An evolutionary system of mineralogy. Part I: Stellar mineralogy (&gt;13 to 4.6 Ga)

Abstract Minerals preserve records of the physical, chemical, and biological histories of their origins and subsequent alteration, and thus provide a vivid narrative of the evolution of Earth and other worlds through billions of years of cosmic history. Mineral properties, including trace and minor elements, ratios of isotopes, solid and fluid inclusions, external morphologies, and other idiosyncratic attributes, represent information that points to specific modes of formation and subsequent environmental histories—information essential to understanding the co-evolving geosphere and biosphere. This perspective suggests an opportunity to amplify the existing system of mineral classification, by which minerals are defined solely on idealized end-member chemical compositions and crystal structures. Here we present the first in a series of contributions to explore a complementary evolutionary system of mineralogy—a classification scheme that links mineral species to their paragenetic modes. The earliest stage of mineral evolution commenced with the appearance of the first crystals in the universe at >13 Ga and continues today in the expanding, cooling atmospheres of countless evolved stars, which host the high-temperature (T > 1000 K), low-pressure (P < 10-2 atm) condensation of refractory minerals and amorphous phases. Most stardust is thought to originate in three distinct processes in carbon- and/or oxygen-rich mineral-forming stars: (1) condensation in the cooling, expanding atmospheres of asymptotic giant branch stars; (2) during the catastrophic explosions of supernovae, most commonly core collapse (Type II) supernovae; and (3) classical novae explosions, the consequence of runaway fusion reactions at the surface of a binary white dwarf star. Each stellar environment imparts distinctive isotopic and trace element signatures to the micro- and nanoscale stardust grains that are recovered from meteorites and micrometeorites collected on Earth’s surface, by atmospheric sampling, and from asteroids and comets. Although our understanding of the diverse mineral-forming environments of stars is as yet incomplete, we present a preliminary catalog of 41 distinct natural kinds of stellar minerals, representing 22 official International Mineralogical Association (IMA) mineral species, as well as 2 as yet unapproved crystalline phases and 3 kinds of non-crystalline condensed phases not codified by the IMA.

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A comment on “An evolutionary system of mineralogy: Proposal for a classification of planetary materials based on natural kind clustering”

American Mineralogist ◽

10.2138/am-2021-7590 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 106 (1) ◽

pp. 150-153

Author(s):

Frédéric Hatert ◽

Stuart J. Mills ◽

Frank C. Hawthorne ◽

Mike S. Rumsey

Keyword(s):

Mineral Species ◽

New Mineral ◽

Evolutionary System ◽

Species Classification ◽

Classification Schemes ◽

International Mineralogical Association ◽

Mineralogical Association ◽

New Mineral Species ◽

Planetary Materials

Abstract The classification and nomenclature of mineral species is regulated by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association (IMACNMNC). This mineral species classification is necessary for Earth Sciences, as minerals constitute most planetary and interstellar materials. Hazen (2019) has proposed a classification of minerals and other Earth and planetary materials according to “natural clustering.” Although this classification is complementary to the IMA-CNMNC mineral classification and is described as such, there are some unjustified criticisms and factual errors in the comparison of the two schemes. It is the intent of the present comment to (1) clarify the use of classification schemes for Earth and planetary materials, and (2) counter erroneous criticisms or statements about the current IMA-CNMNC system of approving proposals for new mineral species and classifications.

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The Chemical Composition of Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100062758 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 106 ◽

pp. 101-130 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David L. Lambert

Keyword(s):

Chemical Composition ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch ◽

Chemical Compositions ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars ◽

Agb Stars ◽

Low Resolution ◽

The Third ◽

Low Mass ◽

Process Elements ◽

Giant Branch Stars

AbstractLow resolution spectroscopic and photometric studies of Magellanic Cloud AGB stars have shown that the M → S → C sequence is the result of the third dredge-up of 12C and s-process elements in AGB stars of low mass. In this paper, data on the chemical compositions of normal Galactic M → S → C stars are reviewed and shown to be broadly consistent with expectations for the third dredge-up on the AGB.

