Modelling the evolution of solar-mass stars with a range of metallicities using MESA

FM Research Professionals, P.O. Box 58412, Nashville, TN 37205 USA

^a Corresponding author: e.f.jones.phys@gmail.com

Published online: 28 May 2015

Abstract

The nuclides ^1,2H, ^3,4He, ⁷Li, ⁷Be, ⁸B, ^12,13C, ^13-15N, ^14-18O, ^17-19F, ^18-22Ne, ²²Mg, and ²⁴Mg were used in the code package MESA (Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics)[Paxton] to model a one-solar-mass star with a range of metallicities, z, from 0 to 0.1. On HR diagrams of each star model’s luminosity and effective temperature from before zero-age main sequence (pre-ZAMS) to white dwarf, oscillations were noted in the horizontal branch at intervals from z = 0 to 0.0070. At z, = 0, the calculated stellar lifetime is 6.09x10⁹ years. The calculated lifetime of the model stars increases to a maximum of 1.25x10¹⁰ years at z = 0.022 and then decreases to 2.59x10⁹ years at z = 0.1. A piecewise fit of the model lifetimes vs. metallicity was obtained.