English

The \emph{R}-process Alliance: A Bright, Strongly \emph{R}-process-enhanced Extremely Metal-poor Star Observed with GHOST

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2026-05-21 v1 Astrophysics of Galaxies

Abstract

We present a detailed chemical-abundance and kinematic analysis of four extremely metal-poor (EMP; [Fe/H] 3.0\leq -3.0) stars identified from \textit{Gaia} BP/RP data in our ongoing search for the most primitive stars. This includes a primary target, \textit{Gaia}~DR3~2563539603865382656 (hereafter G256353), a strongly rr-process-enhanced star with [Eu/Fe]~=+1.20= +1.20 and [Ba/Eu]~=0.64= -0.64. Our results are based on high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise GHOST spectra from Gemini-South. For the full sample, we statistically match the light-element abundances with those predicted from Population\,III supernova models. The ``best-fit'' model suggests massive progenitors with stellar masses of M_{\star}\sim 20-30\,M_\odot. In addition, we determine orbital histories for all of the stars. We find that Gaia~DR3~2887334237669844480 appears to be kinematically associated with Atari, an accreted structure in the Galactic disk. This star has low abundance ratios of strontium ([Sr/Fe] = -1.09) and barium ([Ba/Fe] = -0.37), which supports an accretion origin. For G256353, we determine chemical abundances for 15 neutron-capture elements. We compare the observed heavy-element pattern for G256353 with that of the Sun, HD~222925, and two neutron star merger models. The rr-process elements in G256353 align reasonably well with HD~222925, the scaled-Solar pattern (except for the first peak), and a recent predicted pattern associated with neutron star mergers. This consistency reinforces the universality of the main rr-process across diverse astrophysical environments.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.20614,
  title  = {The \emph{R}-process Alliance: A Bright, Strongly \emph{R}-process-enhanced Extremely Metal-poor Star Observed with GHOST},
  author = {Mohammad K. Mardini and Anna Frebel and Vinicius M. Placco and Anirudh Chiti and Manolya Yatman and Timothy C. Beers and Rana Ezzeddine and Terese T. Hansen and Erika M. Holmbeck and Ian U. Roederer and Charli M. Sakari},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.20614},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

Accepted to ApJ