We present evolutionary population synthesis models for the study of the cool and luminous intermediate age stellar populations in resolved galaxies with particular emphasis on carbon star populations. We study the effects of the star formation history, the age and the metallicity on the populations of intermediate mass stars. In the case of instantaneous bursts, we confirm that lower metallicity results in higher contribution of carbon stars to the total star number, and in higher number ratios of carbon stars to late-type M stars. Chemically consistent models are used to study the effect of the star formation history on the relations between carbon star population properties and global parameters of the parent galaxy (age, metallicity). Our models are able to account, for the first time, for those correlations, as observed in the galaxies of the Local Group. For stellar populations older than 1 Gyr, the properties of carbon star populations are linked to the current metallicity in a way that is quite independent of the star formation scenario. The number of carbon stars to late-type M stars forms a metallicity sequence along which stellar populations with very different star formation histories are found (Abridged).
[ABRIDGED] In order to trace the origin and evolution of carbon in the Galactic disk we have determined carbon abundances in 51 nearby F and G dwarf stars. The sample is divided into two kinematically distinct subsamples with 35 and 16 stars that are representative of the Galactic thin and thick disks, respectively. The analysis is based on spectral synthesis of the forbidden [C I] line at 872.7 nm using spectra of very high resolution (R~220000)and high signal-to-noise (S/N>300) that were obtained with the CES spectrograph on the ESO 3.6-m telescope on La Silla in Chile. We find that [C/Fe] v…
We present a simple, semianalytical approach to compute the line emission of C+, C and CO in Photodissociation Regions of varying metallicity that depends on very few parameters and naturally incorporates the clumpiness of the interstellar medium into the calculations. We use it to study the dependence of the I_[C II]/I_CO and I_[C I]/I_CO line ratios on the metallicity. We show how to modify it to include the effects of density and radiation field, and we have compared it with observational data. We find that the model explains the observed trend of enhanced [C II]/CO line ratio with decreasi…
A long standing problem with asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star models has been their inability to produce the low-luminosity carbon stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Dredge-up must begin earlier and extend deeper. We find this for the first time in our models of LMC metallicity. Such features are not found in our models of SMC metallicity. The fully implicit and simultaneous stellar evolution code STARS has been used to calculate the evolution of AGB stars with metallicities of Z=0.008 and Z=0.004, corresponding to the observed metallicities of the Large and Small Magellanic Clo…
The mass-loss rates and dust-to-gas ratios of obscured Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are investigated for samples with different initial metallicities: in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds (SMC & LMC) and in the Milky Way. The properties of their circumstellar envelopes can be explained in a consistent way if, both for obscured M-type AGB stars and for obscured carbon stars, the total (gas+dust) mass-loss rate depends only weakly on initial metallicity whilst the dust-to-gas ratio depends approximately linearly on initial metallicity.
We analyze the behavior of N/O and C/O abundance ratios as a function of metallicity as gauged by O/H in large, extant Galactic and extragalactic H II region abundance samples. Numerical chemical evolution models are computed using published stellar yields implied by comparing analytical models to the observations. Our results suggest that carbon and nitrogen originate from separate production sites and are decoupled from one another. Massive stars (M>8M_sun) dominate the production of carbon, while intermediate-mass stars between 4 and 8 solar masses, with a characteristic ejection delay time…
We develop and test a method for the estimation of metallicities ([Fe/H]) and carbon abundance ratios ([C/Fe]) for carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars, based on application of artificial neural networks, regressions, and synthesis models to medium-resolution (1-2 A) spectra and J-K colors. We calibrate this method by comparison with metallicities and carbon abundance determinations for 118 stars with available high-resolution analyses reported in the recent literature. The neural network and regression approaches make use of a previously defined set of line-strength indices quantifying the…