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Observations of High Rotational CO Lines in Post–Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars and Planetary Nebulae

The Astrophysical Journal ◽

10.1086/303623 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 476 (1) ◽

pp. 319-326 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

K. Justtanont ◽

A. G. G. M. Tielens ◽

C. J. Skinner ◽

Michael R. Haas

Keyword(s):

Planetary Nebulae ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars ◽

Giant Branch Stars

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Carbon stars as standard candles – II. The median J magnitude as a distance indicator

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/staa3750 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 501 (1) ◽

pp. 933-947

Author(s):

Javiera Parada ◽

Jeremy Heyl ◽

Harvey Richer ◽

Paul Ripoche ◽

Laurie Rousseau-Nepton

Keyword(s):

Luminosity Function ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch ◽

Distance Modulus ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars ◽

Luminosity Functions ◽

Best Fitting ◽

Distance Indicator ◽

Ngc 6822 ◽

The Given ◽

Giant Branch Stars

ABSTRACT We introduce a new distance determination method using carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch stars (CS) as standard candles and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) as the fundamental calibrators. We select the samples of CS from the ((J − Ks)0, J0) colour–magnitude diagrams, as, in this combination of filters, CS are bright and easy to identify. We fit the CS J-band luminosity functions using a Lorentzian distribution modified to allow the distribution to be asymmetric. We use the parameters of the best-fitting distribution to determine if the CS luminosity function of a given galaxy resembles that of the LMC or SMC. Based on this resemblance, we use either the LMC or SMC as the calibrator and estimate the distance to the given galaxy using the median J magnitude ($\overline{J}$) of the CS samples. We apply this new method to the two Local Group galaxies NGC 6822 and IC 1613. We find that NGC 6822 has an ‘LMC-like’ CS luminosity function, while IC 1613 is more ‘SMC-like’. Using the values for the median absolute J magnitude for the LMC and SMC found in Paper I we find a distance modulus of μ0 = 23.54 ± 0.03 (stat) for NGC 6822 and μ0 = 24.34 ± 0.05 (stat) for IC 1613.

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Asteroseismology of luminous red giants with Kepler. II. Dependence of mass loss on pulsations and radiation

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/staa3970 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jie Yu ◽

Saskia Hekker ◽

Timothy R Bedding ◽

Dennis Stello ◽

Daniel Huber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Loss ◽

Mass Loss Rate ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch ◽

Red Giants ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars ◽

Chemical Enrichment ◽

Dust Mass ◽

Red Giant ◽

The Masses ◽

Loss Rates

Abstract Mass loss by red giants is an important process to understand the final stages of stellar evolution and the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium. Mass-loss rates are thought to be controlled by pulsation-enhanced dust-driven outflows. Here we investigate the relationships between mass loss, pulsations, and radiation, using 3213 luminous Kepler red giants and 135000 ASAS–SN semiregulars and Miras. Mass-loss rates are traced by infrared colours using 2MASS and WISE and by observed-to-model WISE fluxes, and are also estimated using dust mass-loss rates from literature assuming a typical gas-to-dust mass ratio of 400. To specify the pulsations, we extract the period and height of the highest peak in the power spectrum of oscillation. Absolute magnitudes are obtained from the 2MASS Ks band and the Gaia DR2 parallaxes. Our results follow. (i) Substantial mass loss sets in at pulsation periods above ∼60 and ∼100 days, corresponding to Asymptotic-Giant-Branch stars at the base of the period-luminosity sequences C′ and C. (ii) The mass-loss rate starts to rapidly increase in semiregulars for which the luminosity is just above the red-giant-branch tip and gradually plateaus to a level similar to that of Miras. (iii) The mass-loss rates in Miras do not depend on luminosity, consistent with pulsation-enhanced dust-driven winds. (iv) The accumulated mass loss on the Red Giant Branch consistent with asteroseismic predictions reduces the masses of red-clump stars by 6.3%, less than the typical uncertainty on their asteroseismic masses. Thus mass loss is currently not a limitation of stellar age estimates for galactic archaeology studies.

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Finite Temperature Behavior of Carbon Atom Doped Silicon Clusters: Depressed Thermal Stabilities, Co-existing isomers, Reversible Dynamical Pathways and Fragmentation Channels

New Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1039/d0nj04515b ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Krati Joshi ◽

Ashakiran Maibam ◽

Sailaja Krishnamurty

Keyword(s):

Silicon Carbide ◽

Carbon Atom ◽

Finite Temperature ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch ◽

Temperature Behavior ◽

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars ◽

Silicon Clusters ◽

Thermal Stabilities ◽

Doped Silicon ◽

Giant Branch Stars

Silicon carbide clusters are significant due to their predominant occurrence in meteoric star dust, particularly in carbon rich asymptotic giant branch stars. Of late, they have also been recognized as...

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