Lithium in NGC 3532: A Key Discriminator of Physical Processes in Stellar Interiors

Details Lithium in NGC 3532: A Key Discriminator of Physical Processes in Stellar Interiors Lithium in NGC 3532: A Key Discriminator of Physical Processes in Stellar Interiors

Feb 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999noao.prop..404d&link_type=abstract

NOAO Proposal ID #1999A-0404

Physics

Scientific paper

Surface lithium (Li) abundances provide a means of inspecting the interiors of low mass dwarf stars. The morphology of Li abundances in open clusters cannot be explained by the standard stellar evolution theory. Perhaps the most blatant contradiction of the standard theory is the Li gap in late F stars, a severe decline in Li abundances that occurs during the main sequence (after the age of the Pleiades, and before the age of the Hyades). Physical mechanisms beyond the standard theory have been proposed to explain the gap, including steady main sequence mass loss, diffusion, and slow mixing. Each mechanism leaves a distinct Li profile with depth, and the deepening convection zones in stars evolving out of the Li gap can reveal this Li profile. Our previous WIYN/Hydra work on turnoff stars and subgiants in M67 argues strongly against diffusion, only mildly against mass loss, and in favor of slow mixing. We now wish to use a different criterion to distinguish between mass loss and slow mixing: the TIMING of the formation of the gap. Early gap formation favors slow mixing, whereas late gap formation favors mass loss. To perform this test, we propose to use CTIO Hydra to observe the Li I 6708 A doublet region in a statistically significant number of stars in NGC 3532, an ideal cluster that is clearly older than the Pleiades, and also much younger than the Hyades.

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