Evolution of low mass stars: lithium problem and alpha-enhanced tracks and isochrones (Ph.D. thesis)

TL;DR

This thesis enhances stellar models by incorporating alpha-enhanced compositions and detailed lithium evolution, improving the fit to observations and addressing the cosmological lithium problem.

Contribution

It introduces alpha-enhanced stellar tracks and isochrones into the PARSEC models and explores lithium depletion mechanisms in low-mass stars.

Findings

Models better reproduce RGB bump observations.

Li evolution models match the Spite plateau and lithium decline.

PARSEC can predict various chemical patterns in stellar evolution.

Abstract

Precise studies on the Galactic bulge, halo, thick disk, and globular clusters require stellar models with alpha enhancement and various He contents. For this purpose we complement existing PARSEC (PAdova-TRieste Stellar Evolution Code) models, which are based on the solar partition, with alpha-enhanced partitions. We collect detailed measurements on the metal mixture and He abundance for the two populations of 47Tuc from literature, and calculate stellar tracks and isochrones with these chemical compositions ([alpha/Fe]~0.4 and 0.2). By fitting precise CMD with HST data from low main sequence till horizontal branch, we calibrate free parameters that are important for the evolution of low mass stars. The new calibration and alpha-enhanced mixtures are applied to other metallicities. The new models reproduce the RGB bump observations much better than previous models. PARSEC is able to predict any chemical pattern in stellar evolution. Li is one of the most intriguing ones. Li abundance derived in POP II dwarfs is about three times lower than the standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis predicts. This disagreement is referred as the cosmological lithium problem. We reconsider the stellar Li evolution from pre-main sequence to the end of main sequence by introducing the effects of convective overshooting and residual accretion. $^7$Li could be significantly depleted by convective overshooting in the pre-main sequence and then partially restored in the stellar atmosphere by a tail of matter accretion which could be regulated by EUV photo-evaporation. By considering the conventional nuclear burning and microscopic diffusion along the main sequence, we reproduce the Spite plateau for $m_0=0.62-0.80M_{\odot}$ stars, and the Li declining branch for lower mass dwarfs, with a wide range of metallicities (Z=0.00001 to Z=0.0005), starting from the primordial abundance A(Li)=2.72.