The Initial-Final Mass Relation from Carbon Stars in Open Clusters

Recently, Marigo et al, identified a kink in the initial-final mass relation around initial masses of Mini≈1.65−2.10M⊙, based on Gaia DR2 and EDR3 data for white dwarfs in open clusters aged 1.5–2.5 Gyr. Notably, the white dwarfs associated with this kink, all from NGC 7789, exhibit masses of ∼0.70–0.74 M⊙, usually associated with stars of Mini∼ 3–4 M⊙. This kink in the Mini mass range coincides with the theoretically accepted solar metallicity lowest-mass stars evolving into carbon stars during the AGB phase. According to Marigo et al., these carbon stars likely experienced shallow third dredge-up events, resulting in low photospheric C/O ratios and, consequently, middle stellar winds. Under such conditions, the AGB phase is prolonged, allowing for further core mass growth beyond typical predictions. If this occurs, it might provoke other anomalies, such as a non-standard surface chemical composition. We have conducted a chemical analysis of several carbon stars belonging to open clusters within the above cluster ages. Our chemical analysis reveals that the carbon stars found within the kink exhibit C/O ratios only slightly above the unity and the typical chemical composition expected for carbon stars of near solar metallicity, partially validating the above theoretical predictions. We also show that this kink in the IMFR strongly depends on the method used to derived the distances (luminosity) of these carbon stars.