Related papers: Atomic Data and Neutron-Capture Element Abundances…
Neutron-capture elements in low metallicity Galactic halo stars vary widely both in overall contents and detailed abundance patterns. This review discusses recent observational results on the n-capture elements, discussing the implications…
This paper is the fourth and final report on a project designed to study carbon abundances in a sample of planetary nebulae representing a broad range in progenitor mass and metallicity. We present newly acquired optical spectrophotometric…
Planetary nebulae retain the signature of the nucleosynthesis and mixing events that occurred during the previous AGB phase. Observational signatures complement observations of AGB and post-AGB stars and their binary companions. The…
In this work we report spectrophotometric observations of a planetary nebula sample towards the galactic bulge. A total of 45 PNe was observed and their physical parameters (electron density and temperature) were derived. Ionic abundances…
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) abundance patterns have long been used to note signatures of nuclear processing and to trace the distribution of metals throughout galaxies. We present abundance gradients and heavy element ratios based upon newly…
Abundance ratios of radioactive to stable neutron-capture elements in very metal-poor stars may be used to estimate the age of our Galaxy. But extracting accurate ages from these data requires continuing work on many fronts: a)…
We present new abundance observations of neutron-capture elements in Galactic stars. These include new Hubble Space Telescope (HST) detections of the elements Ge, Zr and Pt in a group of 11 halo stars. Correlations between these elements…
We present results from an ongoing survey of infrared emission lines from the neutron-capture elements Se and Kr in Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe). Se and Kr may be produced in the initial steps of the s-process during the asymptotic…
The study of planetary nebulae in the inner-disk and bulge gives important information on the chemical abundances of elements such as He, N, O, Ar, Ne, and on the evolution of these abundances, which is associated with the evolution of…
We review gas-phase abundances in PNe and describe their dual utility as archives of original progenitor metallicity via the alpha elements, as well as sources of processed material from nucleosynthesis during the star's evolution, i.e., C,…
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…
Around half of the heavy elements in the universe are formed through the slow neutron capture (s-) process, which takes place in thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with masses $1-6\;M_{\odot}$. The nucleosynthetic imprint…
We have done a spectroscopical analysis of the type I planetary nebula (PN) NGC 5315, through high-resolution (R$\sim$40000) optical spectroscopy with UVES at the 8.2m Very Large Telescope, and medium-resolution (R$\sim$4800) near-IR…
We have conducted a large-scale survey of 120 planetary nebulae (PNe) to search for the near-infrared emission lines [Kr III] 2.199 and [Se IV] 2.287 microns. The neutron(n)-capture elements Se and Kr may be enriched in a PN if its…
We report the abundances of neutron-capture elements in eight carbon-rich, metal-poor (-2.7=<[Fe/H]=<-1.9) stars observed with the Subaru Telescope High Dispersion Spectrograph. The derived abundance patterns indicate that the…
Thanks to the large amount of spectroscopic and photometric data assembled in the last couple of decades, the assumption that all globular clusters (GCs) contain a simple mono-metallic stellar population has been modified. Besides the…
We have identified two new near-infrared emission lines in the spectra of planetary nebulae (PNe) arising from heavy elements produced by neutron capture reactions: [Te III] 2.1019 $\mu$m and [Br V] 1.6429 $\mu$m. [Te III] was detected in…
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…
We study the chemical abundances of a wide sample of 142 Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) with good quality observations, for which the abundances have been derived more or less homogeneously, thus allowing a reasonable comparison with…
Planetary nebulae (PNe) constitute an important tool to study the chemical evolution of the Milky Way and other galaxies, probing the nucleosynthesis processes, abundance gradients and the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium. In…