LITHIUM IN OPEN CLUSTER RED GIANTS HOSTING SUBSTELLAR COMPANIONS

We have measured stellar parameters, [Fe/H], lithium abundances, rotation, and C-12/C-13 in a small sample of red giants (RGs) in three open clusters that are each home to a RG star that hosts a substellar companion (SSC) (NGC 2423 3, NGC 4349 127, and BD+ 12 1917 in M67). Our goal is to explore whether the presence of SSCs influences the Li content. Both C-12/C-13 and stellar rotation are measured as additional tracers of stellar mixing. One of the companion hosts, NGC 2423 3, is found to be Li-rich with A(Li)(NLTE) = 1.56. dex, and this abundance is significantly higher than the A(Li) of the two comparison stars in NGC 2423. All three SSC hosts have the highest A(Li) and C-12/C-13 when compared to the control RGs in their respective clusters; however, except for NGC 2423 3, at least one control star has similarly high abundances within the uncertainties. Higher A(Li) could suggest that the formation or presence of planets plays a role in the degree of internal mixing on or before the RG branch. However, a multitude of factors affect A(Li) during the RG phase, and when the abundances of our sample are compared with the abundances of RGs in other open clusters available in the literature, we find that they all fall well within a much larger distribution of A(Li) and C-12/C-13. Thus, even the high Li in NGC 2423 3 cannot be concretely tied to the presence of the SSC.