCs) but instead are different beasts altogether. They are the remnant nuclear star clusters (NSCs) of ancient galaxies since accreted by the Milky Way. While some clusters are readily identifiable as NSCs and can be readily traced back to their host galaxy (e.g. M54 and the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy), others have proven more elusive. Here, we combine a number of independent constraints, focusing on their internal abundances and overall kinematics, to find NSCs accreted by the Galaxy and trace them to their accretion event. We find that the true NSCs accreted by the Galaxy are: M54 from the Sagittarius Dwarf, ω Centari from Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage, NGC 6273 from Kraken, and (potentially) NGC 6934 from the Helmi Streams. These NSCs are prime candidates for searches of intermediate-mass black holes (BHs) within star clusters, given the common occurrence of galaxies hosting both NSCs and central massive BHs. No NSC appears to be associated with Sequoia or other minor accretion events. Other claimed NSCs are shown not to be such. We also discuss the peculiar case of Terzan 5, which may represent a unique case of a cluster–cluster merger.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (S316) ◽  
pp. 328-333
Author(s):  
W. Chantereau ◽  
C. Charbonnel ◽  
G. Meynet

AbstractOur knowledge of the formation and early evolution of globular clusters (GCs) has been totally shaken with the discovery of the peculiar chemical properties of their long-lived host stars. Therefore, the interpretation of the observed Colour Magnitude Diagrams (CMD) and of the properties of the GC stellar populations requires the use of new stellar models computed with relevant chemical compositions. In this paper we use the grid of evolution models for low-mass stars computed by Chantereau et al. (2015) with the initial compositions of second-generation stars as predicted by the fast rotating massive stars scenario to build synthesis models of GCs. We discuss the implications of the assumed initial chemical distribution on 13 Gyr isochrones. We build population synthesis models to predict the fraction of stars born with various helium abundances in present day globular clusters (assuming an age of 13 Gyr). With the current assumptions, 61 % of stars on the main sequence are predicted to be born with a helium abundance in mass fraction, Yini, smaller than 0.3 and only 11 % have a Yini larger than 0.4. Along the horizontal branch, the fraction of stars with Yini inferior to 0.3 is similar to that obtained along the main sequence band (63 %), while the fraction of very He-enriched stars is significantly decreased (only 3 % with Yini larger than 0.38).


2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (4) ◽  
pp. 3795-3806 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Wurster ◽  
Benjamin T Lewis

ABSTRACT Non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is the dominant process. We investigate the effect of magnetic fields (ideal and non-ideal) and turbulence (sub- and transsonic) on the formation of circumstellar discs that form nearly simultaneously with the formation of the protostar. This is done by modelling the gravitational collapse of a 1 M⊙ gas cloud that is threaded with a magnetic field and imposed with both rotational and turbulent velocities. We investigate magnetic fields that are parallel/antiparallel and perpendicular to the rotation axis, two rotation rates, and four Mach numbers. Disc formation occurs preferentially in the models that include non-ideal MHD where the magnetic field is antiparallel or perpendicular to the rotation axis. This is independent of the initial rotation rate and level of turbulence, suggesting that subsonic turbulence plays a minimal role in influencing the formation of discs. Aside from first core outflows that are influenced by the initial level of turbulence, non-ideal MHD processes are more important than turbulent processes during the formation of discs around low-mass stars.


1984 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 123-138
Author(s):  
R.D. Cannon

This review will attempt to do two things: (i) discuss some of the data which are available for testing the theory of evolution of low mass stars, and (ii) point out some problem areas where observations and theory do not seem to agree very well. This is of course too vast a field of research to be covered in one brief review, so I shall concentrate on one particular aspect, namely the study of star clusters and especially their colour-magnitude (CM) diagrams. Star clusters provide large samples of stars at the same distance and with the same age, and the CM diagram gives the easiest way of comparing theoretical predictions with observations, although crucial evidence is also provided by spectroscopic abundance analyses and studies of variable stars. Since this is primarily a review of observational data it is natural to divide it into two parts: (i) galactic globular clusters, and (ii) old and intermediate-age open clusters. Some additional evidence comes from Local Group galaxies, especially now that CM diagrams which reach the old main sequence are becoming available. For each class of cluster I shall consider successive stages of evolution from the main sequence, up the hydrogen-burning red giant branch, and through the helium-burning giant phase.


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