Formation of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars in the presence of far ultraviolet radiation

Abstract

Recent discoveries of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars like SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 provide increasing observational insights into the formation conditions of the first second-generation stars in the Universe, reflecting the chemical conditions after the first supernova explosion. Here, we present the first cosmological simulations with a detailed chemical network including primordial species as well as C, C${}^{+}$, O, O${}^{+}$, Si, Si${}^{+}$, and Si${}^{2+}$ following the formation of carbon-enhanced metal poor stars. The presence of background UV flux delays the collapse from $z=21$ to $z=15$ and cool the gas down to the CMB temperature for a metallicity of Z/Z${}_{\odot }$=10${}^{-3}$. This can potentially lead to the formation of lower mass stars. Overall, we find that the metals have a stronger effect on the collapse than the radiation, yielding a comparable thermal structure for large variations in the radiative background. We further find that radiative backgrounds are not able to delay the collapse for Z/Z${}_{\odot }$=10${}^{-2}$ or a carbon abundance as in SMSS J031300.36-670839.3.

submitted to ApJL