Abundances of red clump & RGB stars with APOGEE

While several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this mixing, better empirical constraints are necessary. Here, we use [C/N] abundances in 26097 evolved stars from the SDSS-IV/APOGEE-2 DR14 to trace mixing and extra mixing in old field giants with -1.7<[Fe/H]<0.1.

We show that the APOGEE [C/N] ratios before any dredge-up occurs are metallicity dependent, but that the change in [C/N] at the first dredge-up is metallicity independent for stars above [Fe/H]~-1. We identify the position of the red giant branch (RGB) bump as a function of metallicity, note that a metallicity-dependent extra mixing episode takes place for low-metallicity stars ([Fe/H]{<}-0.4) 0.14dex in logg above the bump, and confirm that this extra mixing is stronger at low metallicity, reaching {Delta}[C/N]=0.58dex at [Fe/H]=-1.4.