Evolution and nucleosynthesis in low mass Asymptotic Giant Branch stars

TL;DR

This paper discusses the role of low mass Asymptotic Giant Branch stars in the synthesis of elements essential for life and their contribution to the chemical enrichment of the galaxy.

Contribution

It provides insights into the nucleosynthesis processes in low mass AGB stars and their significance in galactic chemical evolution.

Findings

Low mass AGB stars produce significant s-process elements.

AGB stars contribute to the chemical enrichment of the Milky Way.

Stellar winds from AGB stars disperse synthesized elements into space.

Abstract

People usually smile when astrophysicists assert that we are sons of the stars, but human life confirms this sentence: about 65% of the mass of our body is made up of oxygen, carbon occurs in all organic life and is the basis of organic chemistry, nitrogen is an essential part of amino acids and nucleic acids, calcium is a major component of our bones. Moreover, phosphorus plays a major role in biological molecules such as DNA and RNA (where the chemical codes of life is written) and our blood carries oxygen to tissues by means of the hemoglobin (an iron pigment of red blood cells). All these elements have been created in stars. I just list some examples related to human body, but also common element such as aluminum, nickel, gold, silver and lead come from a pristine generation of stars. The abundances in the Solar System are in fact due to the mixing of material ejected from stars that polluted the Universe in different epochs before the Sun formation, occurred about 5 billion years ago, after the gravitational contraction of the proto-solar cloud. Low mass AGB stars (1<M/Msun<3) are among the most important polluters of the Milky Way, because of the strong winds eroding their chemically enriched envelopes. They are responsible for the nucleosynthesis of the main component of the cosmic s-elements.