Modeling the Origins of Sub-subgiant Stars

Project: Research project

Project Details

Description

We propose a study to determine the formation pathways of a new class of stars: the "sub-subgiants" (a.k.a "red stragglers"), identified in star clusters as stars that are redder than the main sequence but fainter than the giant branch in an optical color-magnitude diagram. First discovered about 15 years ago in the open cluster M67, today there are 47 sub-subgiants known in both open and globular clusters, most discovered using a combination of HST and Chandra data. Yet their origins remain a mystery. We propose a rigorous theoretical investigation into the origins of sub-subgiants, exploring all likely formation channels -- through detailed modeling of stellar and binary evolution and stellar mergers -- and specifically targeting the ability of each formation channel to explain the observed HST optical and UV magnitudes.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/1/151/31/18

Funding

  • Space Telescope Science Institute (HST-AR-13910.001-A // NAS5-26555)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (HST-AR-13910.001-A // NAS5-26555)

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