Related papers: Is Germanium (Ge, Z=32) A Neutron-Capture Element?
The enrichment history of heavy neutron-capture elements in the Milky Way disc provides fundamental information about the chemical evolution of our Galaxy and about the stellar sources that made those elements. In this work we give new…
We present abundances of Mn, Cu, Zn and various light and heavy elements for a sample of barium and normal giant stars, and present correlations between abundances contributed to different degrees by the weak-s, main-s, and r-processes of…
We present the results of an abundance analysis for a sample of stars with $-4<$[Fe/H]$<-2$. The data were obtained with the HIRES spectrograph at Keck Observatory. The set includes 28 stars, with effective temperature ranging from 4800 to…
The heavy elements (Z>30) are created in neutron-capture processes which happen at very different nucleosynthetic sites. To study them in an environment different from the Milky Way, we target these elements in RGB stars in the Sculptor…
Using near-ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope, we detect neutral tellurium in three metal-poor stars enriched by products of r-process nucleosynthesis, BD+17 3248,…
We have derived new abundances of the rare-earth elements Pr, Dy, Tm, Yb, and Lu for the solar photosphere and for five very metal-poor, neutron-capture r-process-rich giant stars. The photospheric values for all five elements are in good…
This study probes the chemical abundances of the neutron-capture elements cerium and neodymium in the inner Milky Way from an analysis of a sample of $\sim$2000 stars in the Galactic Bulge/bar spatially contained within $|X_{Gal}|<$5 kpc,…
Heavy elements produced exclusively through rapid neutron capture (the '$r$-process') originate from violent cosmic explosions. While neutron star mergers are the primary candidates, another plausible production site are…
We present detailed chemical abundances of three new bright (V ~ 11), extremely metal-poor ([Fe/H] ~ -3.0), r-process-enhanced halo red giants based on high-resolution, high-S/N Magellan/MIKE spectra. We measured abundances for 20-25…
Cowan et al. (2021) review how roughly half the elements heavier than iron found in the Sun are produced by rapid neutron capture and half by slow neutron capture, the r- and s-processes. In the Sun, their relative contribution to…
The rapid neutron-capture process ($r$-process) has for the first time been confirmed to take place in a neutron-star merger event. A detailed understanding of the rapid neutron-capture process is one of the holy grails in nuclear…
The chemical compositions of evolved stars in Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) provide insight into the galaxy's past star formation and nucleosynthesis. Neutron-capture element abundances are especially interesting. In…
Recent studies suggest that metal-poor stars enhanced in carbon but containing low levels of neutron-capture elements may have been among the first to incorporate the nucleosynthesis products of the first generation of stars. We have…
Observations of metal-poor stars indicate that at least two different nucleosynthesis sites contribute to the production of r-process elements. One site is responsible for the production of light r-process elements Z<~50 while the other…
We report the discovery of Ge III $\lambda$1088.46 in the planetary nebulae (PNe) SwSt 1, BD+30$^{\rm o}$3639, NGC 3132, and IC 4593, observed with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. This is the first astronomical detection of this…
Palladium is one of poorly observed neutron-capture elements. Abundance determinations for stellar samples covering a broad metallicity range are needed for better understanding the mechanisms of Pd synthesis during the Galaxy evolution. We…
We present CN and CH indices and CaII triplet metallicities for 34 giant stars and chemical abundances for 33 elements in 14 giants in the globular cluster M2. Assuming the program stars are cluster members, our analysis reveals (i) an…
We report abundance analyses of three extremely metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] $\lesssim -3$, using the Subaru High Dispersion Spectrograph (HDS). All are found to have sub-solar values of [Eu/Fe]. Comparison with our chemical evolution model…
The framework for the interpretation of neutron-capture elements observed in Population II stars, established 20-25 years ago, is that these stars primarily exhibit r-process signatures, due to the inefficiency of the s-process at low…
We present the results of a large-scale survey of neutron(n)-capture elements in Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe), undertaken to study enrichments from s-process nucleosynthesis in their progenitor stars. From new K band observations of…