Barium isotopic ratios in metal-poor stars: calibrating the method with globular clusters

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Autori principali: Giribaldi, Riano E., Magrini, Laura, Schiappacasse-Ulloa, Jose, Randich, Sofia, Merle, Thibault
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Giribaldi, Riano E.
Magrini, Laura
Schiappacasse-Ulloa, Jose
Randich, Sofia
Merle, Thibault
author_facet Giribaldi, Riano E.
Magrini, Laura
Schiappacasse-Ulloa, Jose
Randich, Sofia
Merle, Thibault
contents Identifying the nucleosynthesis processes behind heavy-element enrichment in stellar atmospheres is challenging. It typically relies on comparing observed abundance-to-iron ratios with theoretical predictions relative to the Sun, but this method is prone to uncertainty due to limitations of classical 1D hydrostatic models. One promising but still underexplored approach is to measure the isotopic composition of stellar atmospheres by focusing on elements that have both slow (s)-process and rapid (r)-process contributions. While the study of total elemental abundances offers a simplified view, isotopic ratios are directly linked to the underlying nucleosynthesis processes. Our aim is to provide a reliable method for quantifying the contributions of the s- and r-processes to barium in stellar atmospheres. This is achieved by determining barium isotopic ratios using 1D atmospheric models in combination with a carefully calibrated microturbulence, based on the comparison between subordinate and resonance Ba lines. In this initial study, we use member stars of the globular cluster NGC 6752 to calibrate the microturbulence ($v_{mic}$) value for both subordinate and resonance barium lines across different stellar evolutionary stages. This allows us to provide a reliable estimate of $v_{mic}$ that can be applied to accurately determine barium abundances and isotopic ratios in stars ranging from the main sequence to the upper red giant branch. The $v_{mic}$ scale adapted for barium subordinate lines is consistent with that derived from 3D model atmospheres, and thus the $T_{\mathrm{eff}}$-log $g$ dependent relations of the later can be used safely. The $v_{mic}$ for the resonance line at $λ$4934 Angstrom -- for the determination of the isotopic ratio -- is higher, and depends on the equivalent width (EW). We provide calibrated relations between $v_{mic}$ and EW for measuring isotopic ratios.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_14208
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Barium isotopic ratios in metal-poor stars: calibrating the method with globular clusters
Giribaldi, Riano E.
Magrini, Laura
Schiappacasse-Ulloa, Jose
Randich, Sofia
Merle, Thibault
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Identifying the nucleosynthesis processes behind heavy-element enrichment in stellar atmospheres is challenging. It typically relies on comparing observed abundance-to-iron ratios with theoretical predictions relative to the Sun, but this method is prone to uncertainty due to limitations of classical 1D hydrostatic models. One promising but still underexplored approach is to measure the isotopic composition of stellar atmospheres by focusing on elements that have both slow (s)-process and rapid (r)-process contributions. While the study of total elemental abundances offers a simplified view, isotopic ratios are directly linked to the underlying nucleosynthesis processes. Our aim is to provide a reliable method for quantifying the contributions of the s- and r-processes to barium in stellar atmospheres. This is achieved by determining barium isotopic ratios using 1D atmospheric models in combination with a carefully calibrated microturbulence, based on the comparison between subordinate and resonance Ba lines. In this initial study, we use member stars of the globular cluster NGC 6752 to calibrate the microturbulence ($v_{mic}$) value for both subordinate and resonance barium lines across different stellar evolutionary stages. This allows us to provide a reliable estimate of $v_{mic}$ that can be applied to accurately determine barium abundances and isotopic ratios in stars ranging from the main sequence to the upper red giant branch. The $v_{mic}$ scale adapted for barium subordinate lines is consistent with that derived from 3D model atmospheres, and thus the $T_{\mathrm{eff}}$-log $g$ dependent relations of the later can be used safely. The $v_{mic}$ for the resonance line at $λ$4934 Angstrom -- for the determination of the isotopic ratio -- is higher, and depends on the equivalent width (EW). We provide calibrated relations between $v_{mic}$ and EW for measuring isotopic ratios.
title Barium isotopic ratios in metal-poor stars: calibrating the method with globular clusters
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.14208