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Paper: The Chemical Imprint of Super-AGB Stars
Volume: 378, Why Galaxies Care About AGB Stars: Their Importance as Actors and Probes
Page: 9
Authors: Siess, L.
Abstract: The evolution and nucleosynthesis of stars in the mass range ~ 7 − 11M is reviewed. The main evolutionary features can be summarized as follows: off-center carbon ignition followed by the propagation of a flame to the center, formation of a neon-oxygen core and subsequent development of recurrent instabilities in the helium burning shell during the so-called thermally pulsing super-AGB (SAGB) phase. Our analysis of the pulse properties and nucleosynthesis show that owing to large dilution factors, the surface modifications induced by third dredge-up episodes are weak. The chemical imprint of SAGB stars mainly results from the action of hot-bottom burning, namely a large production of 13C, 14N, 25Mg, 26Al and potentially of 23Na. We also briefly describe how the mass range where SAGB stars lie depends on the metallicity.
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