Related papers: Abundances of the elements in the solar system
We discuss the role of the electron temperature in abundance determinations in ionized nebulae (planetary nebulae and giant HII regions). We show that, even when observations provide a direct estimate of Te, abundance determinations may…
Despite significant progress in the understanding of galactic nucleosynthesis and its influence on the solar system neighborhood, challenges remain in the understanding of enrichment of the solar system itself. Based on the detailed review…
Chondrite meteorites are believed to represent the building blocks of the solar nebula, out of which our solar system formed. They are a mixture of silicate and oxide objects (chondrules and refractory inclusions) that experienced extremely…
Abundance determinations in planetary nebulae (PNe) are crucial for understanding stellar evolution and the chemical evolution of the host galaxy. We discuss the complications involved when the presence of a metal-rich phase is suspected in…
A review of neutrino astrophysics is presented, including solar and atmospheric neutrinos; neutrino mass and oscillations; the supernova mechanism, supernova neutrino production, and associated nucleosynthesis; cosmological neutrinos and…
Recent data lead us to a simple and intriguing form of the neutrino mass matrix. In particular, we find solar neutrino oscillations to be nearly maximal (and rule out the small-angle MSW explanation of solar neutrino observations) if relic…
One in every two atoms in the Earth, Mars, and the Moon is oxygen; it is the third most abundant element in the solar system. The oxygen isotopic compositions of the terrestrial planets are different from those of the Sun and demonstrate…
Current problems encountered in the spectroscopic determination of photospheric abundances are outlined and exemplified in a reevaluation of C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe, taking effects of NLTE and granulation into account. Updated…
To first order, the Earth as well as other rocky planets in the Solar System and rocky exoplanets orbiting other stars, are refractory pieces of the stellar nebula out of which they formed. To estimate the chemical composition of rocky…
Hot atmospheres of massive galaxies are enriched with metals. Elemental abundances measured in the X-ray band have been used to study the chemical enrichment of supernova remnants, elliptical galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies. Here…
We discuss the way of increasing of the number of chemical elements, investigated in stellar spectra. We can reach it by using spectrum synthesis method, new atomic data and observation of stellar spectra with resolution comparable to solar…
Neutron stars are some of the densest manifestations of massive objects in the universe. They are ideal astrophysical laboratories for testing theories of dense matter physics and provide connections among nuclear physics, particle physics…
Abundance observations indicate the presence of often surprisingly large amounts of neutron capture (i.e., s- and r-process) elements in old Galactic halo and globular cluster stars. These observations provide insight into the nature of the…
A few results that indicate the presence of temperature variations in gaseous nebulae are reviewed. The evidence is based on: a) temperatures derived from different methods, and b) on comparisons of abundances predicted by models of…
Inside carbonaceous chondrite meteorites are tiny dust particles which, when heated, release noble gases with an isotopic composition different from what is found anywhere else in the solar system. For this reason it is believed that these…
Stellar elemental abundances direct impact planetary interior structure and mineralogy, surface composition, and life. However, the different communities that are necessary for planetary habitability exploration (astrophysics, planetary…
This encyclopedia article addresses questions like the following. How does the Sun shine? Does the neutrino have a mass? Are there weak interactions beyond those described by the standard model of particle physics?
Measurements are reviewed showing that the interior of the Sun, the inner planets, and ordinary meteorites consist mostly of the same elements: Iron, oxygen, nickel, silicon, magnesium, sulfur and calcium. These results do not support the…
Thanks to their usefulness in various fields of astrophysics (e.g. mixing processes in stars, chemical evolution of galaxies), the last few years have witnessed a large increase in the amount of abundance data for early-type stars. Two…
Elemental abundances provide a powerful diagnostic of the physical mechanisms and processes that heat the solar atmosphere and drive the solar wind. The First Ionisation Potential (FIP) effect and its inverse (IFIP) are observed both on the…