4.6 Article

Fast rotating massive stars and the origin of the abundance patterns in galactic globular clusters

Journal

ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Volume 464, Issue 3, Pages 1029-1044

Publisher

EDP SCIENCES S A
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20066013

Keywords

nuclear reactions,nucleosynthesis,abundances; stars : rotation; stars : mass-loss; stars : abundances; galaxies : clusters : general; galaxies : clusters : individual : NGC 6752

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Aims. We propose the Wind of Fast Rotating Massive Stars scenario to explain the origin of the abundance anomalies observed in globular clusters. Methods. We compute and present models of fast rotating stars with initialmasses between 20 and 120 M-circle dot for an initialmetallicity Z = 0.0005 ([ Fe/ H] similar or equal to - 1.5). We discuss the nucleosynthesis in the H- burning core of these objects and present the chemical composition of their ejecta. We consider the impact of uncertainties in the relevant nuclear reaction rates. Results. Fast rotating stars reach critical velocity at the beginning of their evolution and remain near the critical limit during the rest of the main sequence and part of the He-burning phase. As a consequence they lose large amounts of material through a mechanical wind which probably leads to the formation of a slow outflowing disk. The material in this slow wind is enriched in H- burning products and presents abundance patterns similar to the chemical anomalies observed in globular cluster stars. In particular, the C, N, O, Na and Li variations are well reproduced by our model. However the rate of the Mg-24( p,gamma) has to be increased by a factor 1000 around 50 x 10(6) K in order to reproduce the amplitude of the observed Mg- Al anticorrelation. We discuss how the long-lived low- mass stars currently observed in globular clusters could have formed out of the slow wind material ejected by massive stars.

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