相关论文: Primordial Lithium from Globular Cluster Turn-Off …
The light element lithium is formed by nucleosynthesis during the Big Bang. Its abundance can help to define the parameters of the early universe. To find this primordial value, it is necessary to determine Li abundances in the oldest stars…
The prediction of the PLANCK-constrained primordial lithium abundance in the Universe is in discordance with the observed Li abundances in warm Population II dwarf and subgiant stars. Among the physically best motivated ideas, it has been…
Lithium is one of the few elements produced during the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis in the early universe. Moreover, its fragility makes it useful as a proxy for stellar environmental conditions. As such, the lithium abundance in old systems is…
In the standard hot big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) model the primordial abundances of H, H2, He3, He4, and Li7, fix the baryon density of the universe, $\Omega_b$, via the baryon-to-photon ratio, $\eta$, for a given Hubble parameter. Recent…
Convergent lines of evidence suggest that globular clusters host multiple stellar populations. It appears that they experience at least two episodes of star formation whereby a fraction of first-generation stars contribute astrated ejecta…
Context: Knowledge of the age distribution of stars in young clusters and associations is crucial to constrain models of star formation. HR diagrams of different young clusters and associations suggest the presence of age spreads, but the…
High-dispersion spectra centered on the Li 6708 A line have been obtained for 70 potential members of the open cluster NGC 3680, with an emphasis on stars in the turnoff region. A measurable Li abundance has been derived for 53 stars, 39 of…
We have identified a large number of possible very low mass members of the cluster IC2391 based primarily on their location in an I versus (R-I)_C CM diagram. We have obtained new photometry and low resolution ($\Delta \lambda = 2.7$ \AA)…
Li abundances are derived for a sample of bulgelike stars with isochronal ages of 10-11 Gyr. These stars have orbits with pericentric distances, Rp, as small as 2-3 kpc and Zmax < 1 kpc. The sample comprises G and K dwarf stars in the…
We make use of high resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra of 12 turn-off stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6397 to measure its lithium content. We conclude that they all have the same lithium abundance A(Li) = 2.34 with…
Although red giants deplete lithium on their surfaces, some giants are Li-rich. Intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars can generate Li through the Cameron-Fowler conveyor, but the existence of Li-rich, low-mass red giant…
To constrain the universe before recombination (380000 years after the Big Bang), we mostly rely on the measurements of the primordial abundances that indicate the first insight into the thermal history of the universe. The first production…
I summarize the results of 15 years of research on the surface abundances of stars in globular clusters. Globular-cluster stars afford a unique view of the physical processes that shape the surface abundances of stars on and beyond the…
We present the initial results of a study of the surface lithium abundance in a sample of low-mass members (M~0.4-1.0 Msun) of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) that provide an independent clock to estimate stellar ages. We report discovery of…
The age of globular clusters inferred from observations depends sensitively on assumptions such as the initial helium abundance and the mass loss rate. A high helium abundance (e.g., $Y\approx$0.28), as well as an inclusion of helium…
Ages have been derived for 55 globular clusters (GCs) from overlays of isochrones onto the turnoff photometry, assuming distances based on fits of zero-age horizontal branch (ZAHB) models to the lower bound of the observed distributions of…
We have obtained new photometry and intermediate resolution ($\Delta \lambda = 2.7$ \AA\ ) spectra of 19 of these objects (14.9 $\le$ $I_c$ $\le$ 17.5) in order to confirm cluster membership. We identify 15 of our targets as likely cluster…
We present spectroscopic ages, metallicities, and [alpha/Fe] ratios for 70 globular clusters in M31 that were derived from Lick line-index measurements. In addition to a population of old (>10 Gyr) globular clusters with a wide range of…
The nuclei of the lithium isotopes are fragile, easily destroyed, so that, at variance with most of the other elements, they cannot be formed in stars through steady hydrostatic nucleosynthesis. The 7Li isotope is synthesized during…
We have determined Li abundances for 11 G-type stars in the 6-8 Gyr old open cluster NGC 188. These data significantly enlarge the number of cluster stars with Li measurements, allowing us to extend the investigation of Li depletion in open…