Effects of Metallicity on Graphite, TiC, and SiC Condensation in Carbon Stars
From transmission electron microscopy and other laboratory studies of presolar grains, the implicit condensation sequence of carbon-bearing condensates in circumstellar envelopes of carbon stars is (from first to last) TiC-graphite-SiC. We use thermochemical equilibrium condensation calculations and...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc40f |
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| Summary: | From transmission electron microscopy and other laboratory studies of presolar grains, the implicit condensation sequence of carbon-bearing condensates in circumstellar envelopes of carbon stars is (from first to last) TiC-graphite-SiC. We use thermochemical equilibrium condensation calculations and show that the condensation sequence of titanium carbide (TiC), graphite (C(Gr)), and silicon carbide (SiC) depends on metallicity in addition to C/O ratio and total pressure. Calculations were performed for a characteristic carbon star ratio of C/O = 1.2 from 10 ^−10 to 10 ^−4 bars total pressure and for uniform metallicity variations ranging from 0.01 to 100 times solar elemental abundances. TiC always condenses at higher temperatures than SiC, and the carbide condensation temperatures increase with both increasing metallicity and increasing total pressure. Graphite, however, can condense in a cooling circumstellar envelope before TiC, between TiC and SiC, or after SiC, depending on the carbon-bearing gas chemistry, which is dependent on metallicity and total pressure. Analytical expressions for the graphite, TiC, and SiC condensation temperatures as functions of metallicity and total pressure are presented. The inferred sequence from laboratory presolar grain studies, TiC-graphite-SiC, is favored under equilibrium conditions at solar and subsolar metallicities between ∼10 ^−5 and 10 ^−8 bar total pressure within circumstellar envelopes of carbon stars with nominal C/O = 1.2. We also explored the dependence of the sequence at C/O ratios of 1.1 and 3.0, and found that as the C/O ratio increases, the TiC-graphite-SiC condensation sequence region occurs toward higher total pressures and lower metallicities. |
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| ISSN: | 1538-4357 |