Related papers: On the need of the Light Elements Primary Process …
The composition of the most primitive Solar System condensates, such as calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAI) and micron-sized corundum grains, show that short-lived radionuclides (SLR), e.g., 26Al, were present in the early Solar System.…
Observational abundances of CEMP stars with patterns in between those produced by the rapid and slow nucleosynthesis processes (CEMP-rs stars) are currently invoked as evidence of synthesis via the intermediate process in the early AGB…
We propose an explanation for the considerable scatter of the abundances of neutron capture elements observed in low-metallicity stars in the solar vicinity, compared to the small star-to-star scatter observed for the alpha-elements. We…
Recent 3-D analysis of the solar spectrum data suggests a significant change of the solar chemical composition. This may affect the temporal evolution of the surface abundance of light elements since the extension of the convective envelope…
Exoplanet surveys have confirmed one of humanity's (and all teenagers') worst fears: we are weird. If our Solar System were observed with present-day Earth technology -- to put our system and exoplanets on the same footing -- Jupiter is the…
We summarize the progress to date of our Legacy Science Program entitled "The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems" (FEPS) based on observations obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope during its first year of operation. In…
I present a review of chemical evolution models of the solar neighborhood. I give special attention to the necessary ingredients to reproduce the observed [Xi/Fe] ratios in nearby metal and super metal rich stars, and to the chemical…
Most heavy elements beyond the iron peak are synthesized via neutron capture processes. The nature of the astrophysical sites of neutron capture processes is still very unclear. In this work we explore the observational constraints of the…
The chemical enrichments detected in CEMP-$s$ stars are believed to be the consequence of a mass-transfer episode from a now extinct AGB primary star. This hypothesis is borne out by the fact that most CEMP-$s$ stars exhibit RV variations…
The determination of heavy element abundances from planetary nebula (PN) spectra provides an exciting opportunity to study the nucleosynthesis occurring in the progenitor asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. We perform post-processing…
Context: The stellar production of the light element lithium is still a matter of debate. Aims: We report the detection of low-mass, Li-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars located in the Galactic bulge. Methods: A homogeneous and…
The ejecta of the first probably very massive stars polluted the Big Bang primordial element mix with the first heavier elements. The resulting ultra metal-poor abundance distribution provided the initial conditions for the second stars of…
A new tool for the Evolutionary Synthesis of Stellar Populations (EPS) is presented, which is based on three independent matrices, giving respectively: 1) the fuel consumption during each evolutionary phase as a function of stellar mass; 2)…
It has been noted that, in classical extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars, the abundance ratio of Sr and Ba, is always higher than [Sr/Ba] = -0.5, the value of the solar r-only process; however, a handful of EMP stars have recently been found…
Recently, measurements of abundances in extremely metal poor (EMP) stars have brought new constraints on stellar evolution models. In an attempt to explain the origin of the abundances observed, we computed pre--supernova evolution models,…
Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars play a fundamental role in the s-process nucleosynthesis during their thermal pulsing phase. The theoretical predictions obtained by AGB models at different masses, s-process efficiencies, dilution…
Theoretical physical-chemical models for the formation of planetary systems depend on data quality for the Sun's composition, that of stars in the solar neighbourhood, and of the estimated "pristine" compositions for stellar systems. The…
Despite its dominance, hydrogen has been largely ignored in studies of the abundance patterns of the chemical elements in gradual solar energetic-particle (SEP) events; those neglected abundances show a surprising new pattern of behavior.…
Carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars with s-process enrichment (CEMP-s) are believed to be the products of mass transfer from an AGB companion, which has long since become a white dwarf. The surface abundances of CEMP-s stars are thus commonly…
Lithium and zirconium abundances (the latter taken as representative for s-process enrichment) are determined for a large sample of massive Galactic O-rich AGB stars, for which high resolution optical spectroscopy has been obtained…