The origin of dwarf carbon stars

矮小碳星的起源是一个近40年前的谜。这些恒星在质量和温度上与太阳相似，但主要由碳而不是氧构成。虽然研究人员假设，这样一颗富含碳的恒星可能会产生以碳为主的行星系统，但可行的假设是，这些恒星是双星演化的产物。值得注意的是，相当数量的矮化碳星似乎属于古老的晕群，因此掌握了恒星形成和银河系化学演化的早期阶段的线索。该观测项目将分析径向速度和相关数据，以首次描述任何双星系统(分数、周期、质量传递)。另一个方面可能是利用现有的数据和模型构建这些恒星的第一个光谱序列。运动学信息也可以用来确定银晕和银盘的年龄和成员身份。

The origin of dwarf carbon stars is a mystery nearly 40 years old. These stars are similar in mass and temperature to the Sun, but are dominated by carbon instead of oxygen. While researchers have hypothesised that such a carbon-rich star can give birth to carbon dominated planetary systems, the working hypothesis is that these stars are the product of binary star evolution. Remarkably, a significant number of dwarf carbon stars appear to belong to the ancient halo population, and thus hold clues to the earliest stages of star formation and Galactic chemical evolution. The observational project will analyse radial velocity and related data to characterise any binary systems for the first time (fraction, periods, mass transfer). Another aspect might be construction of the first spectral sequence of these stars using available data and models. Kinematical information can also be used to establish age and membership in the Galactic halo and disk.