Engineering topics

Tayar, Jamie

Publications and source records attributed to Tayar, Jamie.

7 records

DOE OSTI2024

Nature versus nurture: distinguishing effects from stellar processing and chemical evolution on carbon and nitrogen in red giant stars

ABSTRACT The surface [C/N] ratios of evolved giants are strongly affected by the first dredge-up (FDU) of nuclear-processed material from stellar cores. C and N also have distinct nucleosynthetic origins and serve as diagnostics of mixing and mass-loss. We use subgiants to find strong trends in the birth [C/N] with [Fe/H], which differ between the low-α and high-α populations. We demonstrate that these birth trends have a strong impact on the surface abundances after the FDU. This effect is neglected in current stellar models, which use solar-scaled C and N. We map out the FDU as a function of evolutionary state, mass, and composition using a large and precisely measured asteroseismic data set in first-ascent red giant branch (RGB) and core He-burning, or red clump (RC), stars. We describe the domains where [C/N] is a useful mass diagnostic and find that the RC complements the RGB and extends the range of validity to higher mass. We find evidence for extra mixing on the RGB below [Fe/H] = −0.4, matching literature results, for high-α giants, but there is no clear evidence of mixing in the low-α giants. The predicted signal of mass-loss is weak and difficult to detect in our sample. We discuss implications for stellar physics and stellar population applications.

Roberts, John D. (ORCID:0000000228545796)↗

DOE OSTI2022

Spinning up the Surface: Evidence for Planetary Engulfment or Unexpected Angular Momentum Transport?

In this paper, we report the potential detection of a nonmonotonic radial rotation profile in a low-mass lower-luminosity giant star. For most low- and intermediate-mass stars, the rotation on the main sequence seems to be close to rigid. As these stars evolve into giants, the core contracts and the envelope expands, which should suggest a radial rotation profile with a fast core and a slower envelope and surface. KIC 9267654, however, seems to show a surface rotation rate that is faster than its bulk envelope rotation rate, in conflict with this simple angular momentum conservation argument. We improve the spectroscopic surface constraint, show that the pulsation frequencies are consistent with the previously published core and envelope rotation rates, and demonstrate that the star does not show strong chemical peculiarities. We discuss the evidence against any tidally interacting stellar companion. Finally, we discuss the possible origin of this unusual rotation profile, including the potential ingestion of a giant planet or unusual angular momentum transport by tidal inertial waves triggered by a close substellar companion, and encourage further observational and theoretical efforts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

The Open Cluster Chemical Abundances and Mapping Survey. VII. APOGEE DR17 [C/N]–Age Calibration

Large-scale surveys open the possibility to investigate Galactic evolution both chemically and kinematically; however, reliable stellar ages remain a major challenge. Detailed chemical information provided by high-resolution spectroscopic surveys of the stars in clusters can be used as a means to calibrate recently developed chemical tools for age-dating field stars. Using data from the Open Cluster Abundances and Mapping survey, based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 survey, we derive a new empirical relationship between open cluster stellar ages and the carbon-to-nitrogen ([C/N]) abundance ratios for evolved stars, primarily those on the red giant branch. With this calibration, [C/N] can be used as a chemical clock for evolved field stars to investigate the formation and evolution of different parts of our Galaxy. We explore how mixing effects at different stellar evolutionary phases, like the red clump, affect the derived calibration. We have established the [C/N]–age calibration for APOGEE Data Release 17 (DR17) giant star abundances to be $\mathrm{log}{[\mathrm{Age}(\mathrm{yr})]}_{\mathrm{DR}17}=10.14\,(\pm 0.08)+2.23(\pm 0.19)\,[{\rm{C}}/{\rm{N}}]$, usable for $8.62\leqslant \mathrm{log}(\mathrm{Age}[\mathrm{yr}])\leqslant 9.82$, derived from a uniform sample of 49 clusters observed as part of APOGEE DR17 applicable primarily to metal-rich, thin- and thick-disk giant stars. This measured [C/N]–age APOGEE DR17 calibration is also shown to be consistent with asteroseismic ages derived from Kepler photometry.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

The Influence of 10 Unique Chemical Elements in Shaping the Distribution of Kepler Planets

The chemical abundances of planet-hosting stars offer a glimpse into the composition of planet-forming environments. To further understand this connection, we make the first ever measurement of the correlation between planet occurrence and chemical abundances for ten different elements (C, Mg, Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, and Ni). Leveraging data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) and Gaia to derive precise stellar parameters (${\sigma }_{{R}_{\star }}\approx 2.3 \% $, ${\sigma }_{{M}_{\star }}\approx 4.5 \% $) for a sample of 1018 Kepler Objects of Interest, we construct a sample of well-vetted Kepler planets with precisely measured radii (${\sigma }_{{R}_{p}}\approx 3.4 \% $). After controlling for biases in the Kepler detection pipeline and the selection function of the APOGEE survey, we characterize the relationship between planet occurrence and chemical abundance as the number density of nuclei of each element in a star's photosphere raised to a power, β. varies by planet type, but is consistent within our uncertainties across all ten elements. For hot planets (P = 1–10 days), an enhancement in any element of 0.1 dex corresponds to an increased occurrence of ≈20% for super-Earths (Rp = 1–1.9 R⊕) and ≈60% for sub-Neptunes (Rp = 1.9–4 R⊕). Trends are weaker for warm (P = 10–100 days) planets of all sizes and for all elements, with the potential exception of sub-Saturns (Rp = 4–8 R⊕). Finally, we conclude this work with a caution to interpreting trends between planet occurrence and stellar age due to degeneracies caused by Galactic chemical evolution and make predictions for planet occurrence rates in nearby open clusters to facilitate demographics studies of young planetary systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Prospects for Galactic and stellar astrophysics with asteroseismology of giant stars in the TESS continuous viewing zones and beyond

