Related papers: r-Process Enhanced Halo Stars
Since the discovery of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 and its associated kilonova, neutron star mergers have been established as a key production channel for r-process elements in the Universe. However, various lines of evidence,…
We present a detailed analysis of the composition and nucleosynthetic origins of the heavy elements in the metal-poor ([Fe/H]=-1.62+/-0.09) star HD94028. Previous studies revealed that this star is mildly enhanced in elements produced by…
The majority of the inhomogeneities in the chemical composition of Globular Cluster (GC) stars appear due to primordial enrichment by hot-CNO cycled material processed in stars belonging to a first stellar generation. Either massive AGB…
Recent dynamical analysis based on Gaia data have revealed major accretion events in Milky Way's history. Nevertheless, our understanding of the primordial Galaxy is hindered because the bona fide identification of the most metal-poor and…
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…
Some metal-poor stars have abundance patterns which are midway between the slow (s) and rapid (r) neutron capture processes. We show that the helium shell of a fast rotating massive star experiencing a jet-like explosion undergoes two…
Studying the abundances in metal-poor globular clusters is crucial for understanding the formation of the Galaxy and the nucleosynthesis processes in the early Universe. We observed 13 red giant stars from the metal-poor globular cluster…
Intense fluxes of neutrinos are emitted by the hot neutron star produced in a supernova. The electron neutrino and antineutrino capture reactions on neutrons and protons, respectively, provide heating to drive a wind from the hot neutron…
Context. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are the most abundant elements throughout the universe, after hydrogen and helium. Studying these elements in low-metallicity stars can provide crucial information on the chemical composition in the…
Halo globular clusters pose four succinct issues that must be solved in any scenario of their formation: single-age, single metallicity stellar populations; a lower limit ([Fe/H] ~ -2.3) to their average metallicity; comprising only 1% of…
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)…
New measurements of neutron-capture elements are presented for two very metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] ~ -3). One (LP 625-44) has an s-process signature believed to be due to mass transfer from a now-extinct metal-poor AGB companion, and the…
Our aim is to measure accurate, homogeneous neutron-capture element abundances for the sample of 32 EMP giant stars studied earlier in this series, including 22 stars with [Fe/H] $< -$3.0. Based on high-resolution, high S/N spectra from the…
The considerable scatter of the s- and r-process elements observed in low-metallicity stars, compared to the small star to star scatter observed for the alpha elements, is an open question for the chemical evolution studies. We have…
We present an analysis of the s-process elements Zr, Ba, and La and the r-process element Eu in a sample of 50 stars in 19 open clusters. Stellar abundances of each element are based on measures of a minimum of two lines per species via…
We have combined new high-resolution spectra obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and ground-based facilities to make a comprehensive new abundance analysis of the metal-poor, halo star BD +17^\circ 3248. We have detected the…
We study the abundance patterns and the radial gradients of s-process elements (Y, Zr, Ba, La and Ce), r-process elements (Eu) and mixed-process elements (Mo, Nd and Pr) in the Galactic thin disc by means of a detailed two-infall chemical…
The highly r-process enhanced (r-II) metal-poor halo stars we observe today could play a key role in understanding early ultra-faint dwarf galaxies, the smallest building blocks of the Milky Way. If a significant fraction of metal-poor r-II…
The gravitational-wave detectors LIGO and Virgo together with their electromagnetic partner facilities have transformed the modus operandi in which we seek information about the Universe. The first ever-observed neutron-star…
The astrophysical site(s) of the r-process are uncertain, with candidates such as neutron star mergers and magneto-rotational supernovae predicting different event rates, delay times, and heavy-element yields. Galactic chemical evolution…