Related papers: The Second Stars
Metal-poor stars are key for studying the formation and evolution of the Galaxy. Evidence of the early mergers that built up the Galaxy remains in the distributions of abundances, kinematics, and orbital parameters of its stars. Several…
The nucleosynthesis in the first massive stars may be constrained by observing the surface composition of long-lived very iron-poor stars born around 10 billion years ago from material enriched by their ejecta. Many interesting clues on…
The highly r-process enhanced (r-II) metal-poor halo stars we observe today could play a key role in understanding early ultra-faint dwarf galaxies, the smallest building blocks of the Milky Way. If a significant fraction of metal-poor r-II…
Heavy elements, those produced by neutron-capture reactions, have traditionally shown no star-to-star dispersion in all but a handful of metal-poor globular clusters (GCs). Recent detections of low [Pb/Eu] ratios or upper limits in several…
The evolution of chemical elements in a galaxy is linked to its star formation history. Variations in star formation history are imprinted in the relative abundances of chemical elements produced in different supernova events and asymptotic…
The standard model for the operation of the s-process in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars predicts that low-metallicity ([Fe/H] <= -1) AGB stars should exhibit large overabundances of Pb and Bi as compared to other s-elements. Eight CH…
We investigate the conditions under which the first low-mass stars formed in the universe by confronting theoretical predictions governing the transition from massive Population III to low-mass Population II stars with recent observational…
We review recent theoretical results on the formation of the first stars and quasars in the universe, and emphasize related open questions. In particular, we list important differences between the star formation process at high redshifts…
Big Bang nucleosynthesis produces only light elements and the very first generation stars are thus formed from metal-free clouds. They start the production of heavy elements during their life, and enrich the interstellar medium through…
The basic processes of the formation of the first stars in the primordial Universe are outlined and the implications for cosmological structure formation discussed. By employing theoretical and numerical models of cosmic structure evolution…
In unveiling the nature of the first stars, the main astronomical clue is the elemental compositions of the second generation of stars, observed as extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars, in our Milky Way Galaxy. However, no observational…
There has been significant progress in the understanding of the r-process over the last ten years. The conditions required for this process have been examined in terms of the parameters for adiabatic expansion from high temperature and…
Large dust grains can fluctuate dramatically in their local density, relative to gas, in neutral, turbulent disks. Small, high-redshift galaxies (before reionization) represent ideal environments for this process. We show via simple…
The presence of elements heavier than helium ("metals") is of fundamental importance for a large number of astrophysical processes occurring in planet, star and galaxy formation; it also affects cosmic structure formation and evolution in…
The present paper reviews massive star (initial mass smaller than 120 M0) and very massive star (initial mass larger than 120 M0) evolution. I will focus on evolutionary facts and questions that may critically affect predictions of…
Sagittarius (Sgr) is a massive disrupted dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the Milky Way halo that has undergone several stripping events. Previous chemical studies were restricted mainly to a few, metal- rich ([Fe/H]~ -1) stars that suggested a…
Several planets have recently been discovered around old metal-poor stars, implying that these planets are also old, formed in the early Universe. The canonical theory suggests that the conditions for their formation could not have existed…
Small stellar systems like dwarf galaxies are suggested to be the main building blocks of our Galaxy by numerical simulations in Lambda CDM models. The existence of star streams like Sagittarius tidal stream indicates that dwarf galaxies…
Neutron-star mergers were recently confirmed as sites of rapid-neutron-capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis. However, in Galactic chemical evolution models, neutron-star mergers alone cannot reproduce the observed element abundance patterns…
Binary stars produce an array of dramatic astrophysical phenomena. They allow us to probe stellar structure, nuclear physics, and gravitational wave physics. They also produce the powerful supernovae that allow us to measure the scale of…