Atmospheric chemical composition of the peculiar carbon giant TU Gem

Abstract

The evolutionary status of the bright peculiar carbon giant TU Gemis fairly uncertain. The possibility that this is aCH star—aGalactic halo star with characteristic chemical-composition anomalies—is considered. Unfortunately, data on the atmospheric chemical composition of TUGem are relatively few and are ambiguous. The results of an analysis of a moderate-resolution optical and near-infrared spectrum of TU Gem obtained on the 2-m telescope of Terskol Peak Observatory (Northern Caucasus) is presented. The atmospheric parameters of TU Gem T_eff = 3100 K, C/O = 1.10, and [N/Fe] = 0.0 for the derived metallicity [Fe/H] = 0.0 are taken from [1]. The abundances of Na, Mg, Ca, Ti, and Cr are estimated to be normal or slightly enhanced, and the lithium abundance is log N(Li) = +0.1. The abundances of s-process elements are substantially enhanced in the atmosphere of TU Gem, namely, [s/Fe] ≈ 2, for both light and heavy s-process elements. The range of uncertainty in [Fe/H] is 0.0−0.3, and the uncertainties in other estimates are Δ[M/Fe]≈ ±0.3 and Δ[s/Fe] = ±0.5. The results show that TU Gem is an anomalous carbon giant, but not a CH star.