Tidal Interactions between Binary Stars Can Drive Lithium Production in Low-mass Red Giants
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Peer-reviewed
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Abstract
Theoretical models of stellar evolution predict that most of the lithium
inside a star is destroyed as the star becomes a red giant. However,
observations reveal that about 1% of red giants are peculiarly rich in lithium,
often exceeding the amount in the interstellar medium or predicted from the Big
Bang. With only about 150 lithium-rich giants discovered in the past four
decades, and no distinguishing properties other than lithium enhancement, the
origin of lithium-rich giant stars is one of the oldest problems in stellar
astrophysics. Here we report the discovery of 2,330 low-mass (1 to
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1538-4357