Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T06:10:20.293Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

From theory to observations and vice versa: theoretical uncertainties and observational constraints

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2014

S. Cassisi
S. Cassisi*
Affiliation:
INAF – Astronomical Observatory of Collurania, via M. Maggini, 64100 Teramo, Italy
*
e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

During these past decades, our knowledge of evolutionary and structural properties of stars of different mass and chemical composition is significantly improved. This result has been achieved as a consequence of our improved capability in understanding and describing the physical behaviour of matter in the different thermal regimes characteristic of the various stellar mass ranges and evolutionary stages. This notwithstanding, the current generation of stellar models is still affected by significant and, usually, not negligible uncertainties. These uncertainties are related to our poor knowledge of some physical proceses occurring in the real stars such as, for instance, some thermodynamical processes, nuclear reaction rates, as well as the efficiency of mixing processes. These drawbacks of stellar models have to be properly taken into account when comparing theory with observations in order to derive relevant information about the properties of both resolved and unresolved stellar populations. On the other hand, observations of both field and cluster stars can provide fundamental benchmarks for constraining the reliability and accuracy of the theoretical framework. In the following we review some important evolutionary and structural properties of very-low and low-mass stars, as well as the most important uncertainties affecting the stellar models for such stars. We show what are the main sources of uncertainty along the main evolutionary stages, and discuss the present level of agreement between theory and observations.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Astronomical Society Publications Series , Volume 65: The Ages of Stars , 2014 , pp. 17 - 74
Copyright
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allard, F., & Hauschildt, P.H., 1995, ApJ, 445, 433CrossRef
Allard, F., Hauschildt, P.H., Alexander, D.R., & Staarfield, S., 1997, ARA&A, 35, 137CrossRef
Allard, F., Homeier, D., Freytag, B., & Sharp, C.M., 2012, in Low-Mass Stars and the Transition Stars/Brown Dwarfs, Evry Schatzman School on Stellar Physics XXIII, ed. Reylé, C., Charbonnel, C. & Schultheis, M., EAS Publ. Ser., 57, 3Google Scholar
Angulo, C., et al., 1999, Nuclear Physics A, 656, 3CrossRef
Baraffe, I., Chabrier, G., Allard, F., & Hauschildt, P.H., 1995, ApJ, 446, L35CrossRef
Behr, B.B., 2003, ApJS, 149, 67CrossRef
Bellazzini, M., Ferraro, F.R., & Pancino, E., 2001, ApJ, 556, 635CrossRef
Bellazzini, M., Ferraro, F.R., Sollima, A., Pancino, E., & Origlia, L., 2004, A&A, 424, 199
Bertelli, G., Girardi, L., Marigo, P., Nasi, E., 2008, A&A, 484, 815
Bessell, M.S., 2008, Mem. Soc. Astron. Ital., 79, 317
Biermann, L., 1932, Z. f. Astr., 5, 117
Böhm-Vitense, E., 1958, Z. f. Astr., 46, 108
Bono, G., Cassisi, S., Zoccali, M., & Piotto, G., 2001, ApJ, 546, L109CrossRef
Brun, A.S., Turck-Chiéze, S., & Zahn, J.P., 1999, ApJ, 525, 1032CrossRef