ABSTRACT The NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (NASA-TESS) mission presents a treasure trove for understanding the stars it observes and the Milky Way, in which they reside. We present a first look at the prospects for Galactic and stellar astrophysics by performing initial asteroseismic analyses of bright (G < 11) red giant stars in the TESS southern continuous viewing zone (SCVZ). Using three independent pipelines, we detect νmax and Δν in 41 per cent of the 15 405 star parent sample (6388 stars), with consistency at a level of $\sim \! 2{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in νmax and $\sim \! 5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in Δν. Based on this, we predict that seismology will be attainable for ∼3 × 105 giants across the whole sky and at least 104 giants with ≥1 yr of observations in the TESS-CVZs, subject to improvements in analysis and data reduction techniques. The best quality TESS-CVZ data, for 5574 stars where pipelines returned consistent results, provide high-quality power spectra across a number of stellar evolutionary states. This makes possible studies of, for example, the asymptotic giant branch bump. Furthermore, we demonstrate that mixed ℓ = 1 modes and rotational splitting are cleanly observed in the 1-yr data set. By combining TESS-CVZ data with TESS-HERMES, SkyMapper, APOGEE, and Gaia, we demonstrate its strong potential for Galactic archaeology studies, providing good age precision and accuracy that reproduces well the age of high [α/Fe] stars and relationships between mass and kinematics from previous studies based on e.g. Kepler. Better quality astrometry and simpler target selection than the Kepler sample makes this data ideal for studies of the local star formation history and evolution of the Galactic disc. These results provide a strong case for detailed spectroscopic follow-up in the CVZs to complement that which has been (or will be) collected by current surveys.

Mackereth, J. Ted↗

DOE OSTI2020

Rotationally Driven Ultraviolet Emission of Red Giant Stars

Main-sequence stars exhibit a clear rotation-activity relationship, in which rapidly rotating stars drive strong chromospheric/coronal ultraviolet and X-ray emission. While the vast majority of red giant stars are inactive, a few percent exhibit strong ultraviolet emission. Here we use a sample of 133 red giant stars observed by Sloan Digital Sky Survey APOGEE and Galaxy Evolution Explorer to demonstrate an empirical relationship between near-UV (NUV) excess and rotational velocity (v sin i). Beyond this simple relationship, we find that NUV excess also correlates with rotation period and with Rossby number in a manner that shares broadly similar trends to those found in M dwarfs, including activity saturation among rapid rotators. Our data also suggest that the most extremely rapidly rotating giants may exhibit so-called supersaturation, which could be caused by centrifugal stripping of these stars rotating at a high fraction of breakup speed. As an example application of our empirical rotation-activity relation, we demonstrate that the NUV emission observed from a recently reported system comprising a red giant with a black hole companion is fully consistent with arising from the rapidly rotating red giant in that system. Most fundamentally, our findings suggest a common origin of chromospheric activity in rotation and convection for cool stars from main sequence to red giant stages of evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

The Gaia–Kepler Stellar Properties Catalog. I. Homogeneous Fundamental Properties for 186,301 Kepler Stars

An accurate and precise Kepler Stellar Properties Catalog is essential for the interpretation of the Kepler exoplanet survey results. Previous Kepler Stellar Properties Catalogs have focused on reporting the best-available parameters for each star, but this has required combining data from a variety of heterogeneous sources. We present the Gaia–Kepler Stellar Properties Catalog, a set of stellar properties of 186,301 Kepler stars, homogeneously derived from isochrones and broadband photometry, Gaia Data Release 2 parallaxes, and spectroscopic metallicities, where available. Our photometric effective temperatures, derived from g to K{sub s} colors, are calibrated on stars with interferometric angular diameters. Median catalog uncertainties are 112 K for T{sub eff}, 0.05 dex for log g, 4% for R{sub ⋆}, 7% for M{sub ⋆}, 13% for ρ{sub ⋆}, 10% for L{sub ⋆}, and 56% for stellar age. These precise constraints on stellar properties for this sample of stars will allow unprecedented investigations into trends in stellar and exoplanet properties as a function of stellar mass and age. In addition, our homogeneous parameter determinations will permit more accurate calculations of planet occurrence and trends with stellar properties.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