Modelling hydrogen-deficient carbon stars in MESA— The effects of total mass and mass ratio

Abstract

Hydrogen-deficient Carbon (HdC) stars are rare, low-mass, chemically peculiar, supergiant variables believed to be formed by a double white dwarf (DWD) merger, specifically of a Carbon/Oxygen- (CO-) and a Helium-white dwarf (He-WD). They consist of two subclasses– the dust-producing R Coronae Borealis (RCB) variables and their dustless counterparts the dustless HdCs (dLHdCs). Additionally, there is another, slightly cooler set of potentially related carbon stars, the DY Persei type variables which have some, but not conclusive, evidence of Hydrogen-deficiency. Recent works have begun to explore the relationship between these three classes of stars, theorizing that they share an evolutionary pathway (a DWD merger) but come from different binary populations, specifically different total masses (Mtot) and mass ratios (q). In this work, we use the mesa modelling framework that has previously been used to model RCB stars and vary the merger parameters, Mtot and q, to explore how those parameters affect the abundances, temperatures, and luminosities of the resultant post-merger stars. We find that lower Mtot and larger q’s both decrease the luminosity and temperatures of post-merger models to the region of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram populated by the dLHdCs. These lower Mtot and larger q models also have smaller oxygen isotopic ratios (16O/18O) which is consistent with recent observations of dLHdCs compared to RCBs. None of the models generated in this work can explain the existence of the DY Persei type variables, however this may arise from the assumed metallicity of the models.