Burgers, J.M., 1969, Flow Equations for Composite Gases (New York: Academic Press)Google Scholar
Buzzoni, A., Fusi Pecci, F., Buonanno, R., & Corsi, C.E., 1983, A&A, 128, 94
Buzzoni, A., Patelli, L., Bellazzini, M., Fusi Pecci, F., & Oliva, E., 2010, MNRAS, 403, 1592CrossRef
Canuto, V.M., & Mazzitelli, I., 1991, ApJ, 370, 295CrossRef
Canuto, V.M., Goldman, I., & Mazzitelli, I., 1996, ApJ, 473, 550CrossRef
Caputo, F., Castellani, V., Chieffi, A., Pulone, L., & Tornambé, A., 1989, ApJ, 340, 241CrossRef
Caputo, F., Castellani, V., & Wood, P.R., 1978, MNRAS, 184, 377CrossRef
Cassisi, S., 2004, in Variable Stars in the Local Group, IAU Colloquium 193, ed. Kurtz, D.W. & Pollard, K.R., Astron. Soc. Pac. Conf. Ser., 310, 489Google Scholar
Cassisi, S., 2010, in Stellar Populations, Planning for the Next Decade, IAU Symposium 262, ed. Bruzual, G. & Charlot, S., 13Google Scholar
Cassisi, S., 2012, in Red Giants as Probes of the Structure and Evolution of the Milky Way, ed. Miglio, A., Montalbán, J. & Noels, A., AP&SS Proceedings, p. 57Google Scholar
Cassisi, S., Castellani, V., Ciarcelluti, P., Piotto, G., & Zoccali, M., 2000, MNRAS, 315, 679CrossRef
Cassisi, S., Castellani, V., Degl'Innocenti, S., Salaris, M., & Weiss, A., 1999, A&AS, 134, 103
Cassisi, S., Castellani, V., Degl'Innocenti, S., Piotto, G., & Salaris, S., 2001, A&A, 366, 578
Cassisi, S., Castellani, V., Degl'Innocenti, S., & Weiss, A., 1998, A&AS, 129, 267
Cassisi, S., Marín-Franch, A., Salaris, M., Aparicio, A., Monelli, M., & Pietrinferni, A., 2011, A&A, 527, 59
Cassisi, S., Mucciarelli, A., Pietrinferni, A., Salaris, M., & Ferguson, J., 2013, A&A, 554, A19
Cassisi, S., Potekhin, A.Y., Pietrinferni, A., Salaris, M., & Catelan, M., 2007, ApJ, 661, 1094CrossRef
Cassisi, S., & Salaris, M., 2011, ApJ, 728, L43CrossRef
Cassisi, S. & Salaris, M., 2013, Old stellar populations: how to study the fossil record of galaxy formation (Chichester: John Wiley and Sons)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cassisi, S., Salaris, S., & Bono, G., 2002, ApJ, 565, 1231CrossRef
Cassisi, S., Salaris, M., & Irwin, A.W., 2003, ApJ, 588, 862CrossRef
Castellani, V., Ciacio, F., Degl'Innocenti, S., & Fiorentini, G., 1997, A&A, 322, 801
Castellani, V., & Degl'Innocenti, S., 1999, A&A, 344, 97
Castellani, V., Chieffi, A, Pulone, L., & Tornambè, A., 1985, ApJ, 296, 204CrossRef
Castellani, V., Giannone, P., & Renzini, A., 1971a, AP&SS,, 10, 340
Castellani, V., Giannone, P., & Renzini, A., 1971b, AP&SS, 10, 355
Catelan, M., de Freitas Pacheco, J.A., & Horvath, J.E., 1996, ApJ, 461, 231CrossRef
Charbonnel, C., & Zahn, J.-P., 2007, A&A, 467, L15
Chaboyer, B., 1995, ApJ, 444, L9CrossRef
Chaboyer, B., Demarque, P., Kernan, P.J., & Krauss, L.M., 1998, ApJ, 494, 96CrossRef
Chabrier, G., & Baraffe, I., 1997, A&A, 327, 1039
Chabrier, G., & Baraffe, I., 2000, ARA&A, 38, 337CrossRef
Copeland, H., Jensen, J.O., & Jogensen, H.E., 1970, A&A, 5, 12PubMed
Cox, J.P., & Giuli, R.T., 1968, Principles of stellar structure (New York: Gordon and Breach)Google Scholar
Christensen-Dalsgaard, J., Proffitt, C.R., & Thompson, M.J., 1993, ApJ, 403, L75CrossRef
Demarque, P., & Mengel, J.G., 1972, ApJ, 171, 583CrossRef
De Santis, R., & Cassisi, S., 1999, MNRAS, 308, 97CrossRef
Dorman, B., & Rood, R.T., 1993, ApJ, 409, 387CrossRef
