The IACOB project: XIII. Helium enrichment in O-type stars as a tracer of past binary interaction

Martínez-Sebastián, C.; Simón-Díaz, S.; Jin, H.; Keszthelyi, Z.; Holgado, G.; Langer, N.; Puls, J.
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Advertised on:
1
2025
Number of authors
7
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
6
Refereed citations
3
Description
There is increasing evidence that single-star evolutionary models are unable to reproduce all of the observational properties of massive stars. Binary interaction has emerged as a key factor in the evolution of a significant fraction of massive stars. In this study, we investigate the helium (YHe) and nitrogen (ϵN) surface abundances in a comprehensive sample of 180 Galactic O-type stars with projected rotational velocities of ≤150 km s‑1. We found a subsample (∼20% of the total, and ∼80% of the stars with YHe ≥ 0.12) with a YHe and ϵN combined pattern that is unexplainable by single-star evolution. We argue that the stars with anomalous surface abundance patterns are binary interaction products.
Related projects
Projets' image
Physical properties and evolution of Massive Stars
This project aims at the searching, observation and analysis of massive stars in nearby galaxies to provide a solid empirical ground to understand their physical properties as a function of those key parameters that gobern their evolution (i.e. mass, spin, metallicity, mass loss, and binary interaction). Massive stars are central objects to
Sergio
Simón Díaz