We present abundances of carbon and oxygen as well as abundance ratios 12C/13C for a sample of carbon stars in the LMC, SMC, Carina, Sculptor and Fornax dwarf galaxies. The overall metallicities in these dwarf galaxies are lower than in the galactic disc. The observations cover most of the AGB and we discuss the abundance patterns in different regions along the AGB. The abundances are determined from infrared spectra obtained with the ISAAC spectrometer on VLT (R=1500) and the Phoenix Spectrometer on Gemini South (R=50000). The synthetic spectra used in the analysis were computed with MARCS mo…
Prior to the incineration of a white dwarf (WD) that makes a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia), the star "simmers" for ~1000 years in a convecting, carbon burning region. We have found that weak interactions during this time increase the neutron excess by an amount that depends on the total quantity of carbon burned prior to the explosion. This contribution is in addition to the metallicity (Z) dependent neutronization through the 22Ne abundance (as studied by Timmes, Brown, & Truran). The main consequence is that we expect a floor to the level of neutronization that dominates over the metallicity con…
We have determined carbon abundances or upper limits from the forbidden [C I] line at 8727.13 A for 85 F and early G type main sequence stars, with metallicities ranging between [Fe/H] = -1.0 and [Fe/H] = +0.25. The [C I] line has not been previously used for a study of this size. We find that the C/Fe abundance ratio is slowly decreasing with time and increasing metallicity in the disk, but with considerable observational scatter. A discussion of results in the literature supports this result. Our data do not reveal any gradients with galactocentric birth distance for our stars, but more accu…
We investigate how the statistical distribution of extrasolar planets may be combined with knowledge of the host stars' metallicity to yield constraints on the migration histories of gas giant planets. At any radius, planets that barely manage to form around the lowest metallicity stars accrete their envelopes just as the gas disk is being dissipated, so the lower envelope of planets in a plot of metallicity vs semi-major axis defines a sample of non-migratory planets that will have suffered less than average migration subsequent to gap opening. Under the assumption that metallicity largely co…
The driving mechanism of the AGB superwind has become controversial in recent years. The efficacy of dust-driven mass loss has been queried. Spitzer observation of AGB stars in Local Group Galaxies show the surprising result that at low metallicity, AGB mass loss occurs at low luminosity, possibly lower than in the Galaxy, but only for carbon-rich stars. Oxygen-rich stars in the Galaxy and in lower metallicity galaxies have similar mass-loss rates only at high luminosities. To explain this dichotomy, we propose that the superwind has a dual trigger. The superwind starts either when sufficient …
Preliminary trigonometric parallaxes and BVI photometry are presented for two dwarf carbon stars, LP765-18 (= LHS1075) and LP328-57 (= CLS96). The data are combined with the literature values for a third dwarf carbon star, G77-61 (= LHS1555). All three stars have very similar luminosities (9.6<M_V<10.0) and very similar broadband colors across the entire visual-to-near IR (BVIJHK) wavelength range. Their visual (BVI) colors differ from all known red dwarfs, subdwarfs, and white dwarfs. In the M_V versus V-I color-magnitude diagram they are approximately 2 magnitudes subluminous compared with n…
The behaviour of the Delta nu =2 CO bands around 2.3 micron was examined by comparing observed and synthetic spectra in stars in globular clusters of different metallicity. Changes in the 12C/13C isotopic ratio and the carbon abundances were investigated in stars from 3500--4900 K in the galactic globular clusters M71, M5, M3 and M13, covering the metallicity range from --0.7 to --1.6. We found relatively low carbon abundances that are not affected by the value of oxygen abundance. For most giants the 12C/13C ratios determined are consistent with the equilibrium value for the CN cycle. This su…
We present results on carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen abundances for a sample of unevolved metal-poor stars with metallicities in the range -0.3< [Fe/H]< -3. Oxygen abundances derived from different indicators are compared showing consistently that in the range 0.3 >[Fe/H]>-3.0, the [O/Fe] ratio increases from approximately 0 to 1. We find a good agreement between abundances based on the forbidden line, the OH and IR triplet lines when gravities based on Hipparcos} parallaxes are considered for the sample stars. Gravities derived from LTE ionization balance in metal-poor stars with [Fe/H]< -1 are…