Di Cecco, A., Bono, G., Stetson, P.B., et al., 2010, ApJ, 712, 527CrossRef
Dotter, A., Chaboyer, B., Jevremović, D., et al., 2007, AJ, 134, 376CrossRef
Ferguson, J.W., Alexander, D.R., Allard, F., et al., 2005, ApJ, 623, 585CrossRef
Fiorentini, G., Lissia, M., & Ricci, B., 1999, A&A, 342, 492
Formicola, A., Imbriani, G., Costantini, H., et al., 2003, Phys. Lett. B, 591, 61CrossRef
Fusi Pecci, F., Ferraro, F.R., Crocker, D.A., Rood, R.T., & Buonanno, R., 1990, A&A, 238, 95
Girardi, L., Bressan, A., Bertelli, G., & Chiosi, C., 2000, A&AS, 141, 371
Gratton, R.G., Bonifacio, P., Bragaglia, A., et al., 2001, A&A, 369, 87
Gratton, R.G., Carretta, E., & Bragaglia, A., 2012, A&ARv, 20, 50PubMed
Greenstein, G.S., 1967, Nature, 213, 871CrossRef
Grundhal, F., Catelan, M., Landsman, W.B., Stetson, P.B., & Andersen, M.I., 1999, ApJ, 524, 242CrossRef
Grundahl, F., Clausen, J.V., Hardis, S., & Frandsen, S., 2008, A&A, 492, 171
Grundahl, F., Vandenberg, D.A., & Andersen, M.I., 1998, ApJ, 500, L179CrossRef
Henry, T.J., & McCarthy, D.W. Jr., 1993, AJ, 106, 773CrossRef
Henyey, L., Vardya, M. S., & Bodenheimer, P., 1965, ApJ, 142, 841CrossRef
Hubbard, W.B., & Lampe, M., 1969, ApJS, 163, 297CrossRef
Iben, I. Jr., 1968a, ApJ, 154, 581CrossRef
Iben, I. Jr., 1968b, Nature, 220, 143CrossRef
Imbriani, G., Costantini, H., Formicola, A., et al., 2004, A&A, 420, 625
Irwin, A.W., 2005, FreeEOS [http://freeeos.sourceforge.net]
Itoh, N., Mitake, S., Iyetomi, H., & Ichimaru, S., 1983, ApJ, 273, 774CrossRef
Kippenhahn, R., & Weigert, A., 1990, Stellar Structure and Evolution (Berlin: Springer-Verlag)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krishna-Swamy, K.S., 1966, ApJ, 145, 174CrossRef
Kumar, S.S., 1963, ApJ, 137, 1121CrossRef
Kunz, R., Fey, M., Jaeger, M., et al., 2002, ApJ, 567, 643CrossRef
Kurucz, R.L., 1993, in Peculiar versus Normal Phenomena in A-Type and related Stars, IAU Colloquium 138, ed. Dworetsky, M.M., Castelli, F. & Faraggiana, R., ASP Conf. Ser., 44, 87Google Scholar
Lee, M.G., Freedman, W., & Madore, B.F., 1993, ApJ, 417, 553CrossRef
Marta, M., Formicola, A., Gyürky, Gy., et al., 2008, Phys. Rev. C, 78, 22802CrossRef
Mengel, J.G., & Gross, P.G., 1976, AP&SS, 41, 407
Metcalfe, T.S., Nather, R.E., & Winget, D.E., 2000, ApJ, 545, 974CrossRef
Metcalfe, T.S., Winget, D.E., & Charbonneau, P., 2001, ApJ, 557, 1021CrossRef
Michaud, G., Charland, Y., Vauclair, S., & Vauclair, G., 1976, ApJ, 210, 447CrossRef
Michaud, G., Richer, J., & Richard, O., 2007, ApJ, 670, 1178CrossRef
Michaud, G., Richer, J., & Richard, O., 2008, ApJ, 675, 1223CrossRef
Michaud, G., Richer, J., & Richard, O., 2010, A&A, 510, A104
Michaud, G., Vauclair, G., & Vauclair, S., 1983, ApJ, 267, 256CrossRef
Montalbán, J., Kupka, F., D'Antona, F., Schmidt, W., 2001, A&A, 370, 982
Morel, P., van't Veer, C., Provost, J., et al., 1994, A&A, 286, 91
Mullan, D.J., & MacDonald, J., 2001, ApJ, 559, 353CrossRef
Neuforge, C., 1993, A&A, 274, 818
Pace, G., Recio-Blanco, A., Piotto, G., & Momany, Y., 2006, A&A, 452, 493
Pedersen, B.B., Vandenberg, D.A., & Irwin, A.W., 1990, ApJ, 352, 279CrossRef
Pietrinferni, A., Cassisi, S., Salaris, M., & Castelli, F., 2004, ApJ, 612, 168CrossRef
Pietrinferni, A., Cassisi, S., Salaris, M., Percival, S., Ferguson, J.W., 2009, ApJ, 697, 275CrossRef
