Related papers: Nucleosynthesis in the first massive stars
Atomic nuclei are transformed into each other in the cosmos by nuclear reactions inside stars: -- the process of nucleosynthesis. The basic concepts of determining nuclear reaction rates inside stars and how they manage to burn their fuel…
The first stars to form in the history of the universe may have been powered by dark matter annihilation rather than by fusion. This new phase of stellar evolution may have lasted millions to billions of years. These dark stars can grow to…
The first generation of stars is quite unique. The absence of metals likely affects their formation, with current models suggesting a much more top-heavy initial mass fraction than what we observe today, and some of their other properties,…
The first phase of stellar evolution in the history of the universe may be Dark Stars, powered by dark matter heating rather than by fusion. Weakly interacting massive particles, which are their own antiparticles, can annihilate and provide…
Cosmic structure originated from minute density perturbations in an almost homogeneous universe. The first stars are believed to be very massive and luminous, providing the first ionizing radiation and heavy elements to the universe and…
The first stars fundamentally transformed the early Universe through their production of energetic radiation and the first heavy chemical elements. The impact on cosmic evolution sensitively depends on their initial mass function (IMF),…
Several planets have recently been discovered around old metal-poor stars, implying that these planets are also old, formed in the early Universe. The canonical theory suggests that the conditions for their formation could not have existed…
The first generation of stars, often called Population III (or Pop III), form from metal-free primordial gas at redshifts 30 and below. They dominate the cosmic star formation history until redshifts 15 to 20, at which point the formation…
The very first stars to form in the Universe heralded an end to the cosmic dark ages and introduced new physical processes that shaped early cosmic evolution. Until now, it was thought that these stars lived short, solitary lives, with only…
Current numerical studies suggest that the first galaxies formed a few stars at a time and were enriched only gradually by the first heavy elements. However, the large box sizes in these models cannot resolve primordial supernova explosions…
We study the formation of low-mass and extremely metal-poor stars in the early universe. Our study is motivated by the recent discovery of a low-mass (M < 0.8 Msun) and extremely metal-poor (Z <= 4.5 x 10^{-5} Zsun) star in the Galactic…
Abundances of low-metallicity stars offer a unique opportunity to understand the contribution and conditions of the different processes that synthesize heavy elements. Many old, metal-poor stars show a robust abundance pattern for elements…
The abundance patterns of metal-poor stars provide us a wealth of chemical information about various stages of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. In particular, these stars allow us to study the formation and evolution of the elements…
There have been a number of important recent developments in theoretical and observational studies of nucleosynthesis, especially regarding nucleosynthetic sources at low metallicities. Those selected for discussion here include the origin…
The physical mechanism that allows massive stars to form is a major unsolved problem in astrophysics. Stars with masses $\gtsim 20$ $\msun$ reach the main sequence while still embedded in their natal clouds, and the immense radiation output…
The oldest, most metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo and satellite dwarf galaxies present an opportunity to explore the chemical and physical conditions of the earliest star forming environments in the Universe. We review the fields of…
The production of about half of the heavy elements found in nature is assigned to a specific astrophysical nucleosynthesis process: the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). Although this idea has been postulated more than six decades…
In this contribution, our knowledge of the initial conditions under which massive star formation takes place is reviewed. Massive stars are born in massive clumps of giant molecular clouds (GMCs), hence first the properties of GMCs are…
The nature of the first generation of stars in the Universe remains largely unknown. Observations imply the existence of massive primordial stars early in the history of the universe, and the standard theory for the growth of cosmic…
Assuming a Salpeter initial mass function and taking the solar abundances as a representative sample, we explore the sensitivity of nucleosynthesis in massive stars to the truncation of supernova explosions above a certain mass. It is…