The main effect of axial rotation on the evolution of massive PopIII stars is to trigger internal mixing processes which allow stars to produce significant amounts of primary nitrogen 14 and carbon 13. Very metal poor massive stars produce much more primary nitrogen than PopIII stars for a given initial mass and rotation velocity. The very metal poor stars undergo strong mass loss induced by rotation. One can distinguish two types of rotationnaly enhanced stellar winds: 1) Rotationally mechanical winds occurs when the surface velocity reaches the critical velocity at the equator, {\it i.e.} th…
The single-degenerate channel for the progenitors of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are currently accepted, in which a carbon-oxygen white dwarf (CO WD) accretes hydrogen-rich material from its companion, increases its mass to the Chandrasekhar mass limit, and then explodes as a SN Ia. Incorporating the prescription of \citet{HAC99a} for the accretion efficiency into Eggleton's stellar evolution code and assuming that the prescription is valid for \emph{all} metallicities, we performed binary stellar evolution calculations for more than 25,000 close WD binaries with metallicities $Z=0.06, 0.05, 0…
Recently, measurements of abundances in extremely metal poor (EMP) stars have brought new constraints on stellar evolution models. In an attempt to explain the origin of the abundances observed, we computed pre--supernova evolution models, explosion models and the related nucleosynthesis. In this paper, we start by presenting the pre-SN models of rotating single stars with metallicities ranging from solar metallicity down to almost metal free. We then review key processes in core-collapse and bounce, before we integrate them in a simplistic parameterization for 3D MHD models, which are well un…
We present results of an analysis of high-resolution spectra obtained with the Subaru Telescope High Dispersion Spectrograph, of two Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor stars, HE 1305+0007 and HE 1152-0355, and of the classical CH star HD 5223. All of these stars have relatively low effective temperatures (4000-4750 K) and high carbon abundances. The stellar atmospheric parameters indicate that they all have surface gravities consistent with a present location on the red-giant branch, and metallicities of [Fe/H] = -2.0 (HE 1305+0007, HD 5223) and [Fe/H]= -1.3 (HE 1152-0355). In addition to their large …
The chemical compositions of seven Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) turn-off stars are determined from high-resolution spectroscopy. Five of them are selected from the SDSS/SEGUE sample of metal-poor stars. The effective temperatures of these objects are all higher than 6000 K, while their metallicities, parametrized by [Fe/H], are all below -2. Six of our program objects exhibit high abundance ratios of barium ([Ba/H]> +1), suggesting large contributions of the products of former AGB companions via mass transfer across binary systems. Combining our results with previous studies provides a to…
We develop a prescription for estimating the interstellar medium oxygen abundances of distant star-forming galaxies using the ratio EWR_{23} formed from the equivalent widths of the [O II] 3727, [O III] 4959,5007 and Hbeta nebular emission lines. This EWR_{23} approach essentially identical to the widely-used R_{23} method of Pagel etal (1979). Using data from three spectroscopic surveys of nearby galaxies, we conclude that the emission line equivalent width ratios are a good substitute for emission line flux ratios in galaxies with active star formation. The RMS dispersion between EWR_{23} an…
We develop a prescription for estimating the interstellar medium oxygen abundances of distant star-forming galaxies using the ratio EWR_{23} formed from the equivalent widths of the [O II] 3727, [O III] 4959,5007 and Hbeta nebular emission lines. This EWR_{23} approach essentially identical to the widely-used R_{23} method of Pagel et. al (1979). Using data from three spectroscopic surveys of nearby galaxies, we conclude that the emission line equivalent width ratios are a good substitute for emission line flux ratios in galaxies with active star formation. The RMS dispersion between EWR_{23} …
The first results of a study of the the dwarf spheroidal galaxy, Leo I, using the new Japanese-South African Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) are presented. J,H,K_{s} observations show that most, if not all, of at least the top one magnitude of the AGB is populated by carbon stars. These objects form a tight sequence in the K_{s} - (J-K_{s}) plane. In addition there are five very red objects which are believed to be dust enshrouded AGB stars. They have Mbol near -5.0 and are at the AGB tip. Comparison with carbon Miras in Magellanic Cloud clusters and taking into account other evidence on the a…