Pietrinferni, A., Cassisi, S., & Salaris, M., 2010, A&A, 522, 76
Potekhin, A.Y., 1999, A&A, 351, 787
Quievy, D., Charbonneau, P., Michaud, G., & Richer, J., 2009, A&A, 500, 1163
Ramírez, S.V., Cohen, J.G., Buss, J., & Briley, M.M., 2001, AJ, 122, 1429CrossRef
Renzini, A., 1994, A&A, 285, L5
Renzini, A., & Fusi Pecci, F., 1988, ARA&A, 26, 199CrossRef
Richard, O., Michaud, G., Richer, J., et al., 2002, ApJ, 568, 979CrossRef
Richard, O., Vauclair, S., Charbonnel, C., & Dziembowski, W.A., 1996, A&A, 312, 1000PubMed
Riello, M., Cassisi, S., Piotto, G., et al., 2003, A&A, 410, 553
Rogers, F.J., & Nayfonov, A., 2002, ApJ, 576, 1064CrossRef
Rohrmann, R.D., 2001, MNRAS, 323, 699CrossRef
Salaris, M., 2012, AP&SS, 341, 65
Salaris, M., & Cassisi, S., 1998, MNRAS, 298, 166CrossRef
Salaris, M., & Cassisi, S., 2005, Evolution of stars and stellar populations (Chichester: John Wiley and Sons)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salaris, M., & Cassisi, S., 2008, A&A, 487, 1075
Salaris, M., Cassisi, S., & Weiss, A., 2002, PASP, 114, 375CrossRef
Salaris, M., Chieffi, A., & Straniero, O., 1993, ApJ, 414, 580CrossRef
Salaris, M., Groenewegen, M.A.T., & Weiss, A., 2000, A&A, 355, 299
Salaris, M., Riello, M., Cassisi, S., & Piotto, G., 2004, A&A, 420, 911
Salaris, M. & Weiss, A., 1998, A&A, 335, 943
Sandquist, E.L., Gordon, M., Levine, D., & Bolte, M., 2010, AJ, 139, 2374CrossRef
Saslaw, W.C. & Schwarzschild, M., 1965, ApJ, 142, 1468CrossRef
Saumon, D., Chabrier, G., & Van Horn, H.M., 1995, ApJS, 99, 713CrossRef
Sbordone, L., Salaris, M., Weiss, A., & Cassisi, S., 2011, A&A, 534, 9
Ségransan, D., Kervella, P., Forveille, T., & Queloz, D., 2003, A&A, 397, L5
Sills, A., & Pinsonneault, M.H., 2000, ApJ, 540, 489CrossRef
Silvestri, F., Ventura, P., D'Antona, F., & Mazzitelli, I., 1998, ApJ, 509, 192CrossRef
Spada, F., Demarque, P., Kim, Y.-C., & Sills, A., 2013, ApJ, 776, 87CrossRef
Stetson, P.B., Bruntt, H., & Grundahl, F., 2003, PASP, 115, 413CrossRef
Straniero, O., 1988, A&AS, 76, 157
Sweigart, A.V., & Gross, P.G., 1976, ApJS, 32, 367CrossRef
Tammann, G.A., & Reindl, B., 2013, A&A, 549, 136
Tassoul, M., Fontaine, G., & Winget, D.E., 1990, ApJS, 72, 335CrossRef
Thomas, H.C., 1967, Z. für Astrophysik, 67, 420
Torres, G., Andersen, J., & Giménez, A., 2010, A&ARv, 18, 67PubMed
Turcotte, S., Richer, J., Michaud, G., Iglesias, C., & Rogers, F., 1998, ApJ, 504, 539
Vandenberg, D.A., 2013, in Advancing the Physics of Cosmic Distances, IAU Symposium 289, ed. de Grijs, R. & Bono, G., 161Google Scholar
VandenBerg, D.A., Bergbusch, P.A., Dotter, A., et al., 2012, ApJ, 755, 15CrossRef
VandenBerg, D.A., Edvardsson, B., Eriksson, K., & Gustafsson, B., 2008, ApJ, 675, 746CrossRef
VandenBerg, D.A., Richard, O., Michaud, G., & Richer, J., 2002, ApJ, 571, 487CrossRef
VandenBerg, D.A., Swenson, F.J., Rogers, F.J., Iglesias, C.A., & Alexander, D.R., 2000, ApJ, 532, 430CrossRef
Viaux, N., Catelan, M., Stetson, P.B., Raffelt, G.G., Redondo, J., Valcarce, A.A.R., & Weiss, A., 2013, A&A, 558, A12
Vink, J.S., & Cassisi, S., 2002, A&A, 392, 553
Yi, S., Demarque, P., Lee, Y-W., Ree, C., Lejeune, T., & Barnes, S., 2001, ApJS, 136, 417CrossRef
Weiss, A., Serenelli, A., Kitsikis, A., Schlattl, H., & Christensen-Dalsgaard, J., 2005, A&A, 441, 1129
Zoccali, M., Cassisi, S., Frogel, J.A., et al., 2000, ApJ, 530, 418CrossRef