The Barium Odd Isotope Fractions in Seven Ba Stars

Abstract

Based on the spectra with high resolution and a high signal-to-noise ratio, we investigate the enrichment history of the s-process element in seven barium (Ba) stars by measuring their Ba odd isotope fraction. It is found that the relative contributions of the s-process to their Ba abundance are 91.4±25.7%, 91.4±34.3%, 82.9±28.5%, 77.1±31.4%, and 71.4±37.1% for REJ 0702+129, HD 13611, BD+80°670, HR 5692, and HD 202109, respectively. Our results suggest that these five Ba stars have a prominent s-process signature, which indicates that their heavy elements mainly come from their former AGB companions (now WDs) by mass transfer, while the r-process contribution can naturally be explained by the evolution of the Milky Way. The s-process contribution of BD+80°670 is 51.4±31.4%, which is the lowest among our seven sample stars. Considering its lower values of both [Ba/Nd] and [Ba/Eu], we suspect that BD+68°1027 is likely to be a r-rich Ba star and has similar origins to the CEMP-r/s stars. HD 218356 has an unreasonable s-process contribution over 100%. Combining its stellar atmospheric parameters and the evolutionary stage, we speculate that HD 218356 is a more evolved extrinsic Ba star, and its massive companion should have the largest s-process efficiency in our samples.

Keywords

• stars
• abundance of binaries
• general stars
• chemically peculiar stars
• AGB
• post-AGB