Studies in Stellar Evolution. II. Lithium Depletion during the Pre-Main Contraction.
Abstract
Pre-main-sequence theoretical evolutionary tracks have been calculated for configurations of six different masses between 0.S and 1.2 Mo in order to determine the extent to which lithium is destroyed in the convective envelopes as a function of mass. The evolutionary sequences are started with an initial amount of lithium based on observed abundances. At each time step in the calculation, reaction rates are calculated in detail, and the resulting chemical compositions are homogenized over the convective envelope. The evolutionary tracks are carried over to the main sequence in order to provide a basis for comparison with recent observations of lithium abundances in main-sequence stars in the Hyades cluster and in the solar neighborhood. The theoretical depletion as a function of position on the main sequence agrees well with the general trend of the observations, for calculations based both on the solar massluminosity relation and on the mass-luminosity relation that has been observed for the Hyades.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- August 1965
- DOI:
- 10.1086/148310
- Bibcode:
- 1965ApJ...142..451B