Extreme Helium Stars (EHe)

• An extreme helium star or EHe is a low-mass supergiant that is almost devoid of hydrogen, the most common chemical element of the universe.
• There are 21 of them detected so far in our galaxy.

Mystery of EHe resolved

• The origin and evolution of these Hydrogen deficient objects have been shrouded in mystery.
• Their severe chemical peculiarities challenge the theory of well-accepted stellar evolution as the observed chemical composition of these stars do not match with that predicted for low mass evolved stars.
• A study by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology which detected the presence of singly ionised ?urine for the first time in the atmospheres of hot Extreme Helium Stars makes a strong case that the main form of these objects involves a merger of a carbon-oxygen (CO) and a Helium (He) white dwarf.

Evolution of EHe

• The ?uorine abundances determined from singly ionized fluorine (F II) lines suggest a very high enrichment of uorine, about a factor of 100 to 10000 times higher than normal stars.
• Clues to the evolution of extreme helium stars require accurate determinations of their chemical composition, and the peculiarities, if any, become very important.
• Fluorine plays a very crucial role in this regard to determine the actual evolutionary sequence of these hydrogen de-client objects.
• Severe uorine enrichment w.r.t normal stars (of the order of 800 − 8000) was observed in the cool EHes along-with the cooler classical hydrogen de?cient stars, the RCB variables (R Coronae Borealis Stars) hinting at close evolutionary connection between them.
• The scientists explored the relationship of hot EHes (EHes having e?ective temperature ≥ 14000K), with the cooler EHes, based on their ?uorine abundance and spotted it in the former, thus establishing an evolutionary connection across a wide range of active temperatures.
• High-resolution echelle spectra of 10 hot EHes were obtained from Hanle Echelle Spectrograph (HESP) mounted on the 2-m Himalayan Chandra Telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Hanle, Ladakh, (remotely operated by IIA) including data from McDonald Observatory, USA, and ESO archives.
• The varied range of observed urine abundance across stars having similar atmospheric parameters points out the difference in the individual star’s evolution and the ensuing nucleosynthesis.
• Particularly, the enrichment of uorine in the atmospheres of carbon-rich EHes and absence of the same in carbon-poor EHes suggest that uorine is profusely produced during the merger of a He-CO WD resulting in a carbon-rich EHe, whereas He-He WD merger that results in carbon-poor EHes does not account for uorine overabundance.
• The detection of enhanced uorine abundances in the atmospheres of hot EHes solves a decade-old mystery about their formation.
• It rmly places hot EHes in an evolutionary sequence with cool EHes and other hydrogen-deficient stars and zeros in on the evolutionary scenario, which involves the merger of two double degenerate white dwarfs (WDs).