We present new spectroscopic observations for a sample of C(N)-type red giants. These objects belong to the class of Asymptotic Giant Branch stars, experiencing thermal instabilities in the He-burning shell (thermal pulses). Mixing episodes called third dredge-up enrich the photosphere with newly synthesized C12 in the He-rich zone, and this is the source of the high observed ratio between carbon and oxygen (C/O > 1 by number). Our spectroscopic abundance estimates confirm that, in agreement with the general understanding of the late evolutionary stages of low and intermediate mass stars, carb…
We present results of model atmosphere/line formation calculations which quantitatively test how the 21 classical and four higher-order Balmer-line Lick/IDS indices (Worthey et al. 1994; Worthey & Ottaviani 1997) depend on individual elemental abundances (of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, magnesium, iron, calcium, natrium, silicon, chromium, titanium) and overall metallicity in various stellar evolutionary stages and at various metallicities. At low metallicities the effects of an overall enhancement of alpha-elements are also investigated. The general results obtained by Tripicco & Bell (1995) at …
Following our solar work, we perform NLTE calculations of the Mn abundance for fourteen stars with [Fe/H] from 0 to -2.5, mainly to show how NLTE affects Mn abundances in cool stars of different metallicities.The spectrum synthesis and Mn abundances are based on statistical equilibrium calculations using various estimates for the influence of hydrogen collisions.The NLTE abundances of Mn in all studied stars are systematically higher than the LTE abundances. At low metallicities, the NLTE abundance corrections may run up to 0.5 - 0.7 dex. Instead of a strong depletion of Mn relative to Fe in m…
We present high-quality J, H and K photometry of four Small Magellanic Cloud stellar clusters with intermediate ages in the 1-7 Gyr range (namely NGC 339, 361, 416 and 419) . We obtained deep Color-Magnitude Diagrams to study the evolved sequences and providing a detailed census of the Red Giant Branch (RGB), Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) and Carbon star populations in each cluster and their contribution to the total cluster light. We find that in the 5-7 Gyr old clusters AGB stars account for ~6 % of the total light in K-band, Carbon stars are lacking and RGB stars account for ~45 % of the to…
In this article we present a detailed spectroscopic analysis of more than 50 extra-solar planet host stars. Stellar atmospheric parameters and metallicities are derived using high resolution and high S/N spectra. The spectroscopy results, added to the previous studies, imply that we have access to a large and uniform sample of metallicities for about 80 planet hosts stars. We make use of this sample to confirm the metal-rich nature of stars with planets, and to show that the planetary frequency is rising as a function of the [Fe/H]. Furthermore, the source of this high metallicity is shown to …
We present the first detailed and homogeneous analysis of the s-element content in Galactic carbon stars of N-type. Abundances of Sr,Y, Zr (low-mass s-elements, or ls) and of Ba, La, Nd, Sm and Ce (high-mass s-elements, hs) are derived using the spectral synthesis technique from high-resolution spectra. The N-stars analyzed are of nearly solar metallicity and show moderate s-element enhancements, similar to those found in S stars, but smaller than those found in the only previous similar study (Utsumi 1985), and also smaller than those found in supergiant post-AGB stars. This is in agreement w…
We demonstrate that there are systematic scale errors in the [Fe/H] values determined by the Hamburg/ESO Survey (and by inference by the HK Survey in the past) for certain extremely metal poor highly C-enhanced giants. The consequences of these scale errors are that a) the fraction of carbon stars at extremely low metallicities has been overestimated in several papers in the recent literature b) the number of extremely metal poor stars known is somewhat lower than has been quoted in the recent literature c) the yield for extremely metal poor stars by the HES Survey is somewhat lower than is st…
We have carried out a detailed abundance analysis for a sample of 16 carbon stars found among candidate extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars from the Hamburg/ESO Survey. We find that the Fe-metallicities for the cooler C-stars (Teff ~ 5100K) have been underestimated by a factor of ~10 by the standard HES survey tools. The results presented here provided crucial supporting data used by Cohen et al (2006) to derive the frequency of C-stars among EMP stars. C-enhancement in these EMP C-stars appears to be independent of Fe-metallicity and approximately constant at ~1/5 the solar C/H. The mostly low C…
We present new measurements of the abundances of carbon and oxygen derived from high-excitation C I and O I absorption lines in metal-poor halo stars, with the aim of clarifying the main sources of these two elements in the early stages of the chemical enrichment of the Galaxy. We target 15 new stars compared to our previous study, with an emphasis on additional C/O determinations in the crucial metallicity range -3<[Fe/H]<-2. Departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium were accounted for in the line formation for both carbon and oxygen. The non-LTE effects are very strong at the lowest me…
We demonstrate that there are systematic scale errors in the [Fe/H] values determined by the Hamburg/ESO Survey (and by the HK Survey by inference) for certain extremely metal poor (EMP) highly C-enhanced giants. The consequences of these scale errors are that a) the fraction of carbon stars at extremely low metallicities has been substantially overestimated in several papers in the recent literature b) the number of EMP stars known is somewhat lower than has been quoted in the recent literature c) the yield for EMP stars by the HK and the HES Survey is somewhat lower than is stated in the rec…
The Ks-band magnitude distribution of carbon-rich and oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch stars within Local Group galaxies like the Magellanic Clouds, NGC 6822, M33 and SagDIG is easily obtained from ground-based observations. Appropriate stellar evolutionary models covering a range of metallicities and star formation rates are used to produce theoretical distributions that allow us to derive the history of star formation across these galaxies. I will show the result of these studies and discuss the application of this technique to more distant systems as well as deeper observations, like tho…
(abridged) We have investigated the physical conditions under which accreting neutron stars can both produce and preserve sufficient quantities of carbon fuel to trigger superbursts. Our models span the plausible ranges of neutron star thermal conductivities, core neutrino emission mechanisms, and areal radii, as well as the CNO abundances in the accreted material. We find that neutron stars that accrete hydrogen-rich material with CNO mass fractions <~ that of the Sun will not exhibit superbursts under any circumstances. Neutron stars that accrete material with CNO mass fractions >~ 4 times t…
AIMS: After the first dredge-up, low-mass Red Giant Branch (RGB) stars experience an extra-mixing episode that strongly affects the chemical abundances on their surface. This mixing occurs at the bump in the luminosity function. In this Letter we describe the efficiency of the extra-mixing in RGB stars found in very metal-poor globular clusters (GC) METHODS: The VLT/ISAAC spectra of twenty stars located between the bump and the tip of the RGB in four GCs with metallicities between [Fe/H]=-1.2 and -2.5dex were collected. The carbon isotopic ratios on their surface were derived from the second o…
We present spectroscopic ages, metallicities, and [alpha/Fe] ratios for 70 globular clusters in M31 that were derived from Lick line-index measurements. In addition to a population of old (>10 Gyr) globular clusters with a wide range of metallicities, from about -2.0 dex to solar values, we find evidence for a population of intermediate-age globular clusters with ages between ~5 and 8 Gyr and a mean metallicity around [Z/H]=-0.6. We also confirm the presence of young M31 globular clusters that were recently identified by Beasley et al. (2004), which have ages <1 Gyr and relatively high metalli…
We provide the whole set of Lick indices from CN1 to TiO2 of Simple Stellar Population models with, for the first time, variable element abundance ratios, [alpha/Fe]=0.0, 0.3, 0.5, [alpha/Ca]=-0.1, 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, and [alpha/N]=-0.5, 0.0. The models cover ages between 1 and 15 Gyr, metallicities between 1/200 and 3.5 solar. Our models are free from the intrinsic alpha/Fe bias that was imposed by the Milky Way template stars up to now, hence they reflect well-defined alpha/Fe ratios at all metallicities. The models are calibrated with Milky Way globular clusters for which metallicities and alpha…
By providing homogeneous photometric and spectroscopic data of high quality for very large and objectively selected samples of galaxies, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey allows statistical studies of the physical properties of galaxies and AGN to be carried out at an unprecedented level of precision and detail. Here we publicly release catalogues of derived physical properties for 211,894 galaxies, including 33,589 narrow-line AGN. These are complete samples with well understood selection criteria drawn from the normal galaxy spectroscopic sample in the second SDSS public data release (DR2). We li…
