UCL Discovery Stage
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery Stage

Surface abundances of ON stars

Martins, F; Simon-Diaz, S; Palacios, A; Howarth, I; Georgy, C; Walborn, NR; Bouret, J-C; (2015) Surface abundances of ON stars. Astronomy & Astrophysics , 578 (A10) 10.1051/0004-6361/201526130. Green open access

[thumbnail of Howarth_aa26130-15.pdf]
Preview
Text
Howarth_aa26130-15.pdf - Published Version

Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Context. Massive stars burn hydrogen through the CNO cycle during most of their evolution. When mixing is efficient or when mass transfer in binary systems occurs, chemically processed material is observed at the surface of O and B stars. Aims. ON stars show stronger lines of nitrogen than morphologically normal counterparts. Whether this corresponds to the presence of material processed through the CNO cycle is not known. Our goal is to answer this question. Methods. We performed a spectroscopic analysis of a sample of ON stars with atmosphere models. We determined the fundamental parameters as well as the He, C, N, and O surface abundances. We also measured the projected rotational velocities. We compared the properties of the ON stars to those of normal O stars. Results. We show that ON stars are usually rich in helium. Their CNO surface abundances are fully consistent with predictions of nucleosynthesis. ON stars are more chemically evolved and rotate − on average − faster than normal O stars. Evolutionary models including rotation cannot account for the extreme enrichment observed among ON main sequence stars. Some ON stars are members of binary systems, but others are single stars as indicated by stable radial velocities. Mass transfer is therefore not a simple explanation for the observed chemical properties. Conclusions. We conclude that ON stars show extreme chemical enrichment at their surface, consistent with nucleosynthesis through the CNO cycle. Its origin is not clear at present.

Type: Article
Title: Surface abundances of ON stars
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201526130
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201526130
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: stars: massive – stars: abundances – stars: evolution – stars: atmospheres
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1494039
Downloads since deposit
5,658Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item