Related papers: Ciao? Adios!
The recent discovery of a new population of stars exhibiting unusual elemental abundance patterns characterized by enhanced Ti to Ga elements and low alpha and n-capture elements suggests the contribution of a new class of supernovae,…
Context: The light element (anti-)correlations shown by globular clusters (GCs) are the main spectroscopic signature of multiple stellar populations. These internal abundance variations provide us with fundamental constraints on the…
We consider the role of diffusion in the redistribution of elements in the hot interstellar medium (ISM) of early-type galaxies. It is well known that gravitational sedimentation can affect significantly the abundances of helium and heavy…
We compare the observed peaked iron abundance profiles for a small sample of groups and clusters with the predictions of a simple model involving the metal ejection from the brightest galaxy and the subsequent diffusion of metals by…
The distribution of member stars in the surroundings of an Open Cluster (OC) can shed light on the process of its formation, evolution and dissolution. The analysis of structural parameters of OCs as a function of their age and position in…
A major question in galaxy formation is how the gas supply that fuels activity in galaxies is modulated by their environment. We use spectroscopy of a set of well characterized clusters and groups at $0.4<z<0.8$ from the ESO Distant Cluster…
The impact of the cluster environment on the evolution of dwarf galaxies is investigated by comparing the properties of a sample of dwarf irregulars (dIs) in the Virgo Cluster with a control sample of nearby ("field") dIs having oxygen…
The discovery of supernovae associated with long-duration gamma ray burst observations is primary evidence that the progenitors of these outbursts are massive stars. One of the principle mysteries in understanding these progenitors has been…
We present the [X/H] trends as function of the elemental condensation temperature Tc in 88 planet host stars and in a volume-limited comparison sample of 33 dwarfs without detected planetary companions. We gathered homogeneous abundance…
Historically, it has often been asserted that most stars form in compact clusters. In this scenario, present-day gravitationally-unbound OB associations are the result of the expansion of initially gravitationally-bound star clusters.…
The nitrogen to carbon (N/C) and nitrogen to oxygen (N/O) ratios are the most sensitive quantities to mixing in stellar interiors of intermediate and massive stars. We further investigate the theoretical properties of these ratios as well…
Oxygen abundances of 67 dwarf stars in the metallicity range -1.6<[Fe/H]<-0.4 are derived from a non-LTE analysis of the 777 nm O I triplet lines. These stars have precise atmospheric parameters measured by Nissen and Schuster, who find…
In September 2002 the discovery of a super Li-rich F-dwarf (J37) in NGC 6633, an iron poor analogue of the better studied Hyades and Praecepe open clusters, was announced. This unique star was thought to be the smoking gun for the action of…
We report the discovery of a peculiar set of old super-metal-rich dwarf stars with orbits of low eccentricity that reach a maximum height from the Galactic plane between $\sim$ 0.5-1.5 kpc observed by the \emph{Gaia}-ESO Survey. These stars…
Globular Clusters are among the oldest objects in the Galaxy, thus their researchers are key to understanding the processes of evolution and formation that the galaxy has experienced in early stages. Spectroscopic studies allow us to carry…
Numerous stars exhibit surprisingly large variations in their refractory element abundances, often interpreted as signatures of planetary ingestion events. In this study, we propose that differences in the dust-to-gas ratio near stars…
The determination of the Ba abundance in globular cluster (GC) stars is a very powerful test to address several issues in the framework of multiple population scenarios. We measured the Ba content for a sample of more than 1200 stars in 15…
We present a quantitative analysis of the abundances of heavy elements in damped Ly-alpha galaxies in the sample of Lu et al. (1996). In particular, we compare the observed gas-phase abundances with those expected when the intrinsic (i.e.,…
We take a closer look at our published results of determination of ages, metallicities, helium mass fractions and abundances of chemical elements in Galactic globular clusters in order to find possible signatures of the phenomenon of…
We present preliminary results of VLT/FORS spectroscopy of globular clusters in nearby early-type galaxies. Our project aims at studying the chemistry and determine the ages of globular cluster (sub-)populations. First results indicate that…