On a Rapid Lithium Enrichment and Depletion of K Giant Stars

  • de la Reza R
  • Drake N
  • da Silva L
  • et al.
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Abstract

A model scenario has recently been introduced to explain the presence of very strong Li lines in the spectra of some low mass K giant stars (de la Reza et al. 1996). In this scenario all ordinary, Li poor, K giants become Li rich during a short time ($\sim 10^5 yr$) when compared to the red giant phase of 5 10^7 yr. In this ``Li period'', a large part of the stars are associated with an expanding thin circumstellar shell supposedly triggered by an abrupt internal mixing mechanism resulting in a surface new ^7Li enrichment. This letter presents near 40 Li rich K giants known up to now. The distribution of these Li rich giants, along with other 41 observed K giants that have shell, but are not Li rich, in a color-color IRAS diagram confirms this scenario, indicating, also as a new result, that a rapid Li depletion takes place on a time scale of between $\sim 10^3$ and 10^5 yr. This model explains the problem of the presence of K giants with far infrared excesses presented by Zuckerman et al. (1995). Other present and future tests of this scenario are briefly discussed.

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APA

de la Reza, R., Drake, N. A., da Silva, L., Torres, C. A. O., & Martin, E. L. (1997). On a Rapid Lithium Enrichment and Depletion of K Giant Stars. The Astrophysical Journal, 482(1), L77–L80. https://doi.org/10.1086/310685

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