Related papers: Pregalactic LiBeB Production by Supernova Cosmic R…
The $^6$Li abundance observed in metal poor halo stars appears to exhibit a plateau as a function of metallicity similar to that for $^7$Li, suggesting a big bang origin. However, the inferred primordial abundance of $^6$Li is $\sim$1000…
We investigate the impact of an early population of massive stars on their surroundings. Dissociation of molecular hydrogen by strong UV emission from such stars is expected to produce a global transition in the cooling mechanism of…
We present observations of the Be II 313.0 nm resonance doublet in 14 halo and old disk stars with metallicities ranging from [Fe/H]=-0.4 to about -3.0 obtained with the CASPEC spectrograph of the ESO 3.6m telescope at a FWHM about 8.6 km/s…
Nuclear interactions of ions accelerated at the surface of flaring stars can produce fresh isotopes in stellar atmospheres. Although this nucleosynthesis is not significant for the chemical evolution of the Galaxy, it can be important for a…
Using the cosmological constants derived from WMAP, the standard big bang nucleosynthesis (SBBN) predicts the light elements primordial abundances for 4He, 3He, D, 6Li and 7Li. These predictions are in satisfactory agreement with the…
We explore the consequences of an early population of intermediate mass stars in the 2 - 8 M\odot range on cosmic chemical evolution. We discuss the implications of this population as it pertains to several cosmological and astrophysical…
Fluorine is massive enough that it is not considered to be a light ($Z\le5$) element, yet compared to its near neighbors, C, N, O, and Ne, it is far underproduced in the course of stellar evolution, making its origin more complex. In fact,…
The products of primordial nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons are relics from the early evolution of the Universe whose observations probe the standard model of cosmology and provide windows on new physics…
We argue that extreme metal-poor stars show a high dispersion in metallicity, because their abundances are the outcome of very few supernova events. Abundance anomalies should appear because of the discrete range of progenitor masses. There…
We present the abundance analysis of 97 nearby metal-poor (-3.3<[Fe/H]<-0.5) stars having kinematics characteristics of the Milky Way (MW) thick disk, inner, and outer stellar halos. The high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise optical spectra…
We examine the Pb and Th abundances in 27 metal-poor stars (-3.1 < [Fe/H] < -1.4) whose very heavy metal (Z > 56) enrichment was produced only by the rapid (r-) nucleosynthesis process. New abundances are derived from HST/STIS, Keck/HIRES,…
The surface lithium abundance A(Li) of warm metal-poor dwarf stars exhibits a narrow plateau down to [Fe/H]~-2.8 dex, while at lower metallicities the average value drops by 0.3 dex with a significant star-by-star scatter (called lithium…
We have refined the estimate of the primordial level of $^7$Li abundance to an accuracy better than 10%, based on high-precision Li abundances for metal-poor halo stars, and a recent model of post-BBN (Big Bang Nucleosynthesis) chemical…
The intergalactic medium was reionized before redshift z~6, most likely by starlight which escaped from early galaxies. The very first stars formed when hydrogen molecules (H2) cooled gas inside the smallest galaxies, minihalos of mass…
The various modes of spallative LiBeB production are summarized, and classified according to their dependence or independence on the abundance of medium heavy elements (CNO) illustrated by that of oxygen in the interstellar medium. The…
We have determined Li abundances in 55 metal-poor (3.6 < [Fe/H] < -0.7) stars with extreme orbital kinematics. We find the Li abundance in the Li-plateau stars and examine its decrease in low-temperature, low-mass stars. The Li observations…
The photospheres of about 10-20% of main sequence A- and B-type stars exhibit a wide range of chemical peculiarities, often associated with the presence of a magnetic field. It is not exactly known at which stage of stellar evolution these…
The redshifted ultraviolet light from early stars at z ~ 10 contributes to the cosmic near infrared background. We present detailed calculations of its spectrum with various assumptions about metallicity and mass spectrum of early stars. We…
Two main hypotheses for the origin of Galactic cosmic rays are the "supernova" and "superbubble" origin hypotheses. We analyse the evidence for the superbubble hypothesis provided by the measurements of the relativive abundances of isotopes…
The first stars in the Universe are predicted to have been much more massive than the Sun. Gravitational condensation accompanied by cooling of the primordial gas due to molecular hydrogen, yields a minimum fragmentation scale of a few…