Using Detailed Single-star and Binary-evolution Models to Probe the Large Observed Luminosity Spread of Red Supergiants in Young Open Star Clusters
Red supergiants (RSGs) represent a late evolutionary stage of massive stars. Recent observations reveal that the observed luminosity range of RSGs in young open clusters is wider than expected from single-star evolution models. Binary evolution effects have been suggested as a possible explanation....
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adb61a |
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| author | Chen Wang Lee Patrick Abel Schootemeijer Selma E. de Mink Norbert Langer Nikolay Britavskiy Xiao-Tian Xu Julia Bodensteiner Eva Laplace Ruggero Valli Alejandro Vigna-Gómez Jakub Klencki Stephen Justham Cole Johnston Jing-ze Ma |
| author_facet | Chen Wang Lee Patrick Abel Schootemeijer Selma E. de Mink Norbert Langer Nikolay Britavskiy Xiao-Tian Xu Julia Bodensteiner Eva Laplace Ruggero Valli Alejandro Vigna-Gómez Jakub Klencki Stephen Justham Cole Johnston Jing-ze Ma |
| author_sort | Chen Wang |
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| description | Red supergiants (RSGs) represent a late evolutionary stage of massive stars. Recent observations reveal that the observed luminosity range of RSGs in young open clusters is wider than expected from single-star evolution models. Binary evolution effects have been suggested as a possible explanation. Here, we analyze 3670 detailed binary-evolution models, as well as corresponding single-star models, to probe the contribution of binary mass transfer and binary mergers to the luminosity distribution of RSGs in star clusters with ages up to 100 Myr. We confirm that the expected luminosity range of RSGs in a coeval population can span a factor of 10, as a consequence of mergers between two main-sequence stars, which reproduces the observed RSG luminosity ranges in rich clusters well. While the luminosity increase as consequence of mass transfer is more limited, it may help to increase the number of overluminous RSGs. However, our results also demonstrate that binary effects alone are insufficient to account for the number of RSGs found with luminosities of up to 3 times those predicted by current single-star models. We discuss observational accuracy, rotational mixing, age spread, and intrinsic RSG variability as possible explanations. Further observations of RSGs in young open clusters, in particular studies of their intrinsic brightness variability, appear crucial for disentangling these effects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8e8f2d33f01e4dfabb8bbae506a43eec |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-8e8f2d33f01e4dfabb8bbae506a43eec2025-08-20T02:04:17ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019811L1610.3847/2041-8213/adb61aUsing Detailed Single-star and Binary-evolution Models to Probe the Large Observed Luminosity Spread of Red Supergiants in Young Open Star ClustersChen Wang0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0716-3801Lee Patrick1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9015-0269Abel Schootemeijer2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2715-7484Selma E. de Mink3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9336-2825Norbert Langer4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3026-0367Nikolay Britavskiy5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3996-0175Xiao-Tian Xu6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9565-9462Julia Bodensteiner7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9552-7010Eva Laplace8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1009-5691Ruggero Valli9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3456-3349Alejandro Vigna-Gómez10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1817-3586Jakub Klencki11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7527-5741Stephen Justham12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7969-1569Cole Johnston13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3054-4135Jing-ze Ma14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9911-8767Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany ; cwang@mpa-garching.mpg.deDepartamento de Astrofísica , Centro de Astrobiología, (CSIC-INTA), Ctra. Torrejón a Ajalvir, km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, SpainArgelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn , Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany ; cwang@mpa-garching.mpg.deArgelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn , Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, GermanyUniversité de Liège , Quartier Agora (B5c, Institut d’Astrophysique et de Géophysique), Allée du 6 Août 19c, 4000 Sart Tilman, Liège, Belgium; Royal Observatory of Belgium , Avenue Circulaire/Ringlaan 3, 1180 Brussels, BelgiumArgelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn , Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, GermanyEuropean Southern Observatory , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2 85738 Garching bei München, Germany; Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , Postbus 94249, 1090GE Amsterdam, The NetherlandsHeidelberger Institut für Theoretische Studien , Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, D-69118 Heidelberg, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany ; cwang@mpa-garching.mpg.deMax Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany ; cwang@mpa-garching.mpg.deMax Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany ; cwang@mpa-garching.mpg.de; European Southern Observatory , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2 85738 Garching bei München, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany ; cwang@mpa-garching.mpg.deMax Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany ; cwang@mpa-garching.mpg.deMax Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany ; cwang@mpa-garching.mpg.deRed supergiants (RSGs) represent a late evolutionary stage of massive stars. Recent observations reveal that the observed luminosity range of RSGs in young open clusters is wider than expected from single-star evolution models. Binary evolution effects have been suggested as a possible explanation. Here, we analyze 3670 detailed binary-evolution models, as well as corresponding single-star models, to probe the contribution of binary mass transfer and binary mergers to the luminosity distribution of RSGs in star clusters with ages up to 100 Myr. We confirm that the expected luminosity range of RSGs in a coeval population can span a factor of 10, as a consequence of mergers between two main-sequence stars, which reproduces the observed RSG luminosity ranges in rich clusters well. While the luminosity increase as consequence of mass transfer is more limited, it may help to increase the number of overluminous RSGs. However, our results also demonstrate that binary effects alone are insufficient to account for the number of RSGs found with luminosities of up to 3 times those predicted by current single-star models. We discuss observational accuracy, rotational mixing, age spread, and intrinsic RSG variability as possible explanations. Further observations of RSGs in young open clusters, in particular studies of their intrinsic brightness variability, appear crucial for disentangling these effects.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adb61aRed supergiant starsYoung star clustersBinary starsMassive starsRed straggler starsStellar evolution |
| spellingShingle | Chen Wang Lee Patrick Abel Schootemeijer Selma E. de Mink Norbert Langer Nikolay Britavskiy Xiao-Tian Xu Julia Bodensteiner Eva Laplace Ruggero Valli Alejandro Vigna-Gómez Jakub Klencki Stephen Justham Cole Johnston Jing-ze Ma Using Detailed Single-star and Binary-evolution Models to Probe the Large Observed Luminosity Spread of Red Supergiants in Young Open Star Clusters The Astrophysical Journal Letters Red supergiant stars Young star clusters Binary stars Massive stars Red straggler stars Stellar evolution |
| title | Using Detailed Single-star and Binary-evolution Models to Probe the Large Observed Luminosity Spread of Red Supergiants in Young Open Star Clusters |
| title_full | Using Detailed Single-star and Binary-evolution Models to Probe the Large Observed Luminosity Spread of Red Supergiants in Young Open Star Clusters |
| title_fullStr | Using Detailed Single-star and Binary-evolution Models to Probe the Large Observed Luminosity Spread of Red Supergiants in Young Open Star Clusters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Detailed Single-star and Binary-evolution Models to Probe the Large Observed Luminosity Spread of Red Supergiants in Young Open Star Clusters |
| title_short | Using Detailed Single-star and Binary-evolution Models to Probe the Large Observed Luminosity Spread of Red Supergiants in Young Open Star Clusters |
| title_sort | using detailed single star and binary evolution models to probe the large observed luminosity spread of red supergiants in young open star clusters |
| topic | Red supergiant stars Young star clusters Binary stars Massive stars Red straggler stars Stellar evolution |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adb61a